Our July 16 wine class suffered a bit from summer vacation absenteeism I’m afraid, but I think the vacationers, not the wine class attendees, were the losers. We had three wonderful, but very different white wines from Spain that lived up to every bit of the billing that Andrea gave them in her book. It was quite a refreshing summer respite for us, I must say.
Our first excursion took us to Jerez in Andalusia to taste a Tio Pepe Palomino Fino Extra Dry Light Sherry (no vintage, 15% alcohol). This was a far cry from the “sherry teas” I remember from Sunday afternoons in my freshman college dorm. Those were so sweet and syrupy that, despite the lure of free alcohol, I “moved on” shall we say after a couple of tries. The Tio Pepe, on the other hand, was nice and dry with a crisp, acidic finish. The overwhelming flavor and aroma is that of almonds, even though the color was a very pale yellow. After a bit, the taste of dried apricots came through. Now this is what I’m talking about for a garden party!
Next we headed off to the Rias Baixas region in the far northwest province of Galicia for a 2008 La Cana Albariño (13% alcohol). If we thought the sherry was pale, this was the color of white peaches. And of course, as soon as someone said that about the color, we all tasted it as well. Comparing this to the sherry is like comparing apples (specifically green ones) to oranges, or rather almonds and apricots, because the styles are so different. This traditional Spanish white had a relatively full body with a feeling of velvet coating the tongue. We noted lots of fruit in the taste — ripe plums, pineapple and even lichee. So despite its somewhat northern clime for Spain, and its floral scents, it was smoother and less crisp, but mouthwatering nonetheless.
Finally, we zipped over to the Penedes region near Barcelona to try a sparkling Freixenet Cordon Negro Cava (12% alcohol). Cava is what the Spanish call their sparkling wines, and if you ever have an opportunity to have one instead of a French champagne as a pre-dinner whistle-wetter, this is a great value. The Freixenet (say fresh-e-nay — Catalan again) had a pale greenish color which was a clue when we smelled and tasted it that we would find quite a bit of grassiness to it. This was balanced with quite a bit of butter making the overall experience spicy and creamy at the same time. For a sparkler, it had sturdy legs and a great deal of body. Perhaps because the varietal here is unmistakably chardonnay.
Next month, we decided to explore some red varietals that we often run across on restaurant menus but know very little about. Our travels are going to bring us back to the good old USA where we will try a Hermann J. Weimer 2007 Cabernet Franc from the Finger Lakes right here in New York (12.5% alcohol). Then we’re off to the Left Coast for a Rosenblum 2006 Zinfandel (no, not the pink stuff called white zinfandel; this is really red) from Paso Robles, California (14.9% alcohol — oh goody!) and finally a David Bruce 2005 Central Coast (still west) Petite Sirah (13.8% alcohol). For a brief, general discussion of these varietals, see pages 239 to 240 of Andrea Immer Robinson’s book Great Wines Made Simple.
Can’t wait to see you all for our next class on August 19 around sevenish!! And don’t forget to look up past tasting notes on montaukwineclub.blogspot.com. They’re also coming soon in searchable form on the Club’s revamped website.
Suzy Marquard