First Thursday Tasting: New Arrivals from Spain
Thursday, October 4, 2012 4:30-6:30 pm
The Wine Market 1200 Bardstown Rd
This month we feature 5 great Spanish wines, highlighting 3 selections from Vanguard Wines, represented by Kenny Andreozzi (formerly buyer at The WIne Market):
Raventos Perfum de Vi Blanc 2010 $14.99
A perennial favorite white here at The Wine Market, this beautiful wine really has it all. Blended from half Muscat and half Macabeo, it is aptly named with lifted floral aromatics (orchard blossoms, honeysuckles) opening to a zesty, medium bodied palate (green melon and citrus zest). There’s a lot of richness here, but finesse too, sidestepping cloyingly excessive fruit or any of the aspects that offset the balance of the other similarly expressive wines we are offered.
Finca Os Cobatos Mencia 2011 $13.99
A new addition on our Spanish aisle, the name might feel a bit clumsy but the wine is juicy and approachable! Ripe fruit (strawberries & blackberries) is framed by classic Old World acidity and minerality with some interesting herbal notes, like a hint of licorice. Easy drinking enough to sip by itself, but flexible enough to pair with everything from lighter fare to complex Continentally-inspired cuisine.
Locations “E” Proprietary Spanish Blend $18.99
Another new Spanish red, this time from Orin Swift (“The Prisoner”) winemaker Dave Phinney. The Locations project focuses on sourced grapes from the classic winemaking regions of Europe, but blended in a modern style. The wine is just what you’d expect from a Phinney project, explosively fruit-driven and extroverted with high volume notes of blackberry and plums on the nose, and gobs of ripeness on the palate rounded out with Iberian spice tones and moderate oak. Look for more of the Locations series coming soon!
We also feature these two tremendous Spanish values in this month’s tasting:
Paso A Paso Verdejo 2011 $9.99
This wine is exciting to us because it defied our expectations and offers some wonderful contrasts all bundled up in a single package at a buy-it-by-the-case price! Unlike other Verdejo, this wine veers away from the herbal Sauvignon Blanc-like nose and offers wonderful stone fruit notes: white peach, apricots and even unripe mango, then delivers a full bodied mouthful with hints of kiwi fruit, citrus and spice and mouth watering acidity. Refreshing enough for warm days but with enough body to stand up to the coming cooler nights.
Finca Cuco Red Blend 2011 $9.99
Grenache, Carignan and Syrah from our favorite up and coming wine region in the East of Spain. There’s a lot of value in our Spanish section right now, but this wine hits all the right marks: clean red fruit is framed with touches of spice and gaminess that drinks like a modern Southern Rhone red from a warm vintage, but at half the price!