SF Berserkers—Spanish Wines Offline

Great wines and great catching up with the Berserker crowd! CW had just been to Spain, and brought back a very special Cava.
The food was solid: Spanish Tortillas (potato only and chorizo) and squid ink paella.

Some facts on Priorat:
Priorat minimum alcohol is 13.5%(!) and it’s not that hard to achieve for them. They have some of the lowest average yields in the world, with 5-6 hL/ha (~0.3 tones/acre, compared to ~2-3 tons/acre in Napa).

The annoying but relevant aging laws (all barrels must be <= 225L in size):

BLANCO and ROSADO: (Rioja):
Crianza: 2 (.5 oak)
Reserva: 2 (.5 oak)
Gr. Res: 4 (.5 oak)

RED: (Rioja and Priorat):
Crianza: 2 (1 oak)
Reserva: 3 (1 oak)
Gr. Res: 5 (2 oak)

My wines of the night were the ’04 Finca Dofi Priorat that I brought (it reminded me of the ‘05 Melis Priorat from the Martin Scott portfolio tasting in 2008), and the 1970 Berberana “Carta de Oro” Reserva Rioja (because I finally got dill from American oak!)

• 2009 Codorníu Cava Finca de Nansa Gran Reserva Brut 91 Points

  Spain, Cava

  Blend of Pinot and Chardonnay. Expressive nose of green apple, fresh brioche (autolysis from the traditional method), and sweet blueberry tones. In the mouth, fresh and baked green apple, slightly smaller-than-average bubble size in the mousse, high acidity, and a long finish. Brut style, doesn’t show dosage at all! (8-10g/L according to the producer site). Impressively long finish. This is by far the best Cava I have ever had, and the best bubbly I’ve had in recent memory. ~36 Euros ($41) in Spain, not imported.
  
  Score: Around 9.

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• 2005 R. López de Heredia Rioja Blanco Viña Gravonia Flawed

  Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja

  Blend of Malvasia and Viura.
  Reductive. Smells like hair gel, or something in a hairstylist’s shop. In the mouth, tart, light, and overall unpleasantly rubbery.
  12.5% alcohol.
  
  Score: Flawed.

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• 2000 R. López de Heredia Rioja Blanco Reserva Viña Tondonia 90 Points

  Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja

  Compelling and relatively primary (compared to some of the others here) with ripe green apple skins and slight bruised apple skin acetaldehyde.
  Medium body, medium alcohol, and vibrant elevated acidity. Ripe, savory, and just a bit of animal fur Brett influence on the palate that reminds me of the savoriness of Musar Blanc.
  Score: Around 9.

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• 2000 R. López de Heredia Rioja Rosado Gran Reserva Viña Tondonia 88 Points

  Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja

  Garnacha 60%, Tempranillo 30%, Viura 10%
  Medium salmon to a copper rim.
  Amazingly complex nose. Buttery (suggesting diacetyl from malolactic fermentation), nutty (suggesting extended oxidative aging in oak barrels, probably used), toasted almond (oxidative acetaldehyde aromas), savory sweet toast (used oak), slight animal fur (suggesting Brettanomyces). Predominantly savory. Slight acetaldehyde.
  
  A bit flat on the palate, with medium body, medium alcohol (12%), medium acid (tart sour almond skin finish I associate with excessive acetaldehyde), and no phenolic bitterness. Some notes of sour old coconut milk (possibly signs of extended aging in used American oak barrels - it spends 4.5 years in oak). Also some sweet vanilla and bourbon/maple syrup aromas (also probably used American oak. Nutty toasty almond skins and biscotti.
  
  Score: between 8.5 and 9.

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• 2004 Alvaro Palacios Priorat Finca Dofí 93 Points

  Spain, Catalunya, Priorat

  (my bottle. took a while to open up)
  Slightly cloudy, dull. Medium ruby-red to a red rim.
  
  Elevated intensity nose, clean and mid-development (still a bit primary). Turbulent and classically complex nose. Animal fur (suggesting Brettanomyces). Bruised apple skins and figs (suggesting acetaldehyde / slight oxidation), a combination of ripe black cherry, strawberry preserves, and dark plum and cassis (mostly black with some red fruits suggesting millerandage/variable ripening or a blend—in this case both a blend of 60% Grenache, which has variable ripening, and some cab, Carignan, Merlot, and Syrah, contributing dark fruits). Significant aging in new Oak which presents as baking spices, medium-roast coffee, roasted nuts, and dark chocolate. A lack of dill notes and overall Maillard character suggests French / European oak rather than American oak [I checked, and this is correct - 100% new French barriques]. There’s fresh turned earth on this, and slight savory tobacco tones from age, but overall it’s still relatively strong in primary fruit. The nose is highly complex, and can develop further.
  
  In the mouth this is (by all accounts), textbook Priorat:
  Full-bodied, with high alcohol, around 14% [close - 14.5%]. Elevated acidity, strong and mostly tartaric (possibly acidified, but done so tastefully). Medium tannins— rounded, softened coffee-ground-like, felt all over the mouth (oak-influenced tannins for sure). The finish is long, finishing with dark fruit and bitter-chocolate tannins. Midpalate this shows extremely deep fruit, dark and open, with just a hint of savory stewed bell pepper (suggesting pyrazines from the Cabernet/Merlot). Roasted nuts, strawberry jam, savory animal fur, bruised-apple / sweet cider, and fresh turned earth round out a muscular yet poised palate. If you could dress Nijinsky in Vantablack and pour him into a glass, it would taste something like this.
  
  Score: Between 9 and 9.5

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• 1994 R. López de Heredia Rioja Gran Reserva Viña Tondonia 90 Points

  Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja

  Slight dill pickle and faint toasted coconut (from extended aging in used American oak). Slight savory Brett (GKruth would say “expensive Brett”), dark sour plum, and slightly pickled blackberry.
  Medium body, medium alcohol, elevated acid. Soft tannins.
  Score: Around 9.

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• 1999 Puelles Rioja Gran Reserva 85 Points

  Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja

  Slightly diminished aromatic intensity, the lowest of all the wines on the table. Slight baking spices (French oak) on the nose, with plummy fruit. Medium all around. Solid value at $20, but not complex. Consistent with previous notes.
  
  Score: Around 8.5

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• 1982 Bodegas Olarra Rioja Añares Reserva Flawed

  Spain, La Rioja, Rioja

  Medium minus garnet with amber at the rim. Extreme bitter almond, bruised apple, brown fig (acetaldehyde). Slight animal fur (Brettanomyces) and submerged savory fruit. Overall I think this is just a bit too oxidized for me to get good impressions.
  Score: Flawed

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• 1982 Bodegas Olarra Rioja Cerro Anon Reserva 88 Points

  Spain, La Rioja, Rioja

  Medium minus body with slightly elevated alcohol. Riper than its sister vineyard (we tasted both vineyards in the ’82 vintage), but slightly dominanted by wet dog (Brettanomyces) and manure (also probably due to Brett). Lovely in the mouth - elegantly balanced with soft tannins.
  Score: Between 8.5 and 9.

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• 1970 Berberana Rioja Carta de Oro Reserva 90 Points

  Spain, La Rioja, Rioja

  DESCRIPTOR EPIPHANY WINE! After tasting dill in so many forms (pickles, sauteed, fresh dill, dill pickle chips, dried dill), it finally popped on this wine. The scent-memory for me was quite specific—opening a bag of Kettle brand “Thick + Bold” Dill Pickle Krinkle Cut chips at the office in Sunnyvale. (One might infer a combination of American oak and volatile acidity). Slight bruised apple (acetaldehyde, but nothing crazy for a wine this old) and faint pickled strawberry-balsamic jam. This is light yet intense on the palate with vibrant acidity and phenomenal persistence. The dill is center stage (which I’m digging) but there’s still plenty of complexity here. The fruit is on its way out, but I would still like to see what this does in 10 more years.
  
  Score: Around 9.

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