3 modest Spanish wines, 2 of which I liked enough to reload on (the reds)
07 Vega Moragona ‘Vinas Viejas’ [Ribera del Jucar] 14.5% abv. Big bodied, dark purple brown, but has burnt off its grapiness. Great nose of roast coffee. Lots of depth and good finish. Excellent for $10, and I got some more afterwards. Quite distinctive actually in its flavor, so try it first. I could see some people not enjoying the chewy, chocolately, mocha stuff.
07 Magana ‘Dignus’ [Navarra] On the other side of the Rioja area, but tastes quite unlike a traditional Rioja. Again a big 14.5% abv. The label is in Spanish, but suggests that its a blend of Tempranillo and typical Bordeaux varietals. I get more red fruit flavors, and there is some earthy minerality too here. Not a hint of roughness, so enjoy now. Another huge value, and I reloaded. It’s probably less unusual than the first wine, but still at the same quality level.
09 Castellroig Xarel-Lo Vi de Terrer [Penedes] This is a white that is a light bodied 12.5% abv. Pale straw color and tastes like a Chenin Blanc to me. Probably was better younger. Spanish white wines are pretty hit and miss for me, with the last few months being more on the miss side, so maybe I should stick to their cava. I didn’t care for it, but the SO thought it was ok. I’ll try other stuff.
Over the last few nights we’ve been drinking an 09 Baron de Magana [Navarra] with dinner. It took about a day to open up and blossom though. Big, international styled wine. I think the difference between this and the Dignus level bottling is that they include some syrah in this mix. I doubt I would be able to tell the difference blind though. I wouldn’t call it particularly distinctive, or of a place, but its a good high quality Parker/Leve style of wine. My bottle looks like a grey market import since the front/back labels are all in Spanish. For my tastes, it still needs decanting, or more cellaring.
I have hardly tried any wines from the Navarre, but according to Winesearcher this estate seems to be the regional flagship, if price is the marker of that. Still its a great value, especially when compared to California’s North Coast.
Albariño, Godello, Verdejo, Albarin, Viura, Malvesia (the last two being the grapes in the aforementioned Rioja whites), Parellada, Xarel·lo, Garnacha Blanca, Tempranillo blanca, Merseguera, and Nola’s Vijiriega can all make decent and sometimes really good white wines.
I had my last bottle of this watching the stars up in the Fort Ross area. Amazingly cool and soothing compared to my 103F hometown. It’s a good wine, especially for the price ($14 grey market!) with red berry type of notes. However, it could probably be inserted into a panel of wines anywhere in the world. I wasn’t particularly looking for a Spanish/Rioja-like experience so no big deal. After we glugged this down, we shifted to cava in the hot tub.
The roads up in that area (Fort Ross/Sea View/Sea Ranch etc.) are crazy narrow and dangerous* and that alone must add something material to production costs.
I didn’t expect to find one of these lurking around, but there it was. The 2007 Vega Moragona ‘Vinas Viejas’ [Ribera del Jucar] is 80 year old tempranillo, which remains tasty and pleasing, long after one would have expected it to be drunk up. Heavy vanity styled bottle, with the coffee/mocha notes of its youth now transformed into brown sugar/caramel elements. There are even some Pepto Bismol types of notes when a fresh (well as much as 14.5% abv can be) splash hits my glass. NomaCorc sealed, which I had not remembered, but it’s been a while since I’ve tasted any, and this bottle’s survival was an oversight. This was a nice one hit wonder, as I have never seen/heard of the producer or DO again. For my tastes, it does not feel like a Rioja of the approximate age might: the weight is much more, with less wood/oak/vanilla, and more of a late picked gestalt.
