Wine Regions Archives - Page 7 of 15 - Wine Blog from The International Wine of the Month Club

Rioja: Home to Spain’s Best Red Wine Bargains

February 9, 2018 by Don Lahey

Rioja has been dubbed “a land of history, light and color, vines and wheat, and above all, people for whom friendship is the greatest possible treasure” by the Rioja Minister of Tourism. Rioja is all of this and more, a land etched by history and endowed by a special wine that shares the region’s name. Moreover, Rioja wine is as warm, friendly, and distinctive as the people who inhabit this unique land halfway between Spain’s capital and the towering Pyrenees Mountains. Rioja also enjoys a reputation as the most approachable and recognized name in great Spanish wine and the home of Spain’s best red wine bargains.

Vineyards have always influenced the history and character of the people in the Rioja. Long before France became a bastion of fine wine, the Romans had settled in Iberia and pushed inland from the Mediterranean to the headwaters of the Ebro River and its tiny tributary, Rio Oja, from which Rioja derives its name. In Rioja, the Romans found ideal conditions for the cultivation of Spain’s most important indigenous grape varietals, Tempranillo, Mazuelo, Graciano, and Garnacha (Grenache), which today constitute modern red Rioja. Given its long history for continuously producing fine red wines, Rioja not surprisingly received Spain’s first Denominaciones de Origen (D.O.) in 1933.

It is Rioja’s unique blend of red grapes, coupled with an often lavish hiatus in small oak barrels, which yields warm, truly dry, yet richly fruity red wines of great finesse and perfume, many of which can appear nearly immortal in great vintages. Although a few names in Rioja carry hefty price tags, the vast majority of red Rioja comes from 132,000 acres and three distinct zones (Rioja Alavesa, Rioja Alta, and Rioja Baja). These wines sell for far less than wines of comparable quality from elsewhere, making red Rioja one of the planet’s greatest red wine bargains.

Red Rioja comes in four basic styles: Joven, Crianza, Reserva, and Gran Reserva. The amount of oak barrel aging, coupled with time in the bottle before release, determines the designation. These styles begin with Joven, which receives little or no time in oak barrels, and culminates with Gran Reserva, which matures in barrels for two or more years and cannot be sold before its fifth birthday.

The best bargains in Rioja are among the Joven, Crianza, and Reserva designations. Although many old Gran Reservas can be exceptional, others can appear dried out and lacking in fruit due to their extended stays in barrel. In America, Rioja Reservas reign supreme, having found the fine balance between freshness, complexity, and maturity with just the right patina of oak to please the American palate.

Salud!
Don

Saint-Émilion: Bordeaux at its Best

January 26, 2018 by Don Lahey

Chateau Saint Georges Winery in
Saint Georges-Saint-Emilion

Saint-Émilion is Bordeaux’s most important wine town and the region’s hottest attraction. This walled, medieval village, perched atop a series of hills and surrounded by vines, is unquestionably the most beautiful wine village in all Bordeaux. Indeed, it is arguably the most beautiful wine village in all France. Nearly everything about Saint-Émilion is centered on wine; even the church in Saint-Émilion is a cellar. And lest you think that Saint-Émilion has just recently succumbed to contemporary commercialism or sold itself to the modern mania for all that is Bacchanalian, rest assured that very little has changed in principle in this village since antiquity: Saint-Émilion was founded by the Romans, who used it as a viticultural bastion in the burgeoning area they named Burdigala.

Interestingly, there are two distinct districts of Saint-Émilion, each possessing a special terroir. Both districts produce compelling red wines, but of a different sort. Typically, the côtes or hills upon the escarpment yield the fullest, slowest to mature wines of Saint-Émilion. Here the soil is nearly all limestone and the resulting wine is more apt to act like a great Cabernet based wine of the Médoc. The other distinct district of Saint-Émilion lies on the plateau adjoining Pomerol, where the soil is comprised of sand and gravel. Here the wines tend to be fleshier and quicker to mature. Each style is authentic Saint-Émilion, which allows the savvy consumer double the pleasure.

Merlot is the predominant grape of Saint-Émilion. Here Cabernet Franc and to a lesser extent Cabernet Sauvignon play important supporting roles. However, Saint-Émilion can be produced from Merlot alone or from any combination or percentage of the six traditional red Bordeaux grape varieties (Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot, and Carmenère). No commercial white wine is made in Saint-Émilion or is permitted to be sold as Saint-Émilion.

Many of the most illustrious Bordeaux wines hail from Saint-Émilion, including the legendary Château Cheval Blanc.

Salud!
Don

Bordeaux: The World’s Most Renowned Wine

December 22, 2017 by Don Lahey

Bordeaux is the world’s largest fine wine producing region, encompassing nearly 300,000 acres, 60 individual appellations, and more than 7,300 châteaux. Appellations such as Margaux, Pauillac, and St. Émilion are legendary as are the scores of collectible wines that flow from their vineyards. Indeed, the wine wares of Bordeaux (both the region and its wines are referred to as Bordeaux) are some of the finest and most expensive on Earth. Furthermore, this renowned viticultural region, which has become synonymous with full-bodied red wine, is also the traditional home of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc, the three musketeers of almost all red Bordeaux and the basis for Meritage blends around the world. Malbec, Petit Verdot, and even Carmenère are other red Bordeaux varietals that figure into the cépage or blend of many Bordeaux châteaux. And what remains unknown to many consumers is that Bordeaux is also one of the planet’s largest and greatest sources of white wine, principally from Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon.

Bordeaux, meaning beside the waters, refers to the region’s proximity to the Atlantic Ocean and the broad estuary, the Gironde, for which the entire viticutural department (the equivalent of a county or state in the United States) is named. Bordeaux, the region as well as the department’s leading city, lies at the center of the confluence of the Dordogne and Garonne Rivers, which flow into the Gironde, which redoubles Bordeaux’s effort to live up to its name. Moreover, it is Bordeaux’s proximity to the sea that provides a stable, moderate climate, which is favorable to the production of fine wine. This marriage to the sea has also provided the historical highway by which Bordeaux wines have traveled the world, gaining esteem and recognition long before most other landlocked wine regions were able to safely transport their wines overland to eager markets.

Since the first century BCE, when the Romans established themselves in Bordeaux and referred to the area as Biturigiaca, this ancient viticultural paradise has been a constant source of fine wine. Known to the emperors of Rome, popes, and poets (most notably Pliny and Ausonius), Bordeaux has enjoyed the envy of the wine producing world longer than any other wine region on Earth. From Pliny to the most contemporary wine critics, including Robert Parker Jr., Bordeaux wines have never gone out of favor. Besides, what other wine region can claim three millennia of continuous production and millions of satisfied customers?

Salud!
Don

A Week in Provence

November 17, 2017 by Don Lahey

Like the sirens wooing unsuspecting sailors to its shores, Provence lures all who hear its song. Its temptations are too great to resist: sun, sea, scintillating landscapes that shimmer in illuminated rarified air, and an almost endless array of delicious wines to enchant and thoroughly captivate the unsuspecting traveler. A sun-drenched land ideal for the cultivation of the vine since the ancient Phoenicians first plied its shores, Provence continues to entice all who venture there.

Provence draws me back to itself like no other wine country. This past summer I spent a glorious (much too short) week in Provence rediscovering the magical wines of that fabled land. My cohorts and I traipsed the scenic seaside village of Bandol, the mistral scoured hinterlands of the Côteaux Varois, and the sun-splashed Vaucluse, the most enchanting of Provence’s favored wine countries.

Our sojourn included visits to Domaine Bunan, renowned for its exceptional red and rosé Bandol wines; Château Magui, an iconic Provençal estate recently purchased by Steven Spielberg that lies tucked in the hinterlands of the Côteaux Varois; Domaine Pierre Usseglio and the fabled Château Beaucastel, two legendary wine estates in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, which is France’s first appellation and presently Provence’s brightest star. We ended our quest for wonderful wine among the aspiring villages of the Côtes-du-Rhône, where fine wines abound at affordable prices and each year another star rises.

Our most rewarding stops in the Côtes-du-Rhône were Domaine de Cabasse and Domaine Chamfort. Both fashion wines from the tiny villages of Sablet and Séguret as well as the better known appellations of Vacqueyras and Gigondas – all within sight of the Dentelles de Montmirail, the last outcropping of the Alps that tumble down into Provence. Domaine de Cabasse turns out an enviable array of Southern Rhône classics, not the least of which are the estate’s delicious, recently released 2016 Côtes-du-Rhônes, while Domaine Chamfort, under the leadership of the indefatigable Vasco Perdigao, shines as the newest star in the Côtes-du-Rhône constellation.

Domaine Chamfort owes its present status to the young, energetic, totally committed owner and winemaker Vascao Perdigao. Perdigao purchased the property and its venerable old vines in 2010. He has restored the estate’s old vines using organic and biodynamic practices and has become an avid proponent of experimentation to push the envelope. Each successive vintage of Domaine Chamfort’s Côtes-du-Rhônes, which include wines from Sablet, Séguret, Rasteau, Vacqueyras and Gigondas, have all revealed a higher level of concentration, sophistication, and pleasure. In fact, we found Vascao’s wines hard to beat in both quality and value. Moreover, a more enthusiastic and effusive winemaker is hard to find – another reason to harken the call that beckons and answer the sirens’ song.

Salud!
Don

Stellenbosch: South Africa’s Rising Star

September 29, 2017 by Don Lahey

South Africa has had a thriving wine industry since the 17^th century, but there has never been a better time to discover South African wines than now. Quality and innovation push the envelope and values abound. And nowhere in South Africa is this truer than in the much heralded winelands of Stellenbosch.

Located on the Western Cape less than an hour north of Cape Town, the picture-postcard town of Stellenbosch and the surrounding mountains form a dramatic backdrop for what has justly been heralded as the most beautiful wine country in the world. Although some may try to refute that claim and promote the various picturesque merits of other world-renowned wine regions, what is not in question is the integral role Stellenbosch has played for more than three centuries in the formation of South African wine. Yes, the South African wine industry is that old; it dates back to the second half of the 17^th century. Not only is Stellenbosch South Africa’s oldest and most important wine producing region, it is the finest region for red and white wines on the African continent. It is South Africa’s Napa, Sonoma, and Santa Barbara counties, along with more than a few touches of France. It contains a myriad of microclimates, which allows for the cultivation of an enormous number of grape varieties. Consequently, Stellenbosch is responsible for high quality red and white wines from a host of varietals that include Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Viognier, and South Africa’s unique varietal, Pinotage, a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault. From wineries in Stellenbosch old and new flow an enormous variety of wines that are world class and wholly unique in character. So don’t wait to discover the unique, incredibly flavorful wines of Stellenbosch – South Africa’s rising wine star and the world’s most beautiful wine land.

Salud!
Don

Rosé is once again the summer’s “hottest” wine

August 25, 2017 by Don Lahey

A decade ago the word rosé was an anathema in American wine circles. Even a few years ago, how many serious or even occasional wine drinkers would admit to enjoying such a wine? We even called the one vestige of rosé that was readily available “White Zinfandel,” so as not to use the word rosé. Well, all that has changed. American wine drinkers’ tastes have changed, as has the overwhelming selection of very good domestic and imported rosé wines that now abound. So let’s pour a glass of cool rosé – once again the summer’s hottest wine.

Rosé has been popular in Europe for centuries and enjoys a long, illustrious history. Nonetheless, with the exception of the low alcohol White Zinfandel craze of the 1980s, Americans had been reluctant to embrace anything pink but a high octane Cosmopolitan, until now. Fortunately, long gone are the days when White Zinfandel is the only rosé game in town. Today’s rosé wines emanate from many different grape varieties and come in all different flavors, shades of color, and levels of sweetness from around the world. However, it is dry rosés from California, Spain, South Africa, and most prominently Provence in southern France that constitute this summer’s ‘hottest” wine. In fact, good rosé wines are now being enjoyed year round.

Provence is the spiritual home of today’s dry rosé. It is a land that elicits visions of scintillating landscapes, eye stopping vistas, and undulating fields of lavender and massive cypress as they wave in the winds that wash the countryside clean. Provence is also the birthplace of troubadours and Provençal, the lyrical language of poetry, and the planet’s most endearing wines. More than 140 million bottles of wine are produced annually in Provence, a region famous for its wines since the Roman era, and over 105 million bottles (75% of that entire region’s wine production) is rosé.

Many of today’s most popular domestic and imported rosé wines flow from traditional Provençal grape varietals such as Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Cinsault, Carignan and Rolle. However, around the world, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Sangiovese, Tempranillo and other varietals make fine dry rosés, too.

Provençal rosés and many of their New World counterparts are dry, delicate wines that are much more akin to white wine than red wine, as they are produced like white wines with minimal skin contact and no time in oak barrels. After harvest, a portion of the grapes undergo a cold maceration at various temperatures and lengths of time according to the grape variety in order to preserve the wine’s delicate aroma. The remaining grapes are vinified by a direct pressing, which imparts a slight pink color from the skins of the dark grapes. The wines are then blended and their élevage (upbringing) takes place entirely in stainless steel tanks until early February, when the young rose-colored wine is bottled for maximum freshness. Rosés are this summer’s “hottest” wines because they are fresh, flavorful, and served cold from a variety of premium grape varieties. In most cases, dry rosés are at their best in the first year of their life, which means looking for the current vintage or most recent release. Enjoy!

Salud!
Don

Spain’s Priorat and Montsant: Red Wines That Over-Deliver

June 23, 2017 by Don Lahey

Nearly every wine drinker is familiar with Rioja and Ribera del Duero, the sources of Spain’s great Tempranillo based wines, but there is more to red Spanish wine than Tempranillo and the ubiquitous Garnacha vines that seem to grow nearly everywhere in Spain. As wonderful as these individual grape varietals are on their own, much can be said for outstanding blends. Enter Priorat and Montsant, two of the oldest and most traditional of Spanish wines that deserve to be revered for their quality as well as their many unique personalities.

Priorat and Montsant (appellations as well as wines) remain off the beaten tourist track and are relatively unknown except to serious red wine lovers. Priorat is a sparsely populated wine region southwest of Barcelona at the very heart of Catalonia. The same obscurity can be claimed by the nearby appellation of Montsant that surrounds historic Priorat, the birthplace of Antoni Gaudi, the celebrated Catalan architect whose hand is imbedded in the skyline of Barcelona. Priorat is also a rugged, breathtaking landscape of savage beauty, high mountains, and sheep-studded pastures in which every village and hamlet appears steeped in history. Here the first Carthusian monastery in Spain was founded in the 12^th century. And, during the 20^th century, one of the greatest and most decisive battles of the Spanish Civil War took place in Priorat on the banks of the Ebro River. However, what sets Priorat above other more renowned wine producing regions is its expanse of ancient, ungrafted vines of Cariñena (Carignan) and Garnacha (Grenache) to which varying amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Merlot are added. What results are lush, full-bodied, natural tasting wines with considerable energy, power, and personality. Moreover, the best wines of Priorat age remarkably well and can compete with the finest wines made anywhere in the world

The central part of Priorat, often referred to as Priorat històric, is famous for its llicorella soil, a mixture of brown slate and solid rock. Here all of the Priorat’s premium grape varieties thrive in the dry, continental climate that for all intents and purposes may as well be light years away from the nearby Mediterranean Sea, a mere twenty miles distant. However, no where on earth do Carignan and Grenache together express themselves with such force and dignity as in Spain’s Priorat.

Montsant encircles Priorat and is demographically and legally part of the Priorat comarca or county. It is the appellation for the wine producing regions of the county that are not entitled to the Priorat (Denominación de Origen Calificada or DOC) designation. However, Priorat and Montsant share much in common. Montsant cultivates the same grape varieties as Priorat, and both Catalonian zones share a similar soil and climate; the main difference between them lies primarily in the predominance of llicorella soil in Priorat. The wines of Priorat are often a bit fuller and richer than those of Montsant, too, though Montsant can be easier to understand at the outset. Collectively, Priorat and Montsant share the propensity to over-deliver. For the moment, the wines of Montsant are typically less expensive than those from Priorat, but the price gap is rapidly closing, so now is the time to get acquainted.

Salud!
Don

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