Wine with Leslie: Try these well-priced Spanish wines from lesser known regions
Spanish Food and Wine Week finishes this weekend but many retailers will be continuing their offers on Spanish wines into next week. Among those retailers is a new outlet called The Allotment wine company — theallotment.ie — who have 15% reduction on all Spanish wines and delivery is free for orders of more than 12 bottles. Christopher Gifford of The Allotment was formerly the wine buyer in Donnybrook Fair and is a very safe pair of hands if you need advice. The Allotment has several wines that have appeared on this page from producers as diverse as Lyrarakis in Crete to Yves Cuilleron in the Rhône.
We all love an Irish connection to a wine and it is about time I mentioned Tindal Wine Merchant’s Spanish project 'Oludeo' which is spearheaded by winemaker Simon Tyrrell whose ‘Deux Cols’ and ‘Atelier des Sources’ wines I have mentioned in the past (Bradleys, 1601, Searsons). Thankfully these Spanish regions have later harvests so Simon doesn’t need to bi-locate.
This year will be Simon’s 9th vintage and he currently has two wines in the Oludeo range: one from Yecla in Eastern Spain just inland from Alicante and one from the Sierra de Gredos foothills in Central Spain. These are both old wine regions that are relatively unknown but have massive potential to make wines with both fruit and elegance — and at a much lower cost than you would expect from a better-known region such as Rioja or Priorat.
The warm days in the mountain plains of Central Spain can give you ripe fruits but also freshness thanks to the cool nights experienced at between 700m and 1000m above sea level. Simon’s philosophy is to be as sympathetic as possible, to express the place but also not smother the grapes with over-extraction or oak — fruit and freshness are Simon’s touchstones and the wines are worth seeking out.
Monastrell (aka Mourvèdre) is native to Yecla and is a late-ripening grape that can cope with drought and climate change (expect to see more of it from France as the climate warms). In the Sierra de Gredos it is old vine Garnacha on stubby gnarly wide-spaced vines — as little as 1,000 vines per hectare — you can expect 10 times that density in Champagne or Burgundy.
Recommendations are once again all from Spain and were tasted (and drunk) just as the weather turned Autumnal: all worked particularly well in the cool bright days of late September.
Stockists: TheAllotment.ie, L’Attitude 51, Bradleys, World Wide Wines, Greenman Wines, Le Caveau lecaveau.ie Fallon & Byrne, Blackrock Cellar.
This is an old favourite and deserves to be mentioned again. Made with organic Tempranillo, minimal interference and no added sulphur so packed with primary fruit flavours and works well served a little cool. Gran Cerdo is floral and fruity with juicy soft red and black fruits, blackberry, blueberry and dark cherries.
Stockist: O’Briens
This is normally €15 but reduced by €2 for the month of October. Made by long-established producer Pazo Baión in Salnés from vines grown on the traditional pergola system on sandy soils, hand-picked and fermented on natural yeasts. Floral, lemon and peach aromas with tropical touches, citrus and orange zest flavours, supple and juicy with a salty tang on the finish.
Stockist: O’Briens
I have featured the big brother of this wine in the past — Tandm Ars Nova — as I love its bright blackberry and dark cherry fruits and also you should know that Rós Rosé is from the same estate but made by O’Briens owner, Lynne Coyle. This is good value, cool climate Tempranillo and Merlot with soft juicy fruits with plum and chocolate hints, and good freshness.
Stockists: TheAllotment.ie, Mollys, Martins, Jus de Vine, McHughs, Whelehan’s Wines, Donnybrook Fair, WineOnline.ie
From the cool, northerly Salnés sub-region of Rias Baixas it is easy to spot this in its vibrant blue bottle — a nod to the maritime climate of the region. Bright peach and lemon zest aromas with a touch of ozone, textured, zingy and crisp on the palate with a salty freshness. Once suitably chilled, a small boat appears on the label.
Stockists: Searsons Searsons.com, Green Man, Pinto Wines, Blackrock Cellar, Mortons.
Oludeo derives from the latin for ‘I play’ and ‘La Soñadora’ translates as ‘the dreamer’. Hand harvested, dry-farmed Monastrell grapes grown at altitude and made with 100% natural yeasts and part whole-bunch fermentation which adds a touch of maceration carbonique to the ferment. Bright berry fruit aromas with hints of violets and fresh leather, bright supple fruits and a delightful freshness and tension on the finish.
Stockists: Searsons - Searsons.com, Green Man, Pinto Wines, Blackrock Cellar.
Old vine Garnacha from the foothills of the Sierra de Gredos Mountains an hour or so west of Madrid and once again at some altitude (700-1000m). Sueños Olivdados means ‘forgotten dreams’ as there are many abandoned vineyards in the process of revival. Bright red fruit aromas, supple and juicy with crunchy dark cherry fruits, supple, balanced and delicious.
Stockists: Bubble Brothers English Market, Bradleys, O’Driscoll’s Cahersiveen, Fields, Urru, Celtic Whiskey Shop, Vintry, Redmonds, Irishmalts.com.
Ór Vermouth was created by the wife and wife team of Anna and Orla Snook O’Carroll on Valentia Island using a base of Verdejo wine from Rueda in North-West Spain. The Verdejo was steeped with 20 different botanicals: some imported such as nutmeg and cinnamon, and others (eg Gorse Flowers) foraged on the island.
Golden in colour, floral, herbal aromas with background notes of vanilla, mace and honey on the palate, Ór is textured and layered and a perfect balance between sweet, bitter and herbal, with lingering hints of spice. Try on ice, with tonic or with gin and Campari for a Negroni.
