Inspired by John Gilman’s excellent article on Spanish wines and also Asimov’s article on Ribeira Sacra I decided to seek out some of the wines to try. John’s article focuses heavily on the portfolio of Jose Pastor who owns Vinos and Gourmet. Based on three recent wines from his portfolio I recommend those seeking an old world alternative to many of the new world Spanish wines to seek out his wines AND most are awesome values.
An excerpt from John Gilman’s piece on Spanish wine:
“This feature has been several months in the making, and is primarily stocked with wines from a wide variety of Spanish wine-producing regions represented by a young, new Spanish wine importer named José Pastor. José has fast been making a name for himself amongst lovers of traditional Spanish wines, as he is adamantly opposed to the modern wave of “internationalization” that has swept through so many wine estates in Spain in the last couple of decades, distorting traditional styles and creating a large number of wines that mimic one another and are hard to even discern as Spanish in origin. For many lovers of traditionally styles wines in Spain, it is hard not to assume that most of the wines produced on the Iberian peninsula these days are indeed modern in style, based on the vast majority that find their ways onto the export markets and get reviewed by most of the wine press- often with rather incomprehensibly high scores to go along with the ham-fisted and brutally extracted oak soup in the glass. For many lovers of Spanish wine from the glory days of old, if one does not have the time to beat the back roads of Spain looking for the producers who have resisted the modern style, then Spain often becomes a country where every young wine deemed worthy of drinking or cellaring wears a López de Heredia label and virtually every other producer is studiously avoided these days. However, as José Pastor has emphatically proven with his lineup of top estates from less well-known regions and his “joint venture bottlings” that he has fashioned under his Vinos de Terrunos labels, Spain remains a fertile hunting ground for traditionally made wines, despite most of the wine world’s absurd fixation with the least interesting and most brazenly international wines produced in this fine country.”
2007 Pedro M. Rodriquez Perez Mencia Guimaro – Ribeira Sacra
This is a unique and exciting wine that is probably not for everyone. Medium-to-dark ruby red color. Exotic and unique aromatic profile that will beguile your senses with an array of aromas including pepper, mint, patchouli, herbs and a smell that reminds me of fresh cut lumber. On the palate dark cherries, currant, herbs and more pepper. A small amount of tannins frame the wine and give it structure. A perfect food wine and an insane value for $14.