Wine with Leslie: You'll have change from €9 if you opt for this rich Spanish vino
I’m off to one of my happy places next week as I will be attending the 20th Madrid Fusión gastronomy congress which has a star line-up of winemakers, chefs and food producers. With this in mind, I’ve been tasting and re-tasting some Spanish wines this week and thinking about the joys to be found in Spain’s rich culinary landscape.
As part of the trip I will also be in Mallorca and Menorca for a couple of days visiting wineries and olive groves. I confess that unlike most Irish people I’ve never visited the Balearic Islands which are about so much more than holiday resorts. Check out Neven’s Spanish Food Trails series set in Majorca and Menorca if you don’t believe me — it is currently streaming on the RTE Player.
Neven’s series reminded me that even the smallest parts of Spain have their own culinary traditions, just as there are local grapes and wine styles there will be local sausages, meats, cheeses and gustatory treats — all presented with pride and passion.
Suggestions below are all from Northern Spain with a couple of red bargains from the Dunnes Stores sale plus a Verdejo, a Godello and an Albariño — the three great Spanish white varieties. I feature Santiago Ruiz Albarinño here — a wine that I’ve mentioned in passing but not a wine I have ever properly featured. The label is one of my favourites as it is a map to the wedding of Santiago Ruiz’s eldest daughter which he converted into a label once he released his first wines. Known as the Father of Albariño there is even a street named after him in the village of San Miguel de Tabagón. These days winemaking is in the supremely capable hands of Luisa Freire, a winemaker who impressed me hugely when I visited a few years ago. The spread of food she and the Ruiz family laid on also lingers: some of the best empanadas I’ve ever tasted and a whole roast turbot for lunch.
Godello is more associated with Bierzo and Ribeira Sacra and Valdeorras in Eastern Galicia but the one here is from a sustainable vineyard on the Atlantic coast near the River Miño which forms the border with Portugal. The number of Godello in the country is gradually increasing so do seek it out as well as Verdejo — there is no need to tell you about Albariño as we are one of the world’s largest consumers (by volume). Viva España!
Stockists: Hole in the Wall, Martins, Jus de Vine, Mortons, La Touche, wineonline.ie, Donnybrook Fair, theallotment.ie
Like many wineries in Ribera del Duero, Protos has an outpost for white wines in Rueda just an hour away. From 100% Verdejo this has bright mineral and lemon-lime with pineapple and guava hints, fruity, crisp and dry with stony chalky notes perfect for cutting through some Croquetas or the silky fat in Jamon Iberico.
Stockist: Dunnes Stores
This is a super low price: the last time I featured it a couple of years ago it was €11. Cariñena in Aragon is just south of Zaragoza and a region worth keeping an eye on for tasty bargains. From 100% Tempranillo: rich plum and berry aromas with spice touches, supple and layered on the palate with pleasing earthy liquorice notes mixed into the mature fruit flavours.
Stockist: Dunnes Stores Nationwide
This is usually €13 and even at full price I’m not sure there is a better Ribera del Duero available under €15, never mind as tasty. Four months in French oak so expect some smoky vanilla notes mingled with black fruits — on the palate are blackberries, pomegranate and cranberry fruits and this has surprising weight and substance for such a low price.
Stockists: Dunnes Stores, Whelehans, Jus de Vine, La Touche.
This is on special offer at just over €18 in Dunnes Stores this week — a bargain. The gorgeous Protos winery (designed by Richard Rogers) is home to Ribera’s excellent cooperative and their wines are consistently reliable. This is packed with damsons and dark plum fruit aromas, silky textured blackberry fruits and pleasing length — perfect for some spring lamb.
Stockists: Avoca,, Barnhill Stores, Ely, Fresh, McHughs, Red Nose Wines, Wineonline.ie
From the sub-region of O Rosal and one of the oldest producers in the region (Santiago Ruiz was known as the ‘father of Albariño’). This is 82% Albariño plus 9% Loureiro and c. 2% Caiño Branco, Treixadura and Godello. White peaches and guava aromas with a hint of lime, fruity and soft on the attack with citrus and stony-crisp freshness on the finish.
Stockists: Corkscrew thecorkscrew.ie, Blackrock Cellar, Deveneys, Baggot St Wines, D6, Martins, Drink Store, Nectar Wines, SC Grocer, WineHouse.
I featured this producer’s Albariño a couple of years ago and their Godello is equally tasty. Godello is more associated with regions to the North and East but is grown in a few places in Galicia. This is a single vineyard Godello with key-lime and kiwi fruit aromas, creamy and textured on the palate with weight balanced by some lime curd flavoured acidity.
Stockists: Bradleys, O’Briens, Selected SuperValu, Celtic Whiskey Shop, Mitchell & Son, Martins, teelingdistillery.com
This is the first release in the Teelings ‘Wonders of Wood’ Series: Teeling triple distilled pot still aged in Virgin Chinkapin American White Oak Barrels. This won Worlds Best Single Pot Still Whiskey at the 2022 World Whiskey Awards — one of a number of Awards Teeling has won recently. Teeling is also planting an acre of native woodland in Wicklow
A 50% blend of malted and unmalted barley this has caramel, honey and wood sap aromas — fruity and textured on the palate with more honey and a touch of banana bread with bright spice notes on the finish and lingering ginger and pepper flavours.
