Table of contents for April-June 2019 in Selectus Wines

TOGETHER OR SEPARATE? This is a dichotomy that we often face in our everyday lives. There are times when you have to decide whether to follow your own path (even if it is part of a collective group) or to join forces to work together. But it’s usually all to the same end... to improve in order to progress ... Well, that’s my view, anyway! Last year, two wine shows, Vinisud in Montpellier and Vinovision in Paris, were held separately. In 2019, they joined forces and together created a new event with a new name in the French capital: Wine Paris. This was a change of scene for the former and a new running mate for the latter. As we were able to see for ourselves “in situ”, the exhibition…

SPAIN A CORUÑA AC Hotel Palacio del Carmen. Santiago de Compostela ALAVA Restaurante Zaldiarán (Vitoria) Hotel Marqués de Riscal – A Luxury. Elciego Collection Hotel Restaurant Zaldiarán . Vitoria-Gasteiz ALBACETE Rest. Maralba. Almansa ALICANTE Hospes Amerigo AC Hotel Ciutat d´Alcoi. Alcoi Restaurant Quique Dacosta. Dénia ASTURIAS AC Hotel Forum Oviedo. Oviedo Restaurant Casa Marcial. Arriondas Restaurant La Salgar. Gijón BARCELONA Hotel Mercer Hotel Le Méridien Restaurant Rías de Galicia Monvínic Restaurant Moments Santa Eulalia Joyería Rabat Joyería Suárez Hotel Majestic Hotel Omm Restaurant Windsor Hotel Palace Celler de Gelida Restaurant La Clara Restaurant Nectari Restaurante Cinc Sentits Arsenal Masculino Four Points by Sheraton Restaurant Via Veneto Restaurant Abac Restaurant L´Oliana Hotel Rey Juan Carlos I Restaurant Gaig AC Hotel Victoria Suites Concesionario Mercedes Cars Barcelona Concesionario Maserati-Ferrari-Bentley Cars Gallery Restaurant…

D.O. Rueda La Seca, Valladolid - Spain www.bodegajaviersanz.comP.V.P.: 20,00 100% Verdejo Malcorta Pale yellow flecked with green, lively in the glass, clear and bright. Very strong aromatic intensity, with varietal notes reminiscent of green asparagus and tropical fruit including passion fruit and green plantain, against a backdrop of aromatic herbs such as fennel, aniseed and lemon verbena. Good acidity with light to medium body, which provides structure and unctuosity. Full of flavour and pleasant on the palate. Retro-nasally, the notes detected on the nose linger on the palate along with a citric touch of grapefruit that imparts a refreshing final bitterness. Subtle mineral notes then appear, bestowing a touch of refinement and persistence. The winery decided to rescue this variety, the Verdejo Malcorta, after several years of research, reproducing the…

D.O. Ribera de Duero Pedrosa de Duero, Burgos - Spain www.pagodeloscapellanes.comP.V.P.: 40,00 100% Tempranillo This wine hails from the village of Pedrosa del Duero in Burgos and the estate selected by the winery, the Finca El Nogal. Here they chose the finest Tempranillo grapes from 6 hectares of vines that provide only 4,000 kg/ha for this premium wine. The must macerates on its skins at low temperature for about 6 days to extract all the colour and aromas. Afterwards, the alcoholic fermentation starts with the winery’s own yeasts and continues at around 26ºC for almost a month. This is followed by malolactic fermentation for another month in French oak barrels, in which it will then be aged for around 22 months. Its intense cherry red hue flecked with purple illustrates…

D.O.Ca. Rioja Haro, La Rioja - Spain www.cvne.com/P.V.P.: 25,50 85% Tempranillo 15% Graciano Mazuelo-Garnacha Cherry red with a garnet rim, clear and bright. Strong aromatic intensity, with pronounced notes of ripe, red berries, blackberries and cherries, accompanied by spices and hints of vanilla and cinnamon. Before swirling the glass, it is a little phenolic, but this improves after breathing. For this reason, we would recommend it be decanted. There is a noticeable sweetness on entry to the palate and a very apparent acidity that gives it freshness and softens its somewhat grainy tannins. Medium body, with a long finish. A burst of fruity notes retro-nasally combines with dark chocolate, toast, tobacco, smoke and balsamic tones derived from the time spent in the barrel. A wine full of flavour and aromas.…

There are many businesses around the globe, but only a few can be said to have soul, transmitting an almost ethereal sensation that will be forever etched in your mind, taking you on a journey that mentally transports you to its genesis. Sometimes time can be imbibed. Perhaps it’s a perception similar to that of one who sails through the sky, against the wind, with the desire to transcend limitations and explore new frontiers. The unique business we are talking about today is Ossian in Nieva, a bastion of excellence with pre-phylloxera vineyards and an ancestral language. To me, it represents one of the most exciting places in the world, one whose value today serves as a liturgy for the new times. Its vines, more than 100 years old, are…

With the arrival of the Restoy Zamora family, owners of the famous Licor 43 brand, 1998 marked the start of a new era for Bodegas Ramón Bilbao. The company began as a growers’ winery, went through a transition period in the eighties, and by the late nineties was making wines with a classical Rioja style. The new owners came with a firm intention of changing course and appointed a young team to head the cellar, with Emilio Restoy as the overall head, and the recruitment, in April 1999, of Rodolfo Bastida, a Riojan winemaker who came with a solid background acquired during a number of years in one of the region’s most innovative wineries. This same year the first Mirto was produced, a preview of the new concepts and working…

Wachau Dürnstein - Austria www.knoll.atP.V.P.: 42,00 100% Gruner Veltliner Loibengerg Loibenberg’s south-facing terraces bathe in the sun all day long and are considered to be the warmest in the Wachau. Despite this, many of the vines are in the shade of the nearby forest and the ravines open to the north allowing in cool breezes, particularly at night. The Grüner Veltliner exhibits a warmer and creamier texture, while the Riesling is rooted in the top layer of the shallow soil over the rock and shows a much firmer and more structured style. The most prestigious wine region in Austria is Wachau, and Smaragd means that the wines in our glass are complex and full-bodied, with great ageing potential. As a general rule, they are not sweet wines, but do stand…

D.O. Ribera de Duero Valbuena de Duero, Valladolid - Spain www.pinea.wine/es The name Pinea comes from the species of tree, Pinus pinea (stone pine), which has an umbrella-like shape and large pine cones, containing large pine nuts, that appear to be perched on the branches. The tree can grow up to thirty metres tall, and its bark is divided into large thick plates that are reddish in color. According to ArbolApp, Pinus pinea can thrive in the interior of the Iberian peninsula as long as the soil is loose and sandy and the climate is not too harsh. The tree is indissociable from the Mediterranean landscapes that evoke ancient Rome, its landscapes, its gardens, and its forums. It normally grows in forests with dense canopies, but in this case, the…

Consumers generally associate the Marqués de Riscal brand/winery with wines from the Rioja D.O.Ca. In fact, Marqués de Riscal not only makes wines in the well-known Rioja D.O., but also produces “Castile and León Regional Wine” and wines from the Rueda D.O. In this article, we are going to take a look at its winery in Rueda. Back in the early ‘70s (1972), Marqués de Riscal decided to take a punt on the Rueda as a region with the potential to produce high-quality white wines. At the time, the Rueda D.O. did not exist, but due to the upward evolution in the quality of the wines made by Marqués de Riscal using the local native variety, Verdejo, many wineries in the area copied the initiative and started to produce similar…

JOAN ARBOIX ROURA Mallorca, 1981 @Joanet112 Professional sommelier since 2006, he began his career as a sommelier at the Moo restaurant (1* Michelin) in Barcelona. He has also worked for the Ritz Carlton in Spain and Chile as a sommelier and maître d’. He currently works at the Andreu Genestra (1* Michelin) restaurant in Mallorca. Balearic Islands Sommelier Champion 2008. Sumiller profesional desde el año 2006. Trabajó como sumiller en el restaurante MOO de Barcelona (1*Michelin). Ha trabajado para Ritz Carlton en España y Chile como Sumiller y Jefe de Sala. Actualmente en el restaurante Andreu Genestra (1*Michelin) en Mallorca. Campeón de Sommeliers de les Illes Balears en 2008. ANNA VICENS Girona, 1973 @annavicens Professional sommelier since 1997, she is currently President of the Catalan Association of Sommeliers, a member…

AALTO 2016 · BODEGAS AALTO D.O. Ribera de Duero / Quintanilla de Arriba, Valladolid - Spain / www.aalto.es P.V.P.: 29,10€ / 100% Tinto Fino (Tempranillo) Bottled in July 2018 after 17 months’ ageing in French oak barrels, it is still a bit too young to be enjoyed at its best. The quest for quality and the concentration of the fruit in the grapes destined for Aalto make this a wine that needs time in the bottle. Its Tinto Fino, which has an average age of 60 years, comes from different villages. It displays a very intense, very dark, crimson red hue. On the nose, the fruit goes slightly unnoticed due to the power of the oak that needs to rest and integrate. And on the palate, it is powerful, with notes…

D.O.Ca. Rioja / San Vicente de la Sonsierra, La Rioja - Spain www.bodegacarlosmoro.com / P.V.P.: 70,00 / 100% Tempranillo Viña Garugele is the new Rioja from Carlos Moro, founder of Bodega Matarromera, Bodega Renacimiento and Bodega Carlos Moro in the DO Ribera del Duero, Bodega Valdelosfrailes in the DO Cigales, Emina in the DO Rueda and Bodega Cyan in the DO Toro. Carlos Moro currently owns more than 20 hectares of vineyards in San Vicente de la Sonsierra and Labastida – a business he set up in 2014. Garugele is the name of the plot planted in San Vicente de la Sonsierra (Rioja Alta) from which they source the Tempranillo grapes to create this premium wine. A plot of under 2 hectares, this bush-trained vineyard was planted in the 1920s. This…