MD Cru March 2008 Wine Tasting: Spanish Wines!

Good company is the best pairing with any wine. This past Saturday, I enjoyed what is becoming a classic pairing: wine and the MD Cru. MD Cru refers to a small group of wine enthusiasts who organize through the Wine Spectator forums to meet up once a month in the MD/Washington DC area to share wine, food and good stories. Venue ranges from the homes of some of the members to local restaurants. Each month we have a theme with the March 2008 tasting focusing on the wines of Spain. Overall the wines were very good and went great with the food menu (below). Here is the list of wines we tasted with my picks for “Wines of the Night”. A big thank you to PH, CS, and HWT for dealing with the organization and logistics of the event. A few wines received a score with a “+” symbol after it. This represents wines that I may have scored higher had there been sufficient pour volume and time to taste it over a few hours. Without further ado:

Wines of the night:

1. 2004 Alto Moncayo (Great wine, outstanding value even at $35- a must try for those new to Spanish Wines)
2. 2003 Clos Mogador (Still a bit young, but very good- hold 2-3 years or decant 2+ hours)
3. 2001 Cims de Porrera Priorat Classic (a load of ripe fruits, good structure and balance)

Read more

Scala Dei Priorat Prior Crianca - 2001 - $22

I’m a big fan of wines from the Priorat region is Spain. This area in Catalonia is well known for producing very high quality, unique, Grenache-based wines. I find the in general Priorats have a very chocolaty-earthiness to them that dance with the fruits of the Grenache. I highly recommend trying wines from this region if you are new to wines and looking to expand to new areas. Priorats can be quite expensive, but there are many great buys under $30 if you do some research (and a lot of tasting!).

The Scala Dei Priorat Prior Crianca is 88% Grenache with the rest being Syrah (8%) and Cabernet (4%). I tried this wine right from the bottle, which was a mistake! I immediately grabbed a decanter and let it sit for over an hour. When we came back to it the wine had really developed nicely. The color was dark purple with a shade or two lighter on the edges. On the nose I noted dark fruits, chocolate and a touch of dried sage, and smoke. The wine started off with good amount of blackberry and currant with dusty tannins with a buttery finish. Really lovely earth component to this wine that is quite familiar to me among the Priorats. My rating: 90 pts.

Rotllan Torra Reserva 2001 - $18

I was recently asked by a friend to recommend a Spanish red wine from Catalonia that was to be a gift for a wedding. Without hesitation, I suggested the Priorat region - specifically 2001 or 2003 vintage. I myself really love wines from Priorat. Grown in black slate soil of volcanic origin and containing primarily grenache, often along with carignan and/or cabernet, Priorat wines are earthy and balanced, and usually very unique.

Recently I opened a bottle of the 2001 Rotllan Torra Reserva (vintage on image is wrong). Being of “reserva” classification, this wine was oaked for at least 12 months, then aged for 24 months in the bottle. The color was ruby and the nose was explosive with chocolate and cherry. The complex layers of wine offered raspberry, sour cherry, white chocolate, eggnog, vanilla, and dried cranberry…all wrapped up in minerals and earth. A long, velvety finish was what I expected with the soft tannins and balanced acidity. This was ready to be consumed - I doubt further aging is required.

On a traditional point scale I’d give this a 90. It was very, very good. The 2001 Rotllan Torra Reserva serves as a reminder that you don’t have to spend a lot of money to get a very high quality, enjoyable wine. The best way to find great wines at good prices is to do some research. Find out what vintages of a specific region excelled, then go to the store and pick a wine from that vintage that is less than $20. It’s quite likely that you’ll be more than satisfied with your purchase!