This week I tried three wines from Europe's Iberian Peninsula -- two Spanish and one from Portugal. Each of them is true to their origins using grapes allowed for their regions. You can find good value wines from these countries and so I hope you will find
something appealing in these.
MONTSANT
CELLER BESLLUM BESLLUM
2008 (874651)
Spain
$19.99
In Spain's Catalonia region lies the Denomincio D'Origin of Montsant. This area lies at the base of the more famous DO, Priorat. Wines from Priorat are praised for the high quality, but also come with a high price tag.
The wines from Montsant however are more affordable and have been excelling in quality. This means for the consumer you can get great wines at better prices.
One such wine is the Besllum 2008 from Malondro Cellars. This winery is small with about 25 acres in vine and new owners since 2000.
While the owners are new, the vines average around 40 years old and supply grapes that are rich in concentration. Besllum is a blended red wine with equal parts of Garnacha, Carignan and a splash of Syrah.
In the glass, I found a wine that was thick red in colour with aromas that are intergraded due to the sixteen months it has spent in new French oak barrels and a further six months in bottle before it was released.
Aromas in this wine range from blueberry, plum and blackberries with touches of spice and hints of oak. But, in the mouth it was its most pleasing with good concentrations of black fruit, soft acidity and silky tannins.
Robert Parker and The Wine Advocate liked this wine so much they gave it 93 points out of 100. Not a bad rating for a $19.99 bottle of wine that could be enjoyed with roasted beef, pork or fowl.
JUMILLA
EL PETIT BONHOMME
(169383)
Spain
$14.99
The second Spanish wine is from a different region - Jumilla. The 2010 El Petit
Bonhomme.
This big blend is the work of Montreal born Nathalie Bonhomme who has spent the last 20 years in Spain with wineries in both the Jumilla and Valencia DO's.
The components of this wine are Monastrell, the most widely planted grape in Jumilla, Grenacha and Syrah and really a New World meets Old World kind of wine.
While at first it appears to be a very fruit forward red wine it has that underlying structured presence. A dark red cherry colour fills the glass with some density and has an obvious full-body evident by the tears or legs that cling to the glass after a good swirl.
On the nose, the first thing I noticed was those strong red and black fruits that made me think this was going to be one of those fruit bomb kind of wines.
But then you begin to notice other aromas such as oak, spice and a hint of coffee. Then on the palate it was again very fruit forward with plum and black cherry, but once that has passed over your palate the toasty oak, vanilla and a slight peppery feel kick in.
With soft easy tannins and a mild acidity my mouth knew it had tasted something very good.
I enjoyed this wine enough to buy a second bottle and at only $14.99.
El Petit Bonhomme will pair nicely with chocolate, anything meat barbequed and I think ham would be an excellent choice.
DOURO
ALTANO (579862)
Portugal
$12.99
The Symington family has been involved in Portuguese wine making since the 1890s and today are involved in many Port houses as well as table wines.
One of their still wines I've had recently was the red Altano 2009 (579862) from Portugal's Douro Valley. This is a blend of two grapes the Tinta Roriz, the Spanish call it Tempranillo, and Touriga Franca.
The two previous wines from the Iberian Peninsula had more of the black fruit flavours and aromas this one has more of the red berry qualities. Even the red colour was lighter and the aromas were of red cherry and raspberry.
On the palate, I found a light to medium-body wine with fresh berry flavours. There are hints of oak and a little savoury spice.
The finish showed some tannin with a zestiness that was refreshing.
For $12.99, this is a good match for tomato based pasta sauces or why not pizza.
Al Spoklie is a product consultant at the B.C. Signature Liquor Store, Pine Centre. The bracketed numbers are the product codes for the B.C.
liquor stores.
