Wines of Spain at Canela - SF

(with BF and SC)
https://www.evernote.com/l/ABaESgnRW0tIRpPU7AyQSsYNBAb0vY8RRm0

A trade event sponsored by an organization that promotes the wines of Spain.

Structurally these were all sound. Aromatically they were either uninteresting (Cava) or if anything, too characterful (Rueda). The Albarino was probably the best, given there wasn't anything objectionable about it, and it had a bit more going on on the nose than the Cava.

• NV Pere Ventura Cava Cupatge D'Honor 80 Points

  Spain, Cava

  As I’d expect. Clean nose of fresh bread - the inside of a Witherspoon Bread Co. baguette, with faint green underripe apple.
  Light, quite dry, with large-ish bubbles and strong acid.
  Very low to zero bitterness, finishes with clean tart apple and acidity.
  Straightforward and typical.
  Score: Around 8.0
  $28 - (seems high!)
  
  11.5% alc,
  TA 5.9 g/l
  RS 3.5g/l

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• 2013 Bodegas La Val Albariño Rías Baixas 80 Points

  Spain, Galicia, Rías Baixas

  Pale straw in the glass, nearly clear.
  Nose: Moderate minus intensity. Some terpenes (rose/lychee/florals), some thiols (grapefruit pith), some florals (rose, sweet honeysuckle) but all very low intensity. The combination of terpenes and thiols makes me think sauvignon blanc without the pyrazines.
  In the mouth: Dry with elevated acid with moderate alcohol. I called the alcohol correctly at 12.5%
  Well put-together, though low on aromatic intensity and complexity.
  Score: Around 8.
  $18

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• 2014 Marqués de Riscal Verdejo Rueda 70 Points

  Spain, Castilla y León, Rueda

  Pale straw, almost clear in the glass.
  Nose of dead-on underripe white peach. Bitter tones of rotting grapefruit pith and cat pee eventually became acrid locker-room sweat.
  In the mouth - dry with strong clean lemony white peach acid on the finish - mostly tartaric.
  Moderate in alcohol - I called the alcohol 12% (actually 12.6%).
  5.6 g/L TA
  3.0 g/l RS
  Overall: Well structured but the aromatics literally stink.
  Score: Around 7.
  $13

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Themes:
Poorly integrated oak, reduction, ethyl acetate, rampant Brett, oxidation... This wasn't a very good flight.

The Muriel Rioja Gran Reserva was pleasant, but at $50 I'd hope for more.

• 2011 Bodegas Portia Ribera del Duero Ebeia Crianza 75 Points

  Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero

  Medium-bright ruby, moderate concentration.
  Nose: Plummy dark fruit, sawdust, earth.
  Palate: Medium plus body, medium plus alcohol (I called 14% - actually 14.5%), medium plus acid. Sawdust, dried cherries. Low plus tannins.
  Overall: Well structured but not that interesting. Also super sawdusty.
  Score: Around 7.5
  $28
  
  From the producer’s website:
  
  "Elaborado con uva 100% Tinta Fina del País, ha madurado durante 10 meses en barrica de roble francés y de roble americano. Ha reposado durante otros 6 meses en botella."
  
  So: 100% Tempranillo, 10 months in barriques of French and American oak.

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• 2011 Bodegas Alejandro Fernández La Mancha El Vínculo 80 Points

  Spain, Castilla-La Mancha, La Mancha

  Dark ruby, medium plus concentration.
  N: Primary: Brettanomyces, dark fruit, plum.
  Secondaries of overripe bruised pears - possibly oxidative oak aging?
  In the mouth: Balanced bright acidity with dark fruit, sawdusty with medium plus grippy tannins.
  I’m guessing lots of American oak, or chips [2 years in American oak].
  Overall: Pretty dominated by Brett for me. But has some stuffing.
  Score: Around 8.
  $20
  
  Notes:
  100% old-vine Tempranillo from a perfectly ripe and not overly hot vintage this underwent malolactic fermentation and subsequent aging for two years in American oak. As with all wines from Alejandro Fernández, the wine is unfined and unfiltered.

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• 2004 Bodegas Muriel Rioja Gran Reserva 85 Points

  Spain, La Rioja, Rioja

  (“Gran Reserva” = minimum 2 yrs oak and 3 yrs in bottle)
  Dark garnet, medium minus concentration.
  Nose: Savory tobacco and leaves, light oxidation (bruised brown apples, figginess) and light brett. Underneath this, the wine smells dirty - an indistinct earthy bitter tone that I’m not really enjoying. I’m not talking about the brett or ox - I love these in Musar. I also enjoy the savory aged tones from this wine. But alongside that is a class of aromas I don’t enjoy - dark, bitter, indistinct earth/dark fruit.
  Medium body, medium alcohol, medium acid (slight tart acid I associate with oxidation), light impression of tannins. Short finish, light on flavor.
  I don’t really get much evidence of oak.
  Balanced and interesting - process driven wine. I don’t get much fruit. I like this type of lighter balance, and aged flavors, though.
  Score: Around 8.5
  $50 (Seems really high! Not a great value)

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• 2010 Casa de la Ermita Jumilla Crianza Flawed

  Spain, Murcia, Jumilla

  Monastrell blend.
  Nose: Dominated by ethyl acetate / nail polish remover. Flawed.

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• 2012 Bodegas Paniza Garnacha Cariñena Vinas Viejas De Paniza 75 Points

  Spain, Aragón, Cariñena

  100% Garnacha
  Bright ruby, medium concentration.
  Reductive nose, with a dose of black pepper. (sulfites 33mg/L free, 130mg/L total)
  On the palate, sawdusty. Elevated alcohol. I called 14% correctly.
  Score: Around 7.5
  
  $16
  
  Tech sheet from Winery:
  Alcohol: 14%
  Ph: 3.58
  Residual sugars: 6.0 gr / l
  Free sulfites: 33 mg / l
  Total sulfites: 130 mg / l
  Volatile acidity: 0.71 g / l
  Total acidity: 5.4 g / l
  
  From the producer’s website (Google Translate):
  Made from old vines up to 100 years that come from the higher elevations of around Paniza, in the region of Carignan, north of Spain. After crushing and stemming, the grapes ferment for 15 days and fermentation takes place at controlled stainless steel tanks, with several daily pumping temperature. After racking and subsequent malolactic fermentation, the blend is made ​​and the wine is passed barrels for six months. The wine be bottled and remain in the silence of our cellar.

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I needed something to counter the drudgery of that last flight, so I re-accessed the Boxler. It was as good as before.

• 2009 Albert Boxler Pinot Gris Reserve 91 Points

  France, Alsace

  @home
  bottle 64761-272
  
  Nose: Waxy ripe pear botrytis (saffron), apricot, hint of alcoholic warmth. Light terpenes - peach, fruit cocktail, faint detergent. Fresh, even underripe apricot. Nectarine. Hint of thiols on the back-end (grapefruit pith). Sweet honeyed aromas emerge.
  
  Palate: Honey, faint terpenes, botrytis. Lovely weight and viscosity to the palate (13.5% alcohol). Off-dry (~20 g/L RS?). A nice balance of sweetness, fruit, bright acidity that mellows into a light phenolic bitterness. Where the acid leaves off, the phenolic character takes over, all the while the fruit and botrytis is in the foreground. Like drinking warm summer sunlight.
  
  Pretty much as good as it was yesterday.
  91-2.

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A well-organized complimentary event with tapas and a selection of Spanish wines. Unfortunately the wines weren't very good, which makes it difficult for me to draw any conclusions from the event.

Overall the only common thread that I found in the fruit of the red wines was a sort of bright juicy character. Some good brightness to the acidity, not the elevated acid of nebbiolo or sangiovese, but on the moderate plus side. Bright cherry fruit? Tempranillo seems like a slippery grape, especially since so many of these wines are process-driven (brett, ox, and oak).