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Top Thirty: When my editor at Santé
asked me to do a piece on some thirty top Spanish wines,
I immediately realized that among the top thirty wines
according to conventional wisdom were few wines that
would make my personal top thirty list, which includes
wines ranging from Catalan Cavas, whites
from Galicia and Rueda, Navarra
rosados, unoaked young reds from Bierzo,
a few of the more restrained new-wave red wines and
a blossoming genre of dessert wines from the Mediterranean
coast, Navarra, Andalucia
and the Canary Islands. Furthermore,
my recent experiences with Spanish wines suggest that
most wine drinkers are much happier drinking the wines
on my list, than doing mortal combat with so-called
blockbuster monsters that reap all the kudos in both
the American and Spanish press.
But, before I get to the wines I will be recommending,
most of which will be well worth the wait, a long simmering
rant is in order. Over the past several years, I have
developed a love-hate relationship with Spanish wines.
I love drinking Spanish wines that show elegance, nice
ripe (but not overripe) fruit, balance, style, charm,
and even terroir and go very well with food; I hate
tasting and, especially, drinking many of the new wave
of opaque black, jammy, low acid, alcoholic wines that
are often lashed with enough new oak to start a lumber
yard.
The Wine Taliban: The latter, if anecdotal
evidence from many sommeliers, restaurateurs, veteran
wine writers and even winemakers is reliable, many of
these wines, despite their hefty price tags, are often
left with a third to half a bottle on the table when
the meal is finished. After tasting such wines for articles,
I continue sipping them with dinner. I usually find
that myself, my tasting companion, my assistant and
many of my friends can barely finish a glass, if that,
before switching to a wine that is more harmonious not
only with the food, but with promoting good humor. I
have been accused of being a wine Taliban, defending
every last Spanish classic to the bitter end. Not so.
I merely like good, well-balanced wines that are not
overwhelmed with overripe blackberry jam, alcoholic
heat (and its accompanying effects) and palate-scouring
new oak. The wines I like complement food, be they modern
styles or fifty-year old jewels from the Rioja
I am not alone: There is a growing
body of evidence, much of it anecdotal, but nevertheless
valid, considering the sources, that many of the world's
saner palates are turning away in increasing numbers
from the inky monster, over-oaked style of winemaking,
what the Spaniards often call Parkerista wines. In January
at Madrid Fusión, the annual
roundup of the world's top avant-guardia chefs (Ferran
Adría, Juan Mari Arzak, Charlie
Trotter, Tetsuya Wakuda, etc.), I had two remarkable
experiences.
One came on a panel discussion at which I was one of
the speakers. First came a young woman sommelier from
a two-star Michelin restaurant . She extolled virtues
of the over-hyped, new-wave school of wine appreciation,
in which every new darling wine and winemaker that surfaces
is given a send-up in the Spanish press akin to the
second coming. This approach does not take into account
that the winemaker is inexperienced and/or the autopista
(tollway) consultant kibitzing on the wine often takes
a formulaic approach to winemaking. Also to be factored
in is that neither the winemaker nor the consultant
has real experience with the vineyard sites they are
working with or the brand-new winery, both of which
have their own often very steep learning curve. And,
above all, most new wineries are loaded with new start-up
oak, which often makes many of these wines undrinkable
to civilized palates from the git-go. For the aforementioned
reasons, I am always very skeptical when I read about
the lastest "nuevo milagro"– new miracle
wine.
I was second up on the panel at Madrid Fusión
and I lambasted the powerhouse approach to winemaking
in my inimitable, no-holds-barred style, fully expecting
to catch flak from the three other male members of the
panel: Fernando Gurucharri, the head of the Spanish
Union of Winetasters; the editor of a Spanish wine magazine;
and a well-respected Italian wine journalist. I was
surprised to find that all three more or less agreed
with me. The Italian journalist even said that wines
from his country were in a profound crisis and called
for a return to elegance and restraint.
Over the Top wines: A day later, I
happened to coincide at breakfast with the American
publisher of a top American wine magazine and a well-known
California wine journalist, who is the author of a best-selling
wine book and a major wine educator.. They both complained
about a tasting in Madrid of some thirty top Spanish
reds, most of which they found to be over the top.
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