Merry Christmas wines

December 8, 2021 in Uncategorized | by | Leave a comment

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)

A match made in heaven

August 14, 2021 in Uncategorized | by | Leave a comment

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.

Fly me to the moon

July 1, 2021 in Uncategorized | by | Leave a comment

F. D. Reeve wrote “the full moon this May, after our last terrible winter, washes the lost Earth”. We have been indeed in full moon mood lately, as we celebrate the arrival of a long-awaited summer and vaccinations to fend off the pandemic.

We found a wine to celebrate and symbolize our desire to fly again and explore the world. It was a gift from Gonzalo Entrecanales, who dreams big and understand wine as an inter-generational endeavor of endless innovation. He introduced us to one of the latest inventions of his company, “El Aeronauta 2018”, a lees-aged Godello that we have drank these weeks at home.

The name of this white wine comes from a veteran pilot who started the venture in the blessed region of Valdeorras. The project has evolved greatly thanks to Almudena Alberca, a passionate winemaker, who is fully in contact with Nature and is crazy about flowers and herbs. There is no other white like it in Spain: it has an expressive and intense gliceric flavour and a surprising long finish, like an undying sunset when you travel westward. At a price of 16 euros, you won’t find a better companion to fly to the moon this summer.

No surrender

February 4, 2021 in Rioja, Valdeorras | by | Leave a comment

Things have not been easy in the past months, but the grim moments of the pandemic have led to other ocassions where we feel grateful for all the good things in life and make a mental note in capital letters of “no surrender”.

In the early days of January we spent a couple of days in Muxía, the new-new Parador in one of the most beautiful shores of Galicia. We drove to Finisterre cape and looked at the infinite sea blessed by the winter sun. Another happy encounter was with Lagar do Cigur (7,50 euros), a red wine from Adegas Melillas in Valdeorras that took us by suprise during an aperitif. Made with Mencia, Alicante and Merenzao, this unpretentious wine reminds you of a warm embrace that leads to hours of laughter and shared joy.

Back in Madrid, some dear friends suprised us with a secret dinner in a speakeasy bar. I declined the cocktails that were served with the different dishes, much to my advantage. The sommelier then introduced me to Panoramico 2016 (15,90 euros), a Rioja red wine that you will never forget. It comes from vineyards in two very different sides of the Iregua river. The combination of Mediterranean and Atlantic minerals and herbs is amazing. It is a tribute to fun mixes and good decisions to cross the line.

We lack not songs

September 23, 2020 in Mallorca, Ribera del Duero | by | Leave a comment

We lack not songs, wrote William Blake in his poem “To Summer”. Just like him, these last months I have been able to rediscover Nature, friendship and conversation, all of them much needed in covid-19 times. I have also encountered some new wines along the way that I would like to recommend.

In July I had dinner in Madrid at Berlanga, the best place in the city to enjoy rice. This great restaurant is a creation of José Luis Berlanga, an artist like his father, chef and movie director. We tried a very pale rosé called Clos de Lôm, from Valencia, a wine made with the Monastrell grape of great volume. It was an invitation to enjoy summer: red fruits, citric notes and a long finish (12 euros). Then José Luis opened for us a bottle of La Calva Malacabeza 2018, perhaps the best Ribera del Duero wine I have tasted this year, a wine of light red colour and very subtle combination of fruit and time.

A few weeks later in Majorca, we discovered a new red wine, OM, from Oliver Moragues wineries (15 euros), a coupage of two local grapes with Syrah and Cabernet sauvignon, perfect to enjoy in the garden with friends. In those magical days we also tried another island wine, this one from the Canaries, El Lance, Suertes del Marqués (14 euros) a red full of music and songs.

Chez nous

May 15, 2020 in Rioja, Txakoli | by | Leave a comment

Let’s not describe these weeks with the harsh words of confinement or lock-down. We are chez nous, as the French would say, at home with much loved family members while keeping in touch with many friends. We are trying to help save lives and do our civic duty in the coronavirus crisis. In this journey, we have tried two new wines that deserve to make it into this blog as House favorites.

The first one is Viña Pomal Terruño Centenario Reserva 2014, a special selection of the classic Rioja, to celebrate the centennial of these vignerons (I will stop using French words tout suite).This wine transports you to the hills and valleys of Rioja, with beautiful flavors of violets and fruits, a quintaessential present for those of us who love to walk there in the spring (13 euros).

Beltza is an odd red, since typically Txakoli wines are white. This one is a more subtle and sophisticated member of the family, that can make conversation last longer than a pintxos appetizer. “Beltza” in Basque means black, a good way to highlight its elegance. It comes from the coastal village of Baquio, in Biscay, a well known surf destination surrounded by mountains and vineyards (12 euros). We look forward to a trip soon to this wonderful beach!

A Toast to my Dad

January 6, 2020 in Bierzo, Douro, Rias Baixas, Rioja | by | Leave a comment

My father always enjoyed wine. I don’t remember him ever saying a negative thing about the glass he was drinking. Often, he praised it, with his fun-loving generosity. He made wine a fundamental part of the good things in life, together with family, friendship, hunting and good conversations. When I started appreciating reds and whites and ventured into writing this blog, at first he did not take me seriously. I was his strict son, the bookworm type, how could I now become the hedonist in the cellar? Only then I realized how much he really knew about wine, without ever showing off. For a long while, I could not find a red that he had not tried before. When Santiago my son was born, we went for lunch. I was eager to order Mauro and get his feedback, but of course he had already tried some years ago. Only recently, with the wine revolution at its peak in Spain, he accepted that they were some yet to be discovered.

This Christmas season I have missed him so much. I have gone back to some long-time friends to toast to him: Viña Ardanza Reserva 2010, Valenciso Reserva 2012, Pagos de Valdoneje Viñas Viejas 2015, Ramón Bilbao Edición Limitada 2016. We have also drank Terras Gauda, the Albariño served at my wedding. I remember well that he enjoyed it so much with octopus (oh, what a night!). These first days of January I have escaped with María to Porto. We had dinner overlooking the Douro in the Graham wineries and tried one of their reds, Quinta do Ataide 2016 (circa 14 euros), a wine full of dark berries and mistery. A wonderful ocassion to toast to my dad in the New Year.

Summer is Delight

August 15, 2019 in Mallorca, Rioja | by | Leave a comment

“Summer is Delight”, wrote Emily Dickinson. I cannot agree more with her. This is the time when life begins over (according to F. Scott Fitzgerald), when everything feels new and all makes sense. I am lucky to spend this season, once again, between Galicia and Mallorca, and to enjoy Nature every day, in its Atlantic and Mediterranean splendours. From the Sil river to the valleys of the Ulloa, from the bay of Alcudia to the mythical mountains of Sierra Tramuntana, two wines stand out these summer days.

The first one is Twenty Twelve, a Majorcan wine from the Es Fangar winery, presented in a bottle typically used for a gin or another strong liquor. It is made with the Muscat grape in Felanitx, with a touch of Prensal and Viognier grapes. It has a very smooth and lasting taste, with hints of lemon and a beautiful yellow and green colour (13 euros).

The second one is a classic Rioja, Martínez-Lacuesta Crianza 2015, in Magnum format (29 euros). This is an unpretentious and profound red that reconnects you with a time when wines were true to the terroir and did not go over their head to earn points to obtain global market recognition. Nevertheless, this old family winery has updated its wine making technique and offers amazing quality at very competitive prices.

Alión: into the rose-garden

February 26, 2019 in Ribera del Duero, Uncategorized | by | Leave a comment

I have the fortune that some of my friends compete among themselves to be the best hosts in Madrid. They mix wine, fun and friendship in wondrous ways. Some days ago, we were summoned to a dinner in a beautiful home where we drank Alión, the revered wine from Ribera del Duero (the 2015 Magnum bottles had just been put on the market). We started them like an skater carefully steps into a frozen lake, little by little, until she knows the new ice is firm. Twenty minutes later she can do flips, jumps and combinations. As the conversation became lighter and fast paced, each of us was able to predict with equal passion and certainty the results of the upcoming general election in Spain. More importantly, our highly divergent views did not matter, because we were all united in reverence of both Alión and our hosts. No other Ribera mixes elegance, depth and equilibrium in a similar way. María my wife includes Alión in the category of Stratocaster wines, her own heaven for the very best wines: https://iberians.wordpress.com/2010/09/24/stratocaster-wines

Tender is the night

December 14, 2018 in Rioja, Uncategorized | by | 2 comments

“Je vous écoute”, just like Emmanuel Macron keeps saying these days. I have received countless requests and messages from friends asking me to write again in this blog. As we approach the end of December with its many special nights and festivities, the pressure is growing. Could you recommend the perfect wine to celebrate many good things? My friends are like that. I always listen to you -and I never pretend that I listen.

Thanks my summer diaries, I can tell you right away about two extraordinary wines.

(Summer nights are perfect to try new things. You don’t look at your watch and next day you can wake up late and say “I have nothing to do and all day to do it”. Thank you Irwin for teaching me this important truth).

The first wine is Abadia de Retuerta Le Domaine, made with Sauvignon Blanc grapes and a bit of verdejo by the mavericks of Abadía Retuerta in Sarón del Duero (35 euros). It is the best white I have encountered in decades, strong and complex, with a touch of pineaple and the colour of old gold.

The second wine is Lindes de Remelluri 2011 (12 euros) from the old monastery grounds of Toloño in Rioja. A very soft, silky & smooth red, incredibly well priced.

More recently, my friend Benjamin -when it comes to understanding life and food, he is the one- has invited me to discover two treasures. The first one is Dominio del Pidio 2016 (50 euros), a very special white created by Oscar Aragón in Quintana del Pidio, Burgos, with the little known Albillo grape. This is an amazing Atlantic wine, full of dreams.

The other great introduction has been to Galia 2016 Villages (30 euros), a garage red invented by Jerome Bougnaud, well know for his splendid work in many projects in Spain, like this one with the Regajal winery. Galia is a red wine of striking personality. It is made with garnacha and tempranillo grapes that come from small and very selected parcels along the banks of the Duero river. I was surprised by this wonderful invention, so attractive that it deserves to become in no time a revered tradition.

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