Meet the producer: Alcardet, Toledo, Spain

A family company founded in 1972, Alcardet is an up and coming vineyard that focuses on organic wines. Located in the region  of Toledo, south-west of Madrid, it combines some interesting experiments with more classic production associated with the region.

Cepas Viejas 2019

Almost extinct Moravia and Tinto Velasco grapes, very limited edition aged in oak for 6 months. A rare gem from Castilla.

A fruity, balanced wine with medium body. Smooth tannins. Ready now. I paired with pasta that I had prepared with a sweet tendency sauce. I also tried roasted chicken and peas, and would not recommend a steak as red meat would have too much structure for this delicate wine. 

Score 90

371+52 =323 Correcto

Verdejo 100%

A floral nose with latent white peach and a smooth unpretentious wine. Moderate length. An easy drink to pair with a salade niçoise or mozzarella. Score 86

Correcto red wine

tempranillo 199%

A simple tempranillo, with fruity notes and moderate complexity and length, produced with the same "randomness" philosophy as the previous wine. 

Score 86

Natura Brut

Chardonnay, macabeo and airén

This organic brut presented an intense fruity nose and a moderately complex, balanced palate with fragrant notes. We paired it with a hearty English lamb pie. 

Score 89

Riesling Sescueras

Riesling 100%

This can be considered an interesting experiment, one does not find many riesling in southern Spain. This is an easy entry level wine, perhaps the warm climate prevents the full development of this variety. 

Score 80.

Real Gana brut Reserva 

Airén 100%

Their top of the line bubbly, this traditional method from Alcardet in Spain is very fresh without being aggressive, pleasant lemon zest. Moderate complexity and length. I paired it with mushroom ravioli, the acidity contrasted perfectly with the filling and fatty sauce. Score 89

Trade tasting of Monastrell wines from Spain

Thank you Peter McCombie MW

Thanks to the UK Sommelier Association and Monastrell Spain (a non profit dedicated to promoting this variety) for a unique masterclass on this relatively unknown grape from southern Spain. It is known elsewhere as Mourvedre, but here in Spain it finds a terroir that results in wines that are markedly different from those in France.

Spanish Monastrell sold about 16m liters of wine in 2022, the last year for which data is available. Of this, roughly one third is red, 25% is white and the rest is split between rosé, sparkling and liquor.

Four bottles out of five are consumed domestically in Spain, with a bit less than 20% exported, mainly to Germany, United States, Poland, the Netherlands and the UK. China's thirst is growing for this like for many European wines and it is already importing well over 100k liters.

In Spain Monastrell is the 6th most planted variety, with some 4% of total vined area, a percentage which rises to almost 8% if only red grapes are considered.

In terms of geographical distribution, Monastrell is planted mostly in the south-east of the country. Murcia captures almost half with 16k hectares, followed by Castilla-La Mancha (40%) and Comunidad Valenciana (15%). It used to be more widespread across the country before the phylloxera plague of the XIX century, but during the XX century it fell out of favor in the central and northern parts of the country. The reason for this is that this variety has turned out to be particularly well suited to hot and dry climates as one is likely to find in southern Spain.

Over the last one hundred years or so, it has been planted in considerable amounts in Australia and in the US.

The name Monastrell comes from the Latin and it indicates the important role played by monasteries in the development of viticulture especially after the definitive eviction of the Arab invaders from the Iberian peninsula.

We tasted recent vintages and in my opinion all these wines are ready to drink now with limited aging potential.

The masterclass was let by well known Master of Wine Peter McCrombie with his usual verve.

Ready, set, go Monastrell!

Here below are my tasting notes of the wines proposed to us in this masterclass:

1. Bodega Viña Elena, Finca CQ, DO Jumilla, 2022

Seven months in French oak.

A fruity wine with moderate intensity. Rough corners that may be smoothed out with a few years in the bottle. Score 85

2. Finca Casa Belaguer, Tragolargo Tinto, DO Alicante, 2022

Similar to the previous wine, red fruits and herbs organic production. Score 85

3. Bodegas Cerron, La Servil, DO Jumilla, 2022

Biodynamic production. An intense start gives way to a balanced and long wine. High altitude (900+ masl) and calcareous soil. 14 months in old wood. Score 89

4. Pepe Mendoza Casa Agricola, El Veneno, DO Alicante, 2021

Fifty-seven-year-old vines produce a complex, perfectly balanced wine with a long, smooth ending. Twelve months in old and new Allier barrels help as well. Sore 90.

5. Bodegas Barahonda, Barahonda Summum, DO Yecla, 2021

Ungrafted very old vines, over sixty-year-old, and organic production at 800 masl. American oak helps make for a smooth wine with lingering fruity notes. Score 90

6. Bodegas El Nido, Clio, DO Jumilla, 2021

70% Monastrell, 30% cabernet sauvignon

Deep ruby red, high concentration, complex aromas and almost jammy at end. High abv (15.5%!) Twenty-four months in oak. Score 88

7. Bodega Monastrell, Chaveo organic, DO Bullas, 2020

Biodynamic, 43yo vines at 850 masl. One year in new Allier oak. Intense, balanced and complex. The best wine today. Score 92

8. Bodegas Piqueras, Los Losares, DO Almansa, 2020

Fruit with a touch of sweet. Moderate structure and balance. Moderate length. Score 90

Mountainous Macedonia, Epirus and Central Greece

Insightful masterclass delivered by Sofia Perpera for Westbury Communication. This has become a notable and pleasant tradition on the London wine scene. Here below are my main takeaway points. 

Greece did not make the oldest wines in the world, but Greek cities (there was no such things as "Greece") produced the first sophisticated culture of wine. The Symposium was a fundamental contribution to western culture: a social gathering following a banquet to pursue the pleasures of wine and music. A far cry from what we think today of a symposium: a gathering of experts to discuss a subject matter at a sophisticated or scientific level.

Greece also developed the first kind of "controlled denomination of origin" by legislating that producers had to use different kinds of amphoras depending on the type of wine. Heavy fines were imposed on rule breakers!

I mentioned there were older wines around the world (Georgia, Mesopotamia) but perhaps the oldest in Europe was indeed Greek, and the oldest known press is to be found near Knossos, on the island of Crete.

The Greeks drank their wine diluted in water, a habit that the Romans would later copy just like they copied (and often improved) on so much of Greek culture. Three parts of water to one part of wine was the accepted ratio, probably because it would make the wine more drinkable and hide its inevitable faults. (The Romans were known to mix wine and water also for the opposite reason: to allow alcohol to at least partially disinfect drinking water.)

Wine continued to develop in Greece long after the classic period but it suffered during the many centuries of Turkish occupation as it was perceived contrary to the precepts of islam.

One had to wait until the 1990s to finally see a revival of quality production. Greek winemakers went abroad to study, mainly in France but also in italy and the US, and vineyards invested in state of the art technology. A school of oenology has been active in Athens wince 1980.

Membership in the EU after 1981 also helped a lot, with the Common Agricultural Policy providing much needed funding to increase investment and the EU authorities regulating production to improve quality.

Today, some 65,000 hectares of land are planted with vines (though the exact number is now known, the cadastre is less than totally accurate) and this still not much, less than 2% of vines in the EU as a whole. Two thirds are devoted to produce white wine and one third red.

Germany and the USA are the main export markets.

The great news of recent years is that, while at the beginning of the quality revival in the 1990s producers preferred international grapes, mostly from France, now they devote special attention to plant local varieties, at least where this can be made to optimize quality.

Tasting notes:

1. Jima Winery, Super Girl 2022

Debina

Citrus, fresh and long, moderately complex.

No price given. Score 86.

2. Ktima Gerovassiliou, Malagousia 2023

Malagousia

Apricot, complex and long, perfect balance.

RRP £24. Score 89.

3. Ktima Pavlidis, Emphasis 2023

Assyrtiko

Structure, balance and length. Excellent value.

RRP £16. Score 90.

4. Wine Art Estate, Plano 2023

Assyrtiko

Similar to previous wine, slightly rounder.

RRP not given, Score 90.

5. Domaine Hatzimichalis, Alepotrypa Vineyard 2023

Assyrtiko

Round, soft sensations prevail.

RRP £ 16. Score 86.

6. Ktima Biblia Chora Areti White 2022

40% Assyrtiko 60% sauvignon blanc

Fresh, chalky like its land, zesty.

RRP £ 26. Score 88.

7. Nico Lazaridi Wines, Evil Eye Rosé 2022

Xinomavro

Fresh, structured, slight bitter ending.

RRP £ 27. Score 90

8. Domaine Costa Lazaridi, Château Julia 2021

Agiorgitiko

Strong tannins, a bit rough on the palate, maybe it needs more time.

RRP 15. Score 80.

9. Samartzis Estate, Papanikolas 2021

Mouhtaro

Fruity wine but alcohol predominates

RRP £ 37. Score 82.

10. Alpha Estate Ecosystem reserve vieilles vignes Barba Yannis 2020

Xinomavro

Fruity, complexity, will improve with rounder tannins in a couple of years. 

RRP £37. Score 85

11. Noema Winery Invicta red 2020

Xinomavro

Also fruity with alcohol too much front and center, a touch of sweet.

RRP not given. Score 82.

12. Diamantakos Winery, Naoussa 2020

Xinomavro

Fruit and structure, moderate complexity and length.

RRP £ 30. Score 87.

13. Kir-Yanni Estate, Ramnista 2019

Xinomavro

Fruit and structure, perfect balance and good length. Ready now.

RRP £25. Score 92

14. Boutari Wineries, Naoussa Grande Reserve 2013

Xinomavro

Complex and long, balanced, the best wine today.

RRP £25. Score 93.

15. Kechris Winery, Tear of the Pine Retsina 2022

Assyrtiko

Good structure and balance, a typical new generation high quality retsina wine.

RRP not given. Score 89.

Trade tasting of Cirò, Calabria, Italy

For the first time ever in the UK, 11 producers were assembled in London to showcase the best known wine from Calabria. Cirò has long been well known, at least in Italy, but only after the turn of the century it has begun to attract international attention in light of the markedly improving quality of the products available in the market.

The Greeks were the first to plant vines in Calabria, then part of the Magna Graecia, and called their red wine Krimisa. The Greeks also introduced the "alberello" training which is well known in Sicily and notably in Pantelleria, and established wine as a staple production. 

As always, it fell to the Romans to learn from Greece and take things a step forward. They organized and legislated so as to bring viticulture to a higher level of economic significance. 

Later invasions from the French and the Spanish also contributed to further development while the Arabs inhibited the consumption of alcohol. 

In modern times, quantity ruled over quality and too often wine from Calabria was shipped north in bulk, to offer its high alcohol content in blends with northern Italian as well as French weaker wines.

In an attempt to make Calabrian wines more widely appreciated, in 2008 laws were passed to allow for international varieties to be planted in the Cirò region. Some producers, however, opposed what they considered a betrayal of tradition and refused to follow the widespread fashion of using barriques as well. This resulted in a renaissance of pure gaglioppo wines, this time with renewed commitment to quality and greater investments in know-how and equipment.

The result could be seen at this tasting, with a number of high quality bottles that are sure to establish a new reputation for Cirò around the world.

Below are my tasting notes of what in my opinion were the best wines from this stimulating afternoon that turned out to be full of surprises.

Fezzigna

Caraconessa Melissa Rosso Superiore 2019

75% gaglioppo, 25% greco nero

Organic production of 15,000 bottles since 2014. A relatively smooth wine, relatively to the structures of today's tasting that were on average quite powerful. Slight alcohol sensation. RRP £20. Score 89.

Rocco Pirito

Cirò Rosso Classico Superiore Riserva Brinifé 2016

Red fruits and tertiary notes of leather and tobacco. A powerful and complex wine with a long finish. Ready now. You are lucky if you can get a hold of one of only 7,000 bottles produced.

RRP £44. Score 94.

Sergio Arcuri

Old vines planted in 1948 are the protagonists of this vineyard. Organic production for 25,000 bottles.

Liberaisensi Calabria bianco 2022

Made from guardavalle grape, a structured wine with toasted notes.. RRP £22. Score88

Il Marinetto Rosato 2022

An "orange" wine (only a few hours on the skin of gaglioppo grapes) then cement, no wood. A balanced and long wine. RRP £28. Score 90.

Cirò rosso classico superiore riserva 2020

A perfect balance and good complexity, surprising length.

RRP £ 28. Score 91.

Cirò rosso classico superiore riserva "Più Vite" 2016

A powerful wine, almost explosive, complex and long. Ready now no point waiting any longer. RRP £38. Score 93.

Vigneti Vumbaca

The house of Vumbaca was founded in 1984, there are now about 13 hectares of organically farmed vines, with a special project devoted to recuperating old vines by restoring them as saplings. The best overall producer of today.

Cirò bianco 2022

Greco bianco 100%

Very intense to the nose, balanced and long. Some vanilla notes reminescent of chardonnay.

RRP £ 20. Score 92.

Cirò rosato 2022

Gaglioppo 100%

Soft pressing of gaglioppo grapes, then just 3 hours on the skins.

As complex as roé wines will go, fruity and long.

RRP £20. Score 90.

Cirò rosso classico superiore 2022

gaglioppo 100%

A powerful nose gives way to a round palate and a long finish, very balanced.

RRP £22 Score 92.

Cirò rosso classico superiore riserva 2020

gaglioppo 100%

Full body, balanced, long and complex, this wine reaches the threshold of exceptional quality. Smooth and velvety secondary and incipient tertiary flavors that made me think it might be worthwhile to wait a few years to enjoy this wine at its peak.

RRP £39. Score 95.

OLD VINTAGES

On one side of the tasting room participants were presented with a table lined up with old vintages. The verdict is that some Cirò wines are now capable of aging very well indeed, which could perhaps be the most significant take away from this event.

’A Vita, Cirò rosso classico superiore riserva 2014

Good tannins, balanced structure, ready with 1-2 more years ahead. Score 90

Cataldo Calabretta, Cirò rosso classico superiore riserva 2013

Light garnet color denotes a mature wine, alcohol is predominant. Score 86

Cote di Franze, Cirò rosso superiore classico 2011

Balanced and long, moderate complexity. Score 91

Fezzigna Vignaioli, Melissa rosso superiore 2016

A complex with with a few years ahead. Score 91

Fratelli dell'Aquila, Cirò rosso classico superiore 2016

An intense nose, balanced and long. Score 92

Sergio Arcuri Cirò classico superiore riserva Più vite 2013

A bit astringent, alcohol sensation, probably past its peak. Score 86

Tenuta del Conte, Cirò rosso classico superiore 2012

A balanced wine with a thin ending. Score 86

Vigneti Vumbaca, Cirò rosso classico superiore 2019

Strong tannins give good structure which is partially disturbed by a strong alcohol sensation. Score 85

Welsh Wine in London

There is always a first time for everything and today is my first time at a Welsh wine tasting event. In fact it is probably the first time that any Welsh wine is going to pass through my lips and land on my curious taste buds.

Welcome to the Welsh Centre of London for an event organized by Levercliff.

There are some 50 vineyards in Wales, more than I would ever have imagined given the fact that this part of the UK lies at a very peripheral region of wine making, around 50 degrees north of latitude. 

Yet over 20 varieties are grown and some £10 million worth of wine are produced each year, and rising.

Below are my tasting notes for today. In general, I found these Welsh wines tend to be ready to drink rather young. This of course could be an advantage for both producers and consumers, but on the other hand it might mean less potential for evolution in the bottle.

I am surprised because at these cold latitudes I would have expected more acidity and dryer wines.

Maybe less surprisingly, and more similarly to what happens in England, whites were generally better than reds. And quite a few good bubbles.

Another point to note is that prices are not cheap. Good news for the producers that they can command mid-range prices for most of their wines and decidedly high prices for some, as I indicated below.

Finally, many wines had very low abv. I can only suppose the scarcity of sugar in the berries means less alcohol could be produced before fermentation stopped, for whatever reason.

Montgomery Vineyard

Seyval blanc sparkling

seyval 100%

A fragrant and balanced bubbly, perhaps because of its 18 months on lees. RRP £ 35. Score 89

The Dell Vineyard

Pinot noir and seyval blanc 2022

Only 11% abv, a smooth velvety wine. RRP 21. Score 89

Velfrey vineyard

Seyval blanc/pinot noir 2022

18 months on lees produce an intense and long bubbly, very balanced with a touch of sweet at the end. RRP £35, Score 88

Rhosyn

seyval blanc/pinot noir 2021

A complex and long sparkling wine, 24 months on lees. RRP £42. Score 91

Naturiol

seyval blanc 2022

Natural fermentation and lees stirring, no filtering and no fining make for an opaque wine with an intriguing bitter touch. RRP 25. Score 90

White Castle vineyard

White Still Gwin Gwyn 2023

Phoenix (80) and seyval blanc (20)

An intense wine with moderate complexity, good balance and length. RRP 24. Score 89

White still 2023

Siegerrebe 100%

Complex, long, balanced. RRP 24. Score 88.

Do you want to practice your Welsh?

Thracian Lowlands, Bulgaria, presented by Ray O'Connor MW

With Ray O'Connor

Unusual opportunity offered to us today by Westbury Communication in London: Bulgarian wines from the lowlands of Thracia. Excellent introduction by Ray O'Connor, MW. Here are the main takeaways.

The Greeks cultivated vines first in this region, but it was the Romans, as so often everywhere in Europe, that brought a systematic organization of wine production, with rules and laws about what to grow, how and how much.

The subsequent Ottoman rule all but quashed the wine industry and it was only in the 1870s, the Russia liberated Bulgaria from the Turks that wine production picked up once more. During the communist times, from 1945 to 1989, Bulgarian wine thrived because in the socialist planning the country was designated as a wine producing region. It was supposed to bottle wine for other countries of the socialist bloc that did not have the same comparative advantage in terms of climate and tradition. Because of the lack of a market economy wine was sometimes bartered instead of sold, even with western companies like Pepsi Cola, which unlike Coca Cola always had a good business relationship with the Soviet Union and its satellite countries: socialist wine for capitalist Pepsi!

With the return to market economy in the 1990s there was a huge task to be completed before production could restart on a new basis: return to the legitimate owners the land that had been expropriated by the Communist Party. Thereafter, the new/old owners started to stress quality over quantity, reduced bulk wine production and began to address the demand of the rising middle class, as well as of the export market.

Uniquely in Europe, and contrary to the old traditions that dated back to the Romans, Bulgaria decided to establish very loose rules for its denominations, and instead let the producers use their imagination to make pretty much whatever wine they wanted.

Here are my tasting notes:

Burgozone Via Istrum Tamyanka 2022, Danubian plain

tamyanka 100%

Intense,  aromatic, fresh with a citrus peel finish.

RRP £ 18. Score 86

Bononia Estate Vrachanski Misket 2022

Vrachanski misket 100%

Marked texture, fresh, citrus, sapid end

RRP 16. Score 86

Chateau Copsa Cuvée blanc 2022

50% chardonnay, 40% misket, 10% sauvignon

Intense and complex, fresh, floral.

RRP 16. Score 88

Vinex Slaviantsi reseerve Chardonnay 2021

Chardonnay 100%

Intense, complex, balanced and long.

RRP 12. Score 90

Aya Estate melnik 2021

Broadleaved melnik (Ranna Melnishka Loza) 100%

Spices, herbal, dry, a bit astringent. Might benefit from more time in the bottle.

RRP £20. Score 85

Rupel Gramatik Rubin Barrique 2020 from Struma valley

Rubin 100%

A structured wine, tobacco, herbal, definitely needs more time in the bottle to round corners.

RRP 20. Score 87

Domaine Boyar Korten Natura Mavrud & Rubin 2021

mavrud 68% and rubin 32% French oak barrels

Good structure yet lots of fruit, ready now with some potential for evolution.

RRP £ 10.50 Score 87

Katarzyna Estate Seven Grapes 2021

Cab sauvignon, merlot, syrah, malbec, tempranillo, cab franc, mavrud

Fresh, coffee, spices, structure, good length.

RRP £13.50. Score 89

Minkov Brothers Oak Tree 2016, Thracian Lowlands

cabernet sauvignon, cab franc, merlot

Complex, balanced and long.

RRP 29. Score 92

Slaten Rozhen Sycagy 2017, Struma valley

Syrah 33%, cab franc 33% and sangiovese 33%

Amazingly fruity and flowery, spices, tannins need some rounding.

RRP 30. Score 88

Bulgarian wines overview. Courtesy of Ray O'Connor

Furmint tasting by Wines of Hungary

Unfined and unfiltered furmint bubbles

This was a broad ranging tasting with much more than could be tasted in one day presented at a well organized walk-around at Painters’ Hall in London courtesy of Wines of Hungary.

This time I decided to focus on still 100% dry furmint wines, leaving aside the sweet ones which I had had occasions to taste in the past.

Below are my notes from the most interesting glasses of furmint I had a chance to taste today.

Garamvari Estate

2019 Balaton sparkling: zesty, fresh, ready now but with some potential for evolution. Score 86

2016 Tokaji sparkling: fragrant, evolved and mature. Score 89

TR Wines Tokaji 

Organic pet-nat 2022. Slightly bitter and opaque because it is unfined and unfiltered. Floral notes. An intriguing wine much different from all the others. Score 90.

Beres Tokaji

Locse furmint 2017. A complex wine with a slight bitter ending, well balanced and mod long. Score 90

DHP Tokaji

Nyergesek 2019. A mid-range balanced wine with mod length. Score 88

Szent Tamas Summit 2018. Their best and most complex wine. Score 90

Harsanyi Winery - Tokaji

Dry Szamorodni. Bone dry, almonds Slight bitter ending. Score 86

Spiegelberg Artisan Winery - Somlo

Harslevelu 2013. Balanced and complex, slight bitter ending. Score 89

Sauska - Tokaji

Birsalmas 2019. Complex and long. Score 92

Szepsy - Tokaji

Furmint 2018. Balanced fragrant. Score 89

Hetszolo organic vineyards - Tokaji

Dry selection 2011. Well aged wine, slight bitterness, balanced. Score 93

The 2018 is still young, I scored it 88 but it isnot ready yet.

sorry I forgot to shave today!