Sunday, July 30, 2017

God and Men (Godello and Mencía) in Ribeira Sacra: Winemaking in Spain's Most Exciting Wine Region for Terroir-Driven Wines


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José Manuel Rodríguez, Consejo Regulador de La Ribera Sacra President (and producer of his own Décima wines) and Chef Michael Chiarello at one of José Manuel's vineyards overlooking the Sil River.  Photo by Gerry Dawes ©2011. gerrydawes@aol.com.
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Article by Gerry Dawes
(First published in The Wine News, Fall 2009)

Over the past few years, La Ribeira Sacra, a barely accessible, exquisitely rural wine region in northwestern Spain's mountainous Galicia (some 350 miles northwest of Madrid), has begun to show the most exciting potential I have encountered in more than 40 years of traveling the wine roads of Spain. Here God and men, using primarily godello for white wines and mencía for reds, are creating such irresistibly delicious, enticing, often profound wines that the Ribeira Sacra is rapidly becoming one of the most compelling wine regions on earth. In the bargain, Ribeira Sacra just may be the most strikingly beautiful wine region in the world with its terraced vineyards of dry farmed, old vines indigenous grapes that plunge precipitously hundreds of feet down the slopes of the majestic damned-up canyons of the Minho river, meandering from the north and defining the western zone, and the Sil, flowing from the east and marking the southern tier. Ribeira Sacra is one of only two areas in Spain--the other is Priorat--that practice "heroic viticulture," the laborious care and harvesting of vineyards from such steeply inclined terraces.

(Slide show on Ribera Sacra.)

Although lost in time until recently, Ribeira Sacra has been making wine since the Roman occupation (and possibly longer). In just the past five years, the region has awakened from its centuries-long backwater slumber and appears poised to make a major and possibly long term impact on the Spanish wine world--including becoming a major moderating force for a wine culture that has allowed itself to become obsessed with a predilection for overblown, overripe, overly alcoholic, inky monster style wines. At last a Spanish region has emerged whose terruño (terroir) can rival the ethereal, sublime qualities of the great French Atlantic-climate influenced, terroir-driven wines such as red and white Burgundies and the cabernet franc-laced reds of the Loire Valley.

Stephen Metzler, President of Classical Wines (Seattle, WA; www.classicalwines.com), who represents Ribeira Sacra's Adegas Cachín (Peza do Rei and Finca Millara) says, "My view of Ribeira Sacra is as a Northern European terroir whose wines have structure and acidity, so the pursuit of extract hereBbut not overripeness--is advisable. It is the opposite of most of Spain, where they need seek acidity to provide support for their fleshiness."

However, Roger Kugler, former wine director of New York's Sula and Boqueria and a Spanish wine specialist, does not agree about "the pursuit of extract." He says, "There is a tendency to over-extract some of these Ribeira Sacra reds at the moment, but I think that will pass as the winemakers catch up with the trend against such over-extracted wines which is now gaining ground all over the world."

More than any other place in Spain, the wines of Ribeira Sacra are being produced by people trying to get it right in the vineyards rather than manipulating the juice once it is in the cellars. Dominio do Bibei owner Javier Domínguez told me in March at his winery, "We began by working the vineyards, cutting yields and getting them into the right conditions to make good wine."

Ribeira Sacra winemaking indeed often seems to be a dramatic departure from the practices that have been characteristic for the past fifteen years of the rest of Spain, where winemakers have too often relied on overripe fruit, which produces fat, jammy wines with high alcohol content and low acidity. And winemaker-driven cellar techniques such as extended macerations, barrel fermentation, battonage (stirring of the lees), barrel toasting and extended aging of new oak have been used to achieve a formulaic flavor profile designed impress wine critics. In fact, Ribera Sacra red wines, when produced without cellar gimmicks may be the longed-for antidote to some of the more grotesque types of wines that have characterized Spanish winemaking for the past fifteen years. In August, while drinking his Lalama 2003 with me at New York's Boqueria Soho tapas restaurant, Javier Domínguez made a statement that many fine wine lovers and Spain aficionados fervently hope is true, "I think we are beginning to see a group of people in Ribera Sacra trying to make wines with a stamp of authenticity. I believe this is totally contrary to what has been going on in the rest of Spain for many years, over-ripeness, over-extraction, over-oaking, too much alcohol, etc."

The tiered slate and/or granite bancales, or terraces, some dating to the Roman occupation nearly 2,000 years ago, have a great deal to do with why Ribeira Sacra wines can be so profoundly terroir-driven, intriguing and delicious. The old vines, which are driven deeply into the fractured stone of the terraced hillsides, impart a marked minerality to the wines, depending upon the stone composition, which can range from mostly granite in Chantada and a granite-slate mix in Ribeiras do Minho in the west to Amandi, where the terrances are mostly slate, to some slate-and-granite in Ribeiras do Sil and slate- or schist-laced clay in Quiroga-Bibei.

The inclines of most Ribeira Sacra's vineyards are usually from 30 per cent to 80 per cent but, in some cases, Denominación de Origen (DO) Regulatory Council President José Manuel Rodríguez says is "even steeper at 100 per cent or more!" (Germany's famous Bernkasteler Doktor vineyard in the Mosel is on a 100 per cent incline.) The steepness of Ribeira Sacra's riverside slopes allows graduated harvesting because of the differences in altitude, which can vary as much as 500 to 600 feet from top to bottom in the same vineyard area, with the earliest ripening vines being in the lower, therefore warmest, rows nearest the river. The vendimia (harvest) continues for ten to fifteen days until the uppermost vines are picked. The climate varies from the more direct Atlantic weather influences in the western Minho, which receives some 35.5 inches of rain annually, while the more southern and eastern Sil areas only get 20 to 27.5 inches per year. The Minho's median temperature is 56 degrees Fahrenheit, while the Sil is one degree warmer, but can reach temperatures of 95 to 100 degrees at midday in summer.

The grapes in the old vineyards of Ribera Sacra are often field blends of mencía or godello mixed with little-known ancient Galician red varieties. The Ribeira Sacra Regulatory Council has decreed that the "preferred" varieties for red wines are mencía, brancellao and merenzao, but also authorized and tolerated are caiño tinto, mouratón (also called negrada), sousón and the inky garnacha tintorera (gradually being eliminated as an authorized variety) and the seldom-encountered tempranillo (so widely grown in the rest of Spain). The preferred white wine varieties are the predominant godello, plus albariño, dona blanca, loureira, torrontés and treixadura.

Many Ribeira Sacra wines already have a clear identity: Their persistent terruño (Spanish for terroir) minerality is more readily evident here than in any other region in Spain, including Catalunya's Priorat, whose wines' inherent minerality is often obscured by new oak. Many Ribeira Sacra red wines exhibit the haunting, slate-driven, graphite flavors that characterize the best Priorat wines (whose pre-dominant varieties are garnacha tinta and cariñena), but Ribeira Sacra's qualities are derived from distinctly different grapes, primarily mencía, often blended with small percentages of the other unique indigenous varieties. And, because Ribeira Sacra's grapes are grown in a cooler Atlantic-influenced climate rather than a hot Mediterranean one, the wines achieve lively fresh fruit flavors from grapes that almost never attain over-ripeness.

Some Ribiera Sacra wines still offer unique, rustic country flavors from a bygone era. But, each year Ribeira Sacra wines have become increasingly sophisticated, often without totally losing that charming rustic touch, which imparts a authentic sense of place that is considered a virtue, rather than a flaw, by many admirers of these wines. The reds are usually quite delicious with a depth of ripe, juicy red and black currant, red berry and/or pomegranate-like fruit, that haunting minerality and moderate 11.5 to 13 per cent alcohol levels, all integrated beautifully and balanced by a fine acidity. Plus, the wines are often un-oaked or so judiciously oaked that the wood doesn't become a pre-dominant or even noticeable factor. All of these factors contribute to making these wines eminently drinkable, exquisitely well balanced and seamless in the best examples, which gives them an exceptional affinity with a wide range of foods.

White wines, made predominantly from godello, comprise less than seven per cent of Ribeira Sacra's production, but some also show exceptional promise. There are also some delicious blends of godello with albariño, treixadura and other native Galician white varieties. One wine in particular, Pena das Donas Almalarga Godello from 80-to-100 year-old vines, stands out and shows the potential of Ribeira Sacra whites. Almalarga has all the complexity and minerality of a fine white Burgundy such as a Puligny-Montrachet, but with the marvelous godello grape and mixed granitic-slate mineral flavors, instead of chardonnay from calcareous soils. Thus far, Pena das Donas has not resorted to the current vogue in Spanish white winemaking--fermentation in new oak barrels and frequent battonage--both of which can obliterate the lovely fruit and haunting mineral tones that are so enticing in this wine.

Over the past decade, I had seen glimpses of excellent potential in Antonio Lombardia's Pena Das Donas, José Manuel Rodríguez's Décima, Javier Seoane's Pradio, Primitivo Lareu's Sabatelivs, Dr. José María Prieto's Regoa and even such rustic wines as Viña Cazoga, Cividade and Os Cipreses. And, in restaurants elsewhere in Galicia, I have often ordered wines from some of the region's larger wineries--Vía Romana (Chantada), Abadia da Cova (Ribeiras do Minho), Rectoral de Amandi (Amandi), Ponte de Boga (Ribeiras do Sil) and Val de Quiroga (Quiroga-Bibei)--which produce very drinkable, inexpensive wines, primarily for Galician consumption. In March at the Chantada wine fair, I encountered several little-known, but very promising wines: Diego de Lemos, Pincelo, Quinta de Albarada, and Terras Bendaña. And, at lunch at Chantada professor's small "hobby" bodega in the middle of vineyards overlooking the Minho, we drank an unlabeled red wine that was gorgeously rich with only 12 per cent alcohol! At the Castro Caldelas wine fair in July, I tasted Adegas Costoya (Alodio and Thémera), Peza do Rei and Chao do Couso (Alcouce and Soutollo), all available in the U. S., and several more such as Sollio, Adega Vella, Bellaleira, Viña Pederneira and Solaina worthy of consideration.

In the past few years, several winemakers from outside the region--Bierzo's Raúl Pérez (several wineries; see below) and Gregory Pérez (Regina Viarum), Priorat's husband-and-wife team René Barbier, Jr. and Sara Pérez (Dominio do Bibei), Rías Baixas maestro Gerardo Méndez (D. Ventura) and Dominique Roujou de Boubee (Ponte da Boga), a French consulting enologist living near Barcelona, have all appeared to help refine Ribeira Sacra wines. And, just this year, significant articles about Ribeira Sacra's wines and winemakers have appeared in The New York Times, Gentleman's Quarterly and The Wine Advocate, which is having an explosive effect. Even in today's market, in which elmundovino.com, one of Spain's leading wine websites, reported this summer that Spanish wine exports were down by a staggering $55,000,000 and Catalunyas INCAVI (Cava Institute) is reporting the equivalent of nearly 19,000,000 bottles of unsold wine, Riberia Sacra wines sales are up 35 per cent in the past year, according to Regulatory Council President José Manuel Rodríguez.

Recently, some very promising, even exceptional wines (see Tasting Bar)--some made by these carpet bagging winemakers, have appeared in the American market. Gerardo Méndez, the owner-winemaker of top-rated Rías Baixas Do Ferreiro Albariños, advises Ramón Losada on his D. Ventura Viña do Burato, Pena do Lobo and Viña Caniero, three truly superb, very reasonably-priced red wines from an organically farmed vineyard in Ribeiras do Minho and two more in Amandi. The wines, from organically farmed grapes fermented with native yeasts, are among the most fruity, balanced, terroir-driven and gloriously delicious wines in Spain, yet none rises above 13 per cent alcohol, and they are un-oaked. Also in Ribeiras do Minho, from sharply inclined vineyards overlooking the Sil River (the Minho, Sil and Bibei meet nearby), Antonio Lombardia and his partners at the Pena Das Donas produce Almalarga Godello, one of the greatest white wines I have tasted in Spain, along with a first-rate Mencía, Verdes Matas.

Javier Domínguez, a native Galician, is the owner (with his wife, Maria) and artistic inspiration behind the striking Domino do Bibei hidden in the tortuous mountains of the Quiroga-Bibei area. Domínguez hired Priorat husband wife team, Sara Pérez (Clos Martinet) and René Barbier Jr. (Clos Mogador), to consult on his critically acclaimed wines, the godello-based Lapena and three reds, Lapola, Lacima and Lalama. Domínguez also employs local in-house talent--Suso Prieto Pérez and Laura Lorenzo Domínguez--who diligently manage the vineyards and monitor the development of the wines. Moving steadily away from overly long macerations and avoiding a surfeit of new oak, they are using upright, epoxy-lined cement ovals and larger wooden tanks for their wines.
When I visited Domino do Bibei in 2009, Domínguez told me, "Even if I don't make any money for ten years, what concerns me more is making the greatest wine possible from these grapes and this land." One of his wines, approved as "experimental" by the DO, is Lalama, a blend of mouratón and garnacha tintorera (an inky grape reminiscent of Alicante bouschet), with no mencía. Domínguez is also very enthusiastic about the propects for his brancellao, a grape which he says "produces pretty light-colored, elegant red wines that remind me of Burgundy."

Raúl Pérez, a diminutive 38-year old, is the quintessential flying winemaker, who "flies" around northwestern Spain in a Mini-Cooper, making or consulting on more than a dozen wines. Pérez began making wines--now critically acclaimed--from his family's vineyards in his native Bierzo. He also makes several wines in neighboring Galicia's Monterrei, Rías Baixas and Ribeira Sacra, including Fernando González's Algueira, Chao Do Couso (Alcouce, Soutollo), Guímaro and El Pecado, which in Spain was first sold as Guímaro Barrica (barrel aged). El Pecado, which recently received an astronomical score from a famous American wine newsletter, is described as 100 per cent mencía, but is actually 85 per cent mencía with 10 per cent caiño tinto and 5 per cent brancellao, with the two latter grapes imparting a rustic, exotic touch.

Pérez told me, "soy enólogo de viña" ( I am a vineyard enologist), but it could easily be said that he is also enologist de prensa (meaning either a wine press or a printing press).  Recently, Pérez has received some serious press attention from major European and American publications and his fame has skyrocketed. Pérez does believe that great wine begins in the vineyards and he prefers barrels to be four-to-five years old with no discernible toasting, since believes charring adversely affects the taste of the wines. Pérez's wines can be quite good and his rise to fame has helped spotlight the region, but his individualistic winemaking approach seems more about making denomination of origen "Raúlista" wines rather than exemplary representatives of any one region.

The Ribeira Sacra is divided into five subzonas which, because of climate, soil differences and vineyard orientation can produce wines that are markedly different in character, so much so that DO President Rodríguez says, "There might as well be 20 different DOs." From northwest to southeast, the subzones are Chantada, whose magical vineyards line the Minho in northwestern Ribeira Sacra; Ribeiras do Minho, with awesomely beautiful vineyard sites south of Chantada; Amandi, with strikingly steep vineyards in the center of the region whose southern boundary is the Sil River; Ribeiras do Sil, running south of the Sil from Minho in the west along the deep Sil canyons to Castro Caldelas; and Quiroga-Bibei, in whose eastern zone around Quiroga there are some non-terraced vineyards, but along the Sil and Bibei rivers in the southeastern reaches are some more majestic, steep, terraced vineyards.

Dominio do Bibei's Javier Dominguez, told me, "One thing I like about the Ribeira Sacra is the differences between the subzonas. For instance, the wines of Chantada are much more fruity. The wines of Bibei, where I have my vines and bodega, have much more minerality and the fruit is not as exuberant. I am not fond of wines with pronounced fruit, what I prefer are the mineral components."

Roger Kugler, also a fan of wines with mineral terruño, says "many Ribeira Sacra red wines are showstoppers. Because the steep vineyards and slate soils of Ribeira Sacra produce mencía with a deeper minerality and richness than can be found in Bierzo, for instance, and the region has been called the next Priorat, for good reason."

It is important to understand that Ribeira Sacra wines are unique originals that should be judged on their singularly distinctive merits. Even though the wines naturally may exhibit certain characteristics reminiscent of Burgundy, the Loire or Priorat and a few producers seem to be trying to imitate some of those styles, Ribeira Sacra wines are usually quite unique. Because of the region's historic isolation, indigenous grape varieties and climate, the style and provenance of these wines may take some getting used to because they are indeed a river of wine unto themselves, a wine river well worth exploring in depth.

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About Gerry Dawes


Gerry Dawes was awarded Spain's prestigious Premio Nacional de Gastronomía (National Gastronomy Award) in 2003. He writes and speaks frequently on Spanish wine and gastronomy and leads gastronomy, wine and cultural tours to Spain. He was a finalist for the 2001 James Beard Foundation's Journalism Award for Best Magazine Writing on Wine, won The Cava Institute's First Prize for Journalism for his article on cava in 2004, was awarded the CineGourLand “Cinéfilos y Gourmets” (Cinephiles & Gourmets) prize in 2009 in Getxo (Vizcaya) and received the 2009 Association of Food Journalists Second Prize for Best Food Feature in a Magazine for his Food Arts article, a retrospective piece about Catalan star chef, Ferran Adrià.

In December, 2009, Dawes was awarded the Food Arts Silver Spoon Award in a profile written by José Andrés.

". . .That we were the first to introduce American readers to Ferran Adrià in 1997 and have ever since continued to bring you a blow-by-blow narrative of Spain's riveting ferment is chiefly due to our Spanish correspondent, Gerry "Mr. Spain" Dawes, the messianic wine and food journalist raised in Southern Illinois and possessor of a self-accumulated doctorate in the Spanish table. Gerry once again brings us up to the very minute. . ." - - Michael & Ariane Batterberry, Editor-in-Chief/Publisher and Founding Editor/Publisher, Food Arts, October 2009. 


Mr. Dawes is currently working on a reality television series
on wine, gastronomy, culture and travel in Spain.


Tuesday, June 13, 2017

The Four Black Bulls of the Spanish Wine Apocalypse: Severe Weather Hits Numerous Spanish Wine Regions Causing Potentially Catastrophic Losses in Several Regions

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 Text & All photos by Gerry Dawes©2017.

For the past several weeks, The Four Black Bulls of the Spanish Weather Apocalypse have been raging through the vineyards of Northern Spain wreaking havoc. Their names are Helada (Frost), Lluvia (Torrential Rain), Pedrisco (Hail), and Viento (Wind)  have caused dim prospects for the 2017 wine grape harvest in areas such as La Rioja Alta, La Rioja Alavesa, Ribera del Duero, Bierzo, Ribeiro, Valdeorras, Ribeira Sacra and Monterrei and some losses in the Albariño vineyards of Rías Baixas. 

The Black Bull of Spain looms over one of Luís Alberto Lecea´s frost-damaged vineyards around the Rioja Alta village of San Asensio, May 7, 2017.  The leaves on the vines nine days later are secondary growth that will produce little and are, under normal conditions, usually stripped off the vines by the grape farmers.  All photo by Gerry Dawes©2017.

And in their wake, they have brought a great wave of demoralization, one which the brave men and women who farm the vineyards of Atlantic Spain will no doubt overcome.  Still, at this point, many predict crop losses of from 70-90 percent.

In mid-April, high winds in Galicia ripped off branches off vines in Rías Baixas according to Manolo Dovalo, owner of Adegas Rozas, who produces one of Galicia’s greatest artisan Albariños.    

 
Then on the night of April 28 a late frost that will go down in the history of the viticulture of this region hit La Rioja during the night of April 28 devastated much of La Rioja Alta and La Rioja Alavesa, causing 90% to 100% damage to this year’s grape crop prospects.  Luis Albert Lecea, owner of Bodegas Lecea in San Asensio, told me, “I have bad news.  There will be no wine next year.”  






Luis took me on a tour of his devastated vineyards.  Lecea and his crew laboriously laid water lines into his vineyards and spent 800 Euros on gasoil (diesel) to run the pumps, trying to irrigate the vines, which had also been suffering from drought, hoping that the water would provoke the growth of more leaves to replace those shriveled by the
frost




The irony of Lecea´s frost-damaged vines, with no leaves left, surrounded by the dried-up remains of once perfectly healthy ripe grapes (the now dried-up dark bunches on the ground) that had to be cut off and left to dry up on the ground to meet the Rioja D.O. yield requirements during the 2016 harvest.  Had the producers been able to use these perfectly good grapes to lay in more stocks, they would have been compensated for the big losses they will suffer from this frost in 2017 and maybe beyond.  The new grape leaves are secondary shoots that will produce little or no grapes and are under normal conditions are usually stripped off the vine.


Rows of vines belonging to Bodegas Lecea in San Asensio where leaves should be beginning to flourish by May 7, 2017, when this picture was taken, are almost bare, their leaves frozen and withered by the cold wave on the night of August 28, 2017.  All photos by Gerry Dawes©2017.


Three days later, I arrived in Villafranca del Bierzo and found roads still being cleared from mud slides, the Camino de Santiago in front of La Puerta del Perdón strewn with rocks washed down by the torrential rains, and mud across many roads, plus reports of hail and frost that, especially in lower lying vineyards, will mean a very short crop in 2017.

Vine trunk burst caused by late April frost.
Photo courtesy GregoryPérez,
Bodegas y Viñedos Mengoba, Bierzo.
After the April frost hit, star Bierzo producer Gregory Pérez, owner-winemaker at Bodegas y Viñedos Mengoba, told me in a telephone conversation: “Now is when we are really beginning to see the damage from the frost, the vinos are drying up, the bark of the trunks is bursting. . . and the only thing we can do is severely re-crop the salvageable vines, though we will have to rip out some that were totally killed, re-plant and begin anew.  “It has been a wide spread disaster—not only in Bierzo, but in la Rioja, Ribera del Duero and many parts of Galicia.”

Ironically, where I saw the mud slides and rocks strewn across the road near La Puerta del Perdón in Villafranca del Bierzo was a wall mural of a hiker with the words AVE FENIX alongside.  It appears that the vineyards of much of northern Spain will have to do just that, rise like the Phoenix from the ruins of the 2017 frost, regroup and battle their way back what is sure to be a very hard economic blow to their winemaking efforts.

All photos by Gerry Dawes©2017.


 
Later the same day, I visited Hacienda Ucediños in O Barco de Valdeorras, whose owners Eladio and Marcos Santalla Freile reported that one of their prime Godello Vineyards was hard hit by the frost and will produce little or no wine and they were also hit by torrential rains, but even at that they were luckier than many.  


Eladio Santalla Freile and Marcos Santalla Freile with a bottle of their truly stunning Hacienda Ucediños Valdeorras Godello 2016, which was a great match for a dozen remarkably good zamburiñas, or baby scallops, a cazuela or two of gambas al ajillo and a wooden plate of exceptional pulpo a feira, steamed octopus dressed with olive oil, Spanish pimentón (paprika) and sea salt. At Pulperia El Dorado in O Barco de Valdeorras, May 10, 2017.





 
At D’Berna in Córgomo in Valdeorras, higher up than some of their neighbors, escaped the frost, but were hit with mudslides during a downpour in which three inches of rain fell in just a couple of hours and brought tons of topsoil down from the vineyards that surround the winery and deposited several feet of mud and rocks in the parking lot at the side of the winery, buried their cooling unit and knocked out their water.  







When I arrived at D'Berna, several members of the family were hand shoveling the mud into wheel barrows and taking it away, while a front loader Caterpillar plowed mud out of the parking lot and road leading into the winery. 
  
 






And, in Ribeira Sacra, where I was last week, more reports of hail and torrential rains.  José Manuel Rodríguez, President of the Ribeira Sacra D. O. and producer of the superb Décima Mencía, suffered damage to one of his prime vineyards to add to the loss of much of his crop last year to a powerful hail storm.   Here there were also reports of frost and more damage from hail and torrential rains. 


























Undamaged vineyards of Manuel Rodríguez, President of the Ribeira Sacra D. O. and producer of the superb Décima Mencía, who lost much of his crop to a severe hailstorm last year.

In mid-April, high winds in Galicia ripped off branches of vines in Rías Baixas according to Manolo Dovalo, owner of Adegas Rozas, who produces one of Galicia’s greatest artisan Albariños.   
I spent an afternoon with my Bodegas Artesanas Albariño producers in Rías Baixas, where though Dovalo of Adegas Rozas reported some wind damage in his vineyards, all six of my producers seemed to have escaped serious crop-crippling damage. 

Manolo Dovalo, producer of Rozas (third from left), with the Bodegas Artesanas Albariño producers' wines, which are some of the greatest Grand Cru quality white wines produced in Galicia.




 



 



Not so in Ribeiro, to the east and inland, where Manolo Formigo (pictured above) showed me frost damage and estimated that he may lose as much as 80% of 2017’s expected production.









In Monterrei, one of the last regions I visited Antonio Triay, his wife Puri García and their son Ivan showed me their frost- damaged vines and were very demoralized.  They are small very high quality producers of Triay Godello and Mencía and they believe that 85-90% of their 2017 crop was wiped out in the late April frost that hit the Monterrei D.O. particularly hard.


Antonio Triay and his son Ivan showed me their frost-damaged vines and were very demoralized.
All photos by Gerry Dawes©2017.

Of all the regions I have visited so far, Viña Catajarros in Cigales and José Pariente in Rueda reported to me when I visited those area that they suffered little or no damage and, early in my trip, southern Navarra seems to have escaped damage.  In Corella (Navarra) Carlos Aliaga at Bodega Aliaga reported no damage.   


Ironically, the wall mural of a hiker with the words AVE FENIX was a harbinger.  It appears that the vineyards of much of northern Spain will have to do just that, rise like the Phoenix from the ruins of the 2017 frost, regroup and battle their way back what is sure to be a very hard economic blow to their winemaking efforts.

_____________________________________________________________

About Gerry Dawes


Gerry Dawes was awarded Spain's prestigious Premio Nacional de Gastronomía (National Gastronomy Award) in 2003. He writes and speaks frequently on Spanish wine and gastronomy and leads gastronomy, wine and cultural tours to Spain. He was a finalist for the 2001 James Beard Foundation's Journalism Award for Best Magazine Writing on Wine, won The Cava Institute's First Prize for Journalism for his article on cava in 2004, was awarded the CineGourLand “Cinéfilos y Gourmets” (Cinephiles & Gourmets) prize in 2009 in Getxo (Vizcaya) and received the 2009 Association of Food Journalists Second Prize for Best Food Feature in a Magazine for his Food Arts article, a retrospective piece about Catalan star chef, Ferran Adrià. 

In December, 2009, Dawes was awarded the Food Arts Silver Spoon Award in a profile written by José Andrés


". . .That we were the first to introduce American readers to Ferran Adrià in 1997 and have ever since continued to bring you a blow-by-blow narrative of Spain's riveting ferment is chiefly due to our Spanish correspondent, Gerry "Mr. Spain" Dawes, the messianic wine and food journalist raised in Southern Illinois and possessor of a self-accumulated doctorate in the Spanish table. Gerry once again brings us up to the very minute. . ." - - Michael & Ariane Batterberry, Editor-in-Chief/Publisher and Founding Editor/Publisher, Food Arts, October 2009. 

Friday, April 7, 2017

Chef Dan Barber & Winemaker Randall Grahm on the "Roots" of Terroir in Wine



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“It turns out that the mechanism [mycorrhizal fungi] is a pre-requisite for great wine.  I learned this from Randall Grahm, the iconoclastic winemaker of Bonny Doon Vineyard, in Santa Cruz California.  “Mycorrhizae are microbial demiurges—they bring minerals into the plants,” he told me.  “What does that taste like? Persistence.  The best wines are powerfully persistent.  You breathe out your nose and taste the wine over again, or you leave the bottle open for a week and the wine still tastes alive.  Persistence doesn’t fade, and it doesn’t oxidize.  That’s from the minerals.” - -  Dan Barber, The Third Plate: Field Notes on the Future of Food; Chef-partner, Blue Hill at Stone Barns and Blue Hill NYC

Chef Dan Barber and Gerry Dawes in the kitchens of Blue Hill at Stone Barns,
Pocantico Hills, New York, June 2015.

What my staff and I been finding out to our amazement with our terroir-driven artisanal wines from The Spanish Artisan Wine & Spirits Group – Gerry Dawes Selections, especially the ones with minimal intervention in the winery, that wines leftover after tastings that I merely put in a small refrigerator with just a cork in them and no Vacuvin stoppers, are still drinking beautifully a week later, often even better than when we opened them. Last night, August 30, 2015, I was reading Dan Barber’s book and came across this amazing quote from Randall Grahm, a winemaker from California, ironically where commercial producers have been trying to deny the existence of mineral terroir for decades.

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Gerry Dawes
Presidente-Jefe & Chairman of the Boar
370 Cushman Road
Patterson, NY 12563

Cell phone: 914-414-6982
Teléfono movíl (en España): (011 34) 670 67 39 34
and Gerry Dawes on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.
Spanish National Gastronomy Award 2003



Thursday, April 6, 2017

Lagar de Broullón Albariño, Meaño (Pontevedra), Rías Baixas. Bodeguero Artesano José Pintos Pintos


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"Lagar de Broullon Albariño.  An albariño to banish all memory of those banal examples of the wine that now flood U.S. wine shop shelves — bright and well-rounded, with juicy fruit and a long, complex finish." - - Colman Andrews, The Daily Meal.

Read more: Spanish Wines — A Seductive New Crop: Godello, mencia, and other less-than-famous Iberian grapes shine in a new selection from Spanish wine expert Gerry Dawes


Video:  Lagar de Broullón is an artisanal winery located in Galicia, Spain. 
Jose Pintos and his 91-year old father grow Albariño grapes and make their signature wine Lagar de Broullón.


 

Lagar de Broullon Albariño 2013 12.5% 12/750ML $27.99

Lagar de Broullón is made by José Pintos. Beautifully balanced, Pintos's wine is full-flavored and quite complex with lychee and green apple flavors braced by a long, clean, mineral-laced finish, but has just 12.5% alcohol, which helps make it very easy to drink.   It is ideal with many different dishes, but especially with grilled fish, shellfish (for which Galicia is famous), octopus, rice dishes and cheeses. 


José Pintos, artisan grower-winemaker of Lagar de Broullón, sings during a lunch break at the Festa del Encontro do Viño de Autor at Meaño (Pontevedra).

Located in the heart of the Val de Salnés, in an area known as the home of Albariño grape, Lagar de Broullón bodega is surrounded by its 4.5 acres of south-southwest facing vineyards that produce its signature wine.  Akin to wineries in Burgundy, the bodega is a 19th Century house, where several generations of the Pintos family, including his 91-year old father José Pintos, have made wine with intelligence and care and have developed a family tradition for authentic artisan wines on a small scale. 
 

Only about 600 cases of fine Albariño are made each year and only 100 of those will reach the U.S. market.  Lagar de Broullón’s dedication to quality focuses on the vineyard and the grapes, which José Pintos believes is the most important element in wine.  Although the winery has modern vinification system, Pintos tries to make his wines with as little intervention as possible.  He believes that his signature wine is steeped in tradition and through meticulous vineyard work, he tries to achieve the highest quality in his wine. 
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We believe that Pintos has achieved his goal.  His Lagar de Broullón is one of the finest wines in our portfolio.
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Contact info:

Gerry Dawes, Presidente-Jefe & Chairman of the Board   
The Spanish Artisan Wine & Spirits Group - Gerry Dawes Selections
370 Cushman Road
 
Patterson, NY 12563

gerrydawes@aol.com
 
Cell phone: 914-414-6982
Teléfono movíl (en España): (011 34) 670 67 39 34
 
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Spanish National Gastronomy Award 2003