Category Archive

Before the hullabaloo of 2025 begins, let me recommend a few good wines to make sure you do not feel tempted to follow the Dry January crowd. The first one is Gotas de Mar, a magnificent Godello that surprised us when we tried it at home (17 euros). We did not expect to enjoy so much a white from Ribeiro, but there is more than meets the eye: a perfect balance of fruit and minerals, with a long finish like all Galician farewells.

The second wine is De Paula, a new red from Manchuela, Albacete, made with Monastrell grapes (8 euros). An amazing discovery, beautifully made, a wine that reconnected me with lazy summer days in the Mediterranean.

My third recommendation is an old friend, Tobia cuvee, from Cuzcurrita del Rio, Rioja (8 euros). A humble red that combines tempranillo and graciano grapes from different plots with wonderful results. It made me thought of the journey through life, where one mingles together experiences, ambitions, desires and setbacks, with the hope of somehow finding balance, fulfillment and wisdom. The Japanese poet Katsushika Hokusai captured well the essence of this human struggle in a beautiful haiku:

I write, erase, rewrite

Erase again, and then

A poppy blooms.

How to lose speed, this is what summer teaches me every time I submerge myself in the lazy days of August. When the season is over, I try to live up the rest of the year to the ideal of more slow walking and fewer days moving at the speed of sound.

Some very good lunches have helped me in this transition away from a very busy month of July. In Madrid, I went a couple of times to El Brutalista for a wonderful discovery of creative and honest dishes, from sardines and mussels to fried quail. Pablo López, who is not only a great cook but has an eye for particular wines, suggested a Ribera del Duero, “Los Cantos” 2021, from Finca Torremilanos (14 euros). This is wine that seduces you with its freshness and great balance, made with Tempranillo and a touch of Merlot grapes. Another day, we tried Palo Blanco, a fantastic white by Envinate in Tenerife, Canary Islands (29,80 euros). Made with old listan grapes, with a low alcohol graduation (11.5º), this wine is perfect for a long conversation over a great meal.

In Coruña, I tried another new-new restaurant, Pedra Furada, next to the windy Riazor beach, where they serve the perfect combination of Galician local produce interpreted every day by Victor Fernández. I drank a Gómez Cruzado crianza 2020 (10,50 euros), a classic red Rioja from Haro that connects that past with the future, just like many young Galician chefs do.

Summer is not over and I look forward to new slow-moving adventures in Mallorca. We shall not cease from exploration.

This weekend we have tried a new Rioja made with Maturana grapes, Marqués de Reinosa 2020. It was a gift of Ignacio Castillo, a dear old friend who has the wonderful habit of sharing with me his wine discoveries.

Maturana is known as the Cabernet of Rioja, a distant cousin from this well-known grape. Its production is small and it is usually added to Riojas made with tempranillo. In the last years, a few vignerons in the region have dared to create 100% Maturana wines, often with great success.

Marqués de Reinosa is a return to a more simple and better world, homeward bound. It has a frank taste that charms you: fruit, spices and balsamic notes in a perfect combination. With a beautiful intense dark red color, it sells for 18 euros. As we tasted at a family dinner before leaving for different Easter trips, I thought about the essence of wine, an ancient miracle that smooths the path for good conversation and friendship.

Before the year 2023 is over, I would like recommend some wines I have tried in the past months. Some weeks ago I had dinner in Haramboure, the new restaurant run by Patxi Zumárraga and Patricia Haramboure. You won’t find a better place to enjoy Basque cuisine in Madrid, cool and sophisticated in its simplicity. Patxi is from Durango, so we always hit it off talking about friends and hangouts from my nearby village, Motrico. We ordered a bottle of Baigorri La Canoca 2021 (18 euros), a great young Rioja, full of stories, just like Patxi. This is a limited edition, made with grapes grown at a higher altitude (600 meters) than the rest of Baigorri’s vineyards.

Another great encounter was with Dominio de Valdepusa Tempus Fugit 2014, a special version of the classic Valdepusa Cabernet & Petit Verdot coupage (around 25 euros). Some dear friends offered us two bottles they had saved ten years ago. As I tasted the first one, I felt grateful. time flies but we can also create moments when we stop the clock and enjoy wine and friendship.

Finally, I have found in my summer notes high praise for Finca Biniagual Verán Blanc 2019 (22 euros) , from the Binissalem region in Majorca. This is a white made in the central plains of the island with Prensal and Chardonnay grapes and surprised me. Tasting it was like like finding a lush tropical garden in the middle of a busy city. 

Happy New Wines in 2024!

One of the best birthday gifts I have received this year is a book by G. C. Lichtenberg, the German scientist and humanist who lived in the second half of the XVIIIth century and wrote some insightful aforisms about life.

In one of them, he points out that you can fight the passage of time by trying to prolongue your years or by slow walking: “go out there and collect plants, walk in zig zag and in a flat terrain, if nobody is watching you, dare to do a somersault”. I have decided to put slow walking into practice. My new year resolution includes writing more often about wine.

I had wanted to praise Zeta Pegaso viñas viejas de Pegaso 2021 (16,50 euros) for some time now. You cannot miss this Grenache wine created by Telmo Rodríguez, king of Spanish vignerons, in the mountains of Gredos. Zeta Pegaso is kind, profound and joyful , just like one would want to be remembered one day.

Another great recent discovery is Tanuki Bob (16,80 euros), a joint project between the revered wine makers of 4 Kilos Vinícola in Majorca and Amadip Esment, an NGO that works with intellectually disabled persons and their families.

Tanuki is a Japanese racoon dog, a name that apparently has very good connotations, prosperity and luck. Tanuki Bob is made with Manto Negro and a bit of Syrah and reminds you of a perfect village wine in Burgundy, with a similar freshness and lively taste.

Finally, at a summer celebration in Barcelona I found a marvelous red, Les Brugeres Negre 2001 (20,80 euros), by La Conreria d’ Scala Dei, a small wine company in Priorat.

This is a truly Mediterranean creature, made with Garnache and Syrah, a well balanced combination of red fruits, spices and herbs. A wine to toast to all the good things that every summer brings and to start slow walking in the autumn.

“I read, much of the night, and I go South in the winter”, wrote T.S. Eliot. This is exactly my mood as I approach the last month of the year. But before I disappear for a couple of weeks, some of you have asked me to pick a few wines to celebrate Christmas. I write at the pleasure of my readers, so here is my list, with my best wishes for the season:

I have recently discovered Xión Cuveé 2019, a Rias Baixas red with an amazing personality: very acid, but so well made that you mostly notice how fresh and light it is (12 degrees of alcohol). It combines Pedral, Souson and Espadeiro local grapes, a winning coupage, and I recommend it as the perfect tapas wine (14 euros).

I have also tried Merus 4, a very noteworty Rioja, at Centro Riojano de Madrid. This red is a creation of the Meruelo Family in Elvillar de Alava (36 euros). Even though it is marketed as a “signature wine”, its best features are its frankness and depth, like an anonymous Rioja winegrower.

In my weeks teaching in London this Fall, I was invited to a dinner by a dear friend and she welcomed us by serving Nora da Neve, the ultimate Albariño. This is a white from As Neves, in the very South of Galicia, a countryside shaped by the magical Miño river. Fermented in oak barrels, Nora speaks of ocean life, apples and peaches and wild jasmine. I had it with Moroccan food, and I can’t wait to tried again, this time with seafood.

Finally, I would like to share with you a great find, Inurrieta Cuatrocientos Crianza 2018, the house wine of the restaurant La Manduca de Azagra in Madrid. I have always felt that wines from Navarra were meant to make a come back, thanks to technology and the freedom to experiment. Inurrieta Cuatrocientos is the right coupage of cabernet, garnache, graciano, syrah and merlot (8 euros). This not-so-modest wine is the living proof that the long awaited miracle is happening, just like the return of Christmas every year.

This Fall has been a time of mourning -pack up the moon and dismantle the sun- but also of fond memories of her. After my father passed away, she asked me periodically to buy red wine for her house. She only drank a modest white, but wanted to be sure that her guests would be welcomed with a good Rioja or Ribera. I was purveyor to my mother, a title that I now cherish, while I miss her dearly.

In my latest explorations of the Peninsula, I have encountered several wines worthy of your attention. I spent a day in the blessed region of El Empordanet, invited to a wine tasting. Two of them really stood out, Verd Albera 2021 and Camins de l’Albera 2020.

The first one is a white from the from the Celler Martí Fabra vignerons that seduces you with a perfect ensemble of muscat, chardonnay and white garnache grapes. It reminds you of ripe fruit and lemons. This is a cosmopolitan white, uncomplicated and cheerful. It has an amazing price of 8 euros.

The second one, Massís de l’Albera Camins de l’Albera 2020, is a serious red made from grenache at Celler Massis De L’albera. It is dark and profound, with a very long finish (25 euros).

In a previous trip to Valencia with my son I discovered Bilogia, a local ecological red created by the 13th generation of vignerons at Casa Los Frailes. I confess I chose this wine because it comes from a village called Fontanars dels Alforins (my mother was known as Pili Fontanar all of her life). My sentimental inclination yielded very good results. This a perfect coupage of monastrell and shiraz grapes, very well made and with a great finish where all the wonderful memories of shiraz stay with you (9 euros).

Gerald Manley Hopkins wrote: “Nothing is so beautiful as Spring / when weeds, in wheels, shoot long and lovely and lush”… I have read this poem in my first day of holidays in La Coruña. Driving this morning from Madrid I floated in the green and yellow countryside, eager to arrive to Galicia, the Eden garden by the sea. But Hopkins verses can also connect us with more mundane and hedonistic matters: “What is all this juice and all this joy?” he wrote. Which takes me to my notes about two Spring wines -wines that I have tasted in the last weeks and are wondrous examples of weeds in wheels.

Cosme Palacio 1894 Tinto 2014 is the eldest son of a revered Rioja saga from Laguardia. I have seldom encountered a red so beautifully made: it is smooth, well-rounded and with a very long finish (54 euros). This is a stellar wine that wants to speak to the rest of the family about the future, instead of looking back to its glorious past.

My second Spring wine is Viñas del lago 2018, another great discovery (14,50 euros). It was conceived as a “village wine”, a homage to the Tubilla del Lago community by the Marta Maté winery. These young vignerons from the Burgos moorland have launched one of the most innovative projects in Ribera del Duero. Viñas is a not-so-simple wine, red but almost violet, ready to fill your senses with well chosen hints of spices and flowers.

Alvaro Cunqueiro, my favorite Galician author, wrote that Spring was an invention of troubadours, but he also was willing to give credit for coming up with the idea to a blackbird singing in a nearby grapevine. I wonder if he would consider adding a few wine blogers to his list.

I have been very fortunate to spend this week in Fontainebleau, teaching again my course on Power. It is wonderful to be back on the road, in spite of the uncertainties and obstacles of the pandemic. Some friends who indulge in eccentric tastes and follow this blog have insisted that before Christmas I should suggest some wines for the season. Today I was able to find a bit of time between classes and here is my list:

Valenciso blanco is the best white I have tasted in 2021. It is made with Viura grapes and a bit of white Garnache by two of my favorite vignerons, Luis Valentín and Carmen Enciso, from Bodegas Valenciso in Rioja Alta. Everything they do is outstanding, but this limited edition of a very different white has seduced me. It has a smooth, velvety taste and a long finish (18,50 euros).

Yotuel Selección 2016 is a recent discovery I made in Angelita, the Madrid restaurant where I always find wine treasures. This red from Ribera is incredibly well priced (17 euros). The name does not anticipate how much dignified grace and hidden beauty it has. It is a creature of Bienvenido Gallego Zapatero, from Anguix, Burgos, not far away from the Douro river.

I drank for the first time Alprendre 2020 in Alabaster, the restaurant in town with the most amazing selection of Galician wines. Alpendre means “country shack” and reflects well the spirit of the Ribera Sacra, unpretentious, hard-working and totally in love with their corner of paradise. This red is made by the Ronsel do Sil winery with merenzao grapes, somewhat similar to the trousseau variety in Borgogne. It reminds you of a very complex pinot noir and the price (28 euros) reflects its amazing quality. When I tried, I noticed a hint of gooseberries, but perhaps I did because I love the short-story with that title by Anton Chekhov, a favorite Aspen Institute reading.

Pegaso Arrebatacapas 2020 was introduced to me by Telmo Rodríguez himself at a friend’s dinner. Telmo is a hero for wine lovers and he never fails to surprise us. He and his teammates have created extraordinary wines all over Spain, reconnecting wine and roots, with an amazing capacity to innovate by reformulating the best traditions. The Pegaso project started when they decided to recuperate an old vineyard of Granacha grapes that had not been properly cared for in the stunning slate hills of the Gredos mountain range, near Cebreros. Since 2015 they have bottled Arrebatacapas, a red wine for a very special occasion like Christmas. It sells at 54 euros.

Last but not least, I would like to recommend Guímaro Camiño Real 2019 (16,90 euros). This is a red wine made with Mencia and other local grapes in the Ribera Sacra by the family winery of Pedro Rodriguez Pérez. When you taste it, so fruity and mineral, you can close your eyes and go back to sailing in the Sil River, protected by the mountains and the quasi-vertical vineyards. María my wife likes it and therefore I consider it a Stratocaster wine, a category I invented to describe her favorite wines (always related to music, but that is another story, https://iberians.blog/2010/09/24/stratocaster-wines)

The Tramuntana mountains is one of the best spots on earth to unwind and spend quiet days (or years). Robert Graves, who moved permanently to the nearby village of Deia, wrote in a letter to Virginia Woolf, “this is Paradise… if you can stand it”. I think he was just being funny. The combination of green, orange and yellow colours from the hills and blue and silver from the sea is breathtaking. I have been lucky to spend here part of the summer since I was born. This season I found a wondrous wine from Tramuntana while I visited dear friends at the other side of the island, in the Colonia de Sant Pere. The vignerons of Son Vich de Superna, from Puigpunyent, have created a white wine made with Viognier grapes, under the name “Viognier 2020” (16 euros), a match made in heaven. It has all the splendour of his elder cousins in the Rhône: dense, long and fruity, plus a Majorcan touch of salt. This is a grape that is very difficult to grow and figure out. Son Vich of Tramuntana has been able to do it.