Last week Graileys had the pleasure of hosting one of our favorite wine vendors and local Advanced Sommelier Michael Flynn for an exciting evening of a taste of Spain. You have probably enjoyed Michael’s Wine Chats at the Mansion and we were honored to have him host one at Graileys. Michael just recently toured Spain himself so his was really excited to share his experience with us through eight glasses of Spanish reds he personally wanted to showcase for the event. With three flights of wines, we were able to compare and contrast between selected vintages and producers of Spain’s top three regions: Rioja, the Duero and Priorat.
From the first flight, we tasted two Gran Reserva Rioja’s: 2008 Cune and 2007 CVNE ‘Imperial’. The 2008 Cune Rioja Gran Reserva was the crowd favorite. With incredibly smooth texture and rich, bold flavors this little Rioja was a complete over-achiever for the price! From 60 year old Tempranillo vines, the fruit was densely concentrated and after three years in American and French oak barrels with another three in their cellar, the wine was completely seamless. Notes of warm vanilla, nutmeg and toasted coconut every so smoothly intermingled with juicy red and black cherries, fresh dill and sweet tobacco.
The second flight was composed of three different reds from the Duero: 2010 Mauro Duero Red, 2009 Abadia Retuerta Duero Red and 2006 Vega Sicilia Valbuena Duero. The favorite was the baby brother of Vega Sicilia’s Unico, the 2006 Valbuena, but the price point of the 2010 Mauro drove it to the top. Both from a majority of old vine Tempranillo with a touch of international grapes like Merlot and Malbec in the Valbuena and Syrah in the Mauro, both wines were spectacular! With its regal lineage, the Valbuena was undeniably more elegant while the Mauro was an astounding alternative for a powerful glass of wine for your everyday drink.
The final flight was a tasting of two Priorat: 2007 Clos Figueres Priorat and 2011 Clos Mogador and the winner was the 2011 Clos Mogador from Priorat’s rockstar winemaker, Rene Barbier. A blend of Garnacha, Carinena, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, the wine is masculine in structure and velvety in texture while displaying an array of flavors from rich dark fruit, thyme, sage and dense slate. The finish is just as haunting reflecting the remnants of dark cherries and smoke. With each vintage, Rene Barbier’s wines are always well received by critics and even more so by sommeliers.
2008 Cune Rioja Gran Reserva
2007 CVNE ‘Imperial’ Rioja Gran Reserva
2010 Mauro Duero Red
2009 Abadia Retuerta Duero Red
2006 Vega Sicilia Valbuena Duero
2007 Clos Figueres Priorat
2011 Clos Mogador Priorat
1963 Sandeman Port