Table of contents for July-September 2020 in Selectus Wines

UNCERTAINTY… The last few months have been a very trying time for us all and, at the time of writing, the Covid-19 pandemic has already had significant repercussions within the wine industry. It continues to do so today and will continue to do so in the future…I don’t wish to be pessimistic, but I do want to provide an overview of the current situation and then offer some hope for the future. Numerous wine-related shows and events are held over the first 4-5 months of each year. This year only a few of them took place. Among the most important of these that we were able to attend were BWW (Barcelona Wine Week) and Vinisud/Vinexpo (in Paris). These two events took place at the start of the Covid-19 outbreak and…

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 Rest. L´Escaleta. Cocentaina ASTURIAS AC Hotel Forum Oviedo. Oviedo Restaurant Casa Marcial. Arriondas Restaurant La Salgar. Gijón Restaurant Auga. Gijón BARCELONA Hotel Mercer Hotel Le Méridien Restaurant Rías de Galicia Restaurant Hofmann Monvínic Restaurant Moments Santa Eulalia Restaurant Xerta 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…

This varietal has been around since the 11th century and the reign of Alfonso VI. When someone says “Verdejo”, you immediately think of the Duero basin and automatically imagine lovely tropical and stone fruit aromas against a slightly vegetal backdrop. Freshness is one of the most important qualities of this type of wine, which is usually produced as a single-varietal for early-drinking. Although some say that this “single-varietal” might often come with a bit of Sauvignon Blanc, the other white wine from the Rueda area. The vines grow between 700 and 800 metres’ altitude on rocky, gravelly terrain, usually containing pebbles or river stones. It is able to withstand long, cold winters and short, very hot summers, when the roots dig down deep in search of refreshment and minerality, one…

ARINTO DOS AÇORES 2017 · ANTÓNIO MAÇANITA D.O. Pico, Açores / Madalena - Pico - Portugal / www.azoreswinecompany.com / P.V.P.: 27,00€ / 12,5º / 100% Arinto dos Açores The origin of the white Arinto dos Açores is unknown, but this varietal is very prevalent on the islands of the Azores. Its vineyards are planted on black volcanic rocks on the Island of Pico, situated out in the open sea, from which it draws its clean, distinctive and honest salinity. This grape variety develops a high acidity and low potential alcoholic content and must be protected from the strong Atlantic wind. Boasting pure aromas and citric notes of grapefruit, this is a well-honed, very fresh and persistent wine. De origen desconocido, pero con una gran importancia en las islas de las Azores,…

AA MALLER 2016 · ALTA ALELLA D.O. Cava / Alella, Barcelona - Spain / www.altaalella.wine / P.V.P.: 17,50€ / 100% Macabeo / 12º The Celler de les Aus is about transparency, purity and commitment. Transparency because of its meticulous work, carried out with as little intervention as possible and without artifice; purity because of how the wines express themselves; and commitment because it continues to pursue quality and respect nature. Maller 2016 is a Macabeo boasting floral and citrus overtones and a creamy mouthfeel due to its ageing on the lees. You can only achieve this varietal expression when you have good grapes; time will prove us right in everything else. Hablar del Celler de les Aus es referirnos a la transparencia, a la pureza y al compromiso. La transparencia por su…

In 1870, brothers Miguel and Jaime Torres Vendrell founded the company that is still going strong today. The original name was Casa Torres y Compañía, cosechero y exportadora de vino, meaning “Casa Torres and Co., wine harvesters and exporters” – an accurate prediction of what the company would become. However, documents dating back to 1559 confirm the founders’ ancestors had already been winegrowers for some time. The Torres brothers went from small growers in the Penedés region to wine traders. Jaime had made his fortune in Cuba, and Miguel was a winegrower. Together, they made wine exports the focus of their business and quickly began to expand. The second generation, represented by Juan Torres Casals, son of Miguel Torres Vendrell, started distilling wines to make brandies. The baton then passed…

It is no coincidence that Raventós Codorníu - Spain’s oldest winery and the house that first created Cava - is paying homage to this sparkling wine with the creation of Ars Collecta Codorníu. A unique collection of Cavas born of experience and exhaustive knowledge of the vineyards. These new masterpieces are unique, due to their exclusive blends and the origin of the grapes used to make them. It took more than a decade to carry out a rigourous classification of the vineyards, identiying vines with the most potential to supply these limited edition wines. As such, the grapes selected for the collection come from three estates, located in different climatic zones, whch give the Cavas unique characteristics: La Fideuera, in Penedés (Xarel·lo); Tros Nou, in Conca de Barberá (Pinot Noir)…

This is most probably the reason why “crafters of wine” as experienced as the Gramonas have embraced the precepts of biodynamics so wholeheartedly, after a journey of more than a century and a half masterfully working the vineyards in the traditional manner. If the quality of Gramona’s range of sparkling wines - today part of the prestigious Corpinnat club - and of their various still wines is not enough to convince the sceptics (of which there always many), below are some of the initiatives introduced by the “Celler”, founded in Sant Sadurní d’Anoia in 1881 and today managed by cousins Jaume and Xavier Gramona. THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE FIFTH GENERATION To Jaume and Xavier, currently at the helm of the business, it is clear that their great contribution to Gramona’s…

LA ZARCITA 2017 · PALACIO QUEMADO (ALVEAR) D.O. Vino de la Tierra de Extremadura / Almendralejo, Cáceres - Spain / www. palacioquemado.com / P.V.P.: 12,00€ / Ensamblaje diversas variedades / 13,5º The only winery in Extremadura to be part of the ‘Grandes Pagos de España’ since it broke onto the scene with a new philosophy, courtesy of the team at Envínate, in 2010. It reflects a quest for terroir expression through the region’s varietals and is sustainably-produced with the minimum of intervention. This estate wine represents the best of the Alentejo Extremadura, due to its situation on the Portuguese border. This is a mature, spicy, somewhat floral, balsamic and very persistent red wine. La única bodega de Extremadura dentro de los Grandes Pagos de España, desde que en 2010 irrumpió con…

The first Barcelona Wine Week (BWW) was very well received by the wine trade. The event attracted more than 550 exhibitors, 40 Spanish Designations of Origin (D.O.s) and nearly 15,600 visitors. Around 3,200 business meetings and 50 planned activities were held and over 130,000 glasses of wine were tasted. These are very respectable figures for the first edition of what was a brave new venture for the event organisers. Taking the wine section out of Alimentaria to give it its own dedicated event was a major risk, and even more so given the short 9-month time span in which to prepare for it. However, the exhibiting wineries and wine bodies, along with their wine trade visitors, felt that the gamble paid off. As with all events at the start of…

In the late ’80s, when Ribera del Duero and Rioja were both vying to become the top red wine in the collective imaginations of the majority of Spanish consumers, their various wines flooded the country’s wine lists, from simple wines to big names. There will always be some dissention among the public, with some people preferring one over the other, but many became diehard Ribera fans during that era. Ribero del Duero made a splash with its rounder, fresher, more concentrated red wines often aged in new oak, resulting in seductive aromas and creaminess on the palate. This coincided with the establishment of wineries that we still think of as “modern classics” because of the impact they made on the high-quality wine market. At the time, they offered consumers a…

The history of Familia Torres goes back five generations. Founded in Vilafranca del Penedès 150 years ago, the Torres family winery is now considered the “Most Admired Wine Brand in Europe” by Drinks International. Each generation has contributed in some way to developing the business, taking their own innovative approaches depending on the needs of the winery at the time. Cinco generaciones contemplan la historia de Familia Torres, la bodega familiar fundada en Vilafranca del Penedès hace 150 años considerada hoy la marca de vino más admirada de Europa según Drinks International. Todas ellas han contribuido, de una u otra forma, al desarrollo del negocio, innovando a su manera y en función de las necesidades que tenía la bodega en cada momento.…

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’. Sommelier and Director of beverages in the Santi Taura Group. 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, Sumiller y Director de bebidas en el Grupo Santi Taura Campeón de Sommeliers de les Illes Balears en 2008. Professional sommelier since 1997, she is currently President of the Catalan Association of Sommeliers, a member of the Empordà D.O.’s tasting panel, and works as a sommelier…

VORS SIBARITA · OSBORNE D.O. Sherry-Jerez-Xerès / Puerto de Santa María, Cádiz - Spain / www.osborne.es / P.V.P.: 80,00€ / 100% Palomino Fino / 20º This Oloroso from the “Very Old Rare Sherries” collection comes from the Pago de Macharnudo and is a tribute to the oldest soleras in the region. With an average of 30 years’ ageing in soleras and criaderas, only 106 butts contain this jewel of a sherry boasting toasted and dried fruit and nut aromas, an exuberant and attractive palate and a never-ending finish. A nice bit of offal or oxtail or some cured cheeses will be its perfect partners and make for an unforgettable dining experience. Del Pago de Macharnudo procede la uva palomino de este oloroso de la colección Very Old Rare Sherries, un homenaje…

The Roussillon region is the 15th biggest French wine region, accounting for 2% of the total wine production in France. It mainly produces two types of wine: still dry wines and sweet “Vins Doux Naturels”, the latter accounting for 80% of the production of this type in France. Historically, this region, bordering the Pyrenees and the Mediterranean Sea, had a reputation for producing large volumes of wine and had been in gradual decline since the 1960s. Many vineyards had been abandoned because they were not economically viable to work, especially those located in the most inaccessible areas where yields were very low, which ramped up the cost of production. In support of the preceding statement, it should be noted that, since the end of the Second World War, when the…