Meet Mencía - The Dutchess

aka Bierzo on a Saturday Night

Did I order it just because I like pronouncing it?? Bee-air-THO. When I say it the subtext is “Yes, I know of what I speak”. The Bierzo region is a small DO in north-west Spain’s Galicia neighborhood. This medium bodied red is made from the Mencía grape (another fun pronunciation – Men-THEE-ah, gotta love those Castillians!) which lives happily on slate and granite soils not far from the Atlantic coast.

On the palate, it plays out like a less demanding Pinot Noir, not quite the princess. It is similarly elegant with ripe berry fruit and well-balanced acidity and alcohol, although more straight forward and somewhat meatier – it had sort of a Damn Good Jerky undercurrent (like yes, its beef jerky, but it’s the best I’ve ever tasted, no lie!). The first one to cross my palate about six
years back was by José Palacios, a beautiful biodynamic Bierzo named Petalos. It left me feeling like I knew I wanted to experience a Bierzo again before I die. Although Mencía is no princess she has undeniable palate pedigree. She has well etched features, precision posture. Sadly, Bierzo is still scarce in this market. So when I saw it on the wine list at Riposo 46 in Hell’s Kitchen last Saturday Night, I had to jump back and kiss myself.

Pago de Valdetruchas Los Cerezales 2008 Bierzo (wine list price $50/bottle, retails for around $20) was a somewhat simpler version of the one that has haunted my palate dreams over the years. Her corset wasn’t wound as tight, but she was thoroughly satisfying nonetheless. Dora loved it with the Gorgonzola on our cheese plate, while I thought the unabashed saltiness of the Serrano Ham flatbread, which was heaped with generous servings of the ham, rocket lettuce and kalamata olives, made the fruit in the wine come alive and do back spins on my tongue. It was an all around success. My cousin Edrica, a budding wine aficionado in her own right, enjoyed the wine as well.

The great thing is that when you do find it, even the biodynamic Petalos, you will not pay much more than $20.00 a bottle to experience the magic. Wine-Searcher.com came up with lots of hits at around $18.00 for that wine, while it seems the only place to get Los Cerezales is at Wine Library in New Jersey for $19.98. Nonetheless, just for shits and giggles, pop into your local wine retailer and ask them for a good bee-air-THO and enjoy the reaction. With any luck they will indeed have one and be proud to be able to offer it to someone who is obviously in the know. Do let me know how this went!

Meet Tempranillo – The Dreamgirl

Killer curves. Great beauty. Tempranillo is the witty, friendly, smart, sexy lady in your life. She’s graceful like leather, herb and baking spice notes often supported on a black cherry heart. Some guys may not have what it takes to convince her, but they all want to see if there’s a chance. And she doesn’t make it easy.

Ribera del Duero is a loving home for Tempranillo. The climate there is continental, with hot summer days, cool nights and a cold winter. The Tempranillo vineyards of line the Ribera del Duero, a river that starts in Spain and flows through Portugal where it is known as the Douro. This environment makes for great 100% Tempranillo wines that often have impressive longevity. In the Rioja region, Tempranillo’s often the strong link in the chain (a blend) with Garnacha, Graciano and Mazuelo. This is Spain’s noble grape. In many ways, Tempranillo bears a resemblance to Pinot Noir, another beautiful wine experience.

Much like with Pinot Noir, your palate should be used to high quality foods and ingredients, including organics (as I see it, if you take the time to treat your crop with good organic love, your efforts must produce something of high quality). Your palate should appreciate purity, as it does when your diet is strictly itals. Your palate is teased with a little spice in my fave Ribera del Duero reds that I tasted just recently at Wines of Spain Great Match 2011 at the Metropolitan Pavilion in Manhattan. (I shot my Rioja twitcon there, follow @RiojaWINE). I had the pleasure of vibing with both Verdejo and Tempranillo on personal level. They could be great mates in the same meal – Verdejo paired with a light appetizer like seared foie gras tourchon or saltfish with dumpling and sautéed spinach and onion. The main course could be a beautiful heritage chicken roast rubbed with Illchef #7 spice (link @iLLCH3F to inquire, and please truss that bird before roasting!) with carrots, onions, garlic and celery to compliment the Tempranillo. I suggest decanting Rioja Reservas and Grand Reservas as well as Ribera del Dueros older than age 6 (2005 or earlier).

Your Homework
Your homework for this week and weekend is to try 3 Tempranillos. Ask your favorite retailer or browse your favorite wine website for Ribera del Duero and Rioja. You can easily find a Rioja Joven or an inexpensive Crianza (under $15) then treat yourself to two Ribera wines – one around $15.00 and the other, on the older side, at $40.00 and up. Pay close attention to the varietal makeup of the Rioja. Do Tweet your notes to @wineLIFE_, @riojawine and @wines_fromspain #TempranilloHW. Tell us which one was your favorite (please include the wine’s name, vintage and region), how much you paid for it and its best qualities. You can also post notes on the wineLIFE Facebook wall. You will fall in love!

If you love this blog as much as I love writing it for you, please share it. I love sharing what I’ve learned about wine and life!

With Love,

Vee Fitzgerald DWS xoxo

Meet Verdejo - The Dancer

Meet Verdejo – The Dancer
I’ve met Verdejo on several occasions in the past – surely several times while studying for my Diploma of Wine and Spirit and we carried Valdelapinta Verdejo 2009 (imported by Parador Imports) at wineLIFE among our summer 2010 selection of wines. Last week at Great Match 2011, Wines from Spain’s annual wine and food tasting event, I had a chance to rub elbows with him and really get to know him better. And you know what? He’s a unique variety that deserves his own week to be featured!

Drinking Verdejo is like watching a ballet. Verdejo is that dude in tights, but don’t mistake his wardrobe for weakness. He is strong and lean and graceful, and all the ballerinas want to run across the stage and leap into his arms. The tights let you see his taut muscle tone. He lifts the ballerina in the air as though she were light as a feather. They move in unison. His moves are masculine and precise. Many times it seems she will just wither into his arms and he would catch her, hold her, balance her, look into her eyes… Ah Verdejo!

Rueda is Spain’s most respected white wine region, and Verdejo is the noble grape on which the best wines are based. Traditionally, as in many old world wine regions, Verdejo was the star in a duet (blend) with Palomino, but nowadays, the variety does solos regularly. It is not a difficult grape to grow, and as soon as Spanish winemakers made the discovery that with temperature controlled fermentations in stainless steel with no aging Verdejo could be a star, he took center stage!
Flavor Profile and Food Partners
Verdejo is for lovers of unique food combinations short of pregnancy cravings. With all that lovely crisp acidity, pink grapefruit and rosemary character, they tend to have an underlying nuttiness – that is it’s signature.

This past Sunday night I broke down a whole chicken and curried it with carrots, onions, garlic and flour dumplings and it was fantastic (just ask my three year old daughter, who was not just licking her fingers, but her whole hand!). It had just enough sizzle on the back palate to clear up congestion without making you lunge for a piece of bread – water only makes a burning palate burn hotter, in case you didn’t know. And the flavors were rich! I was generous with cumin and clove, salt and plenty pepper. All I could think about was my new friend Verdejo who I didn’t even have the decency to invite over for dinner! If I had, he and my curry would have become the closest of friends. His racy acidity and vivacious fruit character would have been the perfect counter point for the richly savory, sufficiently spicy curry in my pot. I had a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc instead, and that was just as lovely as I had hoped.

Your Homework
Your homework for this week and weekend is to try 2 Verdejos. Ask your favorite retailer or browse your favorite wine website for Rueda. Pay close attention to the varietal makeup. You should try one that is 100% Verdejo and another that is at least 60% Verdejo blended with other varieties. Do Tweet your notes to @wineLIFE_ and @wines_fromspain #VerdejoHW. Tell us which one was your favorite (please include the wine’s name, vintage and region), how much you paid for it and its best qualities. You can also post notes on the wineLIFE Facebook wall. Viva España!