Tarragona - Day 2 (am)

11-Jun-09 - The day did not start well. The wifi which I had used the previous night had decided that it didn't exist. Indeed, later in the day I took the laptop downstairs to close proximity with the transmitter, and it still insisted that there were no wireless networks available, even though my colleagues were cheerfully surfing away across the table. It confirmed my suspicion that computers are neurotic creatures which sometimes, and for reasons they refuse to explain, decide that they're not going to do something they have done quite happily before, or are going to start doing something they've never done before, and you can get stuffed.

DOQ PRIORAT

I first met Álvaro Palacios in 1996, at which time his winery was housed in a disused theatre in the village of Gratallops. We tasted what was then Clos (now Finca) Dofi, and he took me to see the 45º slope that is l'Ermita. I was bowled over by the wines and devoted a whole chapter of the Oz Clarke Wine Guide for 1997 to them.

Since then I've met Álvaro many times, at the family winery in Alfaro, Rioja, at trade events and we have occasionally shared a platform at conferences in Spain. I had not, however, visited his 'new' winery which is on the outskirts of Gratallops. Needless to say he designed it himself and it gleams with all the latest technology. The tasting room is light and airy and, after a quick tour, we settled down to some serious sampling.

Patricia Langton doing some serious sampling; Álvaro Palacios, right.

2007 Camins del Priorat - 50/40/10 Cariñena/Garnacha/Cabernet-Sauvignon and Syrah - 8 months Fr. This is Álvaro's new 'entry level' wine retailing at €12-14 in Spain: bright purple with rich, concentrated, damsony fruit on the nose, big structure, power and tannins on the palate, but the balance is right and this should be a stunner for Christmas. 17/20

2007 Las Terrasses - 50/50 Cariñena/Garnacha - 12 months Fr. This is made from bought-in grapes, but Palacios pays well over the odds for grapes from old vines so his contract growers give only of their best: purple, spicy, spiky, brambly fruit on the nose, with very crisp tannic 'grip' on the foretaste, 'locked in' fruit on the mid and a long, musky finish. Needs another year (at least). The 2006 sells for £20-22 in the UK. 17/20

2007 Gratallops - Garnacha/Cabernet-Sauvignon - the first 'village' wine: purple, soft, perfumed fruit with Cabernet prominent on the nose, very clean, crisp fruit on the foretaste with some complexity and well-integrated fruit on the mid. Fresh acidity and a long finish. 17/20

2007 L'Ermita - made from 70-80-year-old Garnacha cropping at 9 hl/ha. Purple, lovely rich, perfume with complex aromatics, rich on the foretaste with fab structure and a long, musky, finish. Needs five years - the 2006 sells in the UK for around £420. 19/20

2008 L'Ermita (cask sample) - dark purple, big, spiky, brambly spices on the nose, this reminded me of the first tank sample I'd tasted back in 1996: wonderful complexity, endless structure, perfumed fruit. Fab. Needs 10 years. 19½/20

There were a couple of funny moments: Rebecca ('La Jovenissima') said that she'd like to sit down after tasting l'Ermita, such had been the experience, and I asked Álvaro whether it was true that he and Peter Sisseck (of Pingus fame) were vying with each other to make the most expensive wine of Spain. "I had dinner with him last night" said Álvaro. "I think I'm still ahead!" Pingus is listed in the UK at around £399.

'La Jovenissima', limbering up for l'Ermita

DO TERRA ALTA

And then, for something completely different, the DO Terra Alta, one of the least-known wine areas of Catalunya. The capital is Gandesa, about 70 km west of Reus and 50 km south-west of Gratallops, which has some wonderful modernista buildings, including the local co-op, which was designed by César Martinell, a pupil of Gaudí.

The Gandesa co-op building. In need of a lick of paint when this was taken.
Pic.: Gandesa website

We were not to visit the co-op, however (although we did drive by it) as the Consejo Regulador had arranged a generic tasting for us at its offices in the town centre. I was particularly looking forward to this as my last visit to this area was a long time ago and bedevilled by time constraints as I only had one day there and had to get to Barcelona airport later on, so only managed three bodega visits (including the Gandesa co-op and Bàrbara Forés - see below). The opportunity to taste a dozen wines from 12 different wineries all in one go was very welcome, and we were efficiently served by the lovely Raquel Estrada.

Raquel Estrada pouring for the DO... And modelling the latest in skimpy denim tops.

The general style hereabouts is pretty middle-of-the-road: the countryside is dotted with co-ops, many of which are still a bit old-fashioned and sleepy ( I remember visiting one which still sold its wine in bulk from one of those old 'petrol pump' dispensers with a clock-face, to families who turned up with their own five-litre containers) but, as everywhere in Spain, there are a few bodegas doing something different, and in some cases spectacularly so. There's a lot of work being done with such as Syrah, Cab and Merlot, but the traditional Garnatxa (as it's spelled here) also showed promise. The usual criteria apply:

2008 Vinyes del Grau Syrah, Josep Vicens - 14.5% abv, €6 retail - I liked this - big rich, oily peppery on the nose and palate with loads of fruit on the mid and a potentially blockbusting finish. 17/20

2005 Torremadrina Selecció, Tarroné - Garnatxa/Syrah/Cabernet-Sauvignon/Merlot - 14% abv, 8 months oak, €14.95 retail - that old-fashioned hot, spicy, 'sawdusty' Garnacha dominates on the nose, very austere on the foretaste but there is good complexity and structure, as well as spicy fruit fighting to get out. Good length. 17/20

2005 Via Edetana Negre, Edetària - 33/33/33 Garnacha/Garnacha Peluda/Cariñena - 14% abv, 12 months Fr, €12 retail - very nice subtle soft dark fruit on the nose, some austere tannins on the palate but the structure is there and the fruit is working well. Long, hot, spicy finish. 18/20

2005 l'Avi Arrufi, Piñol - Garnacha/Syrah/Cabernet-Sauvignon/Merlot - 14% abv, 15 months, €17.40 retail. This has been one of the few 'classics' from Terra Alta for several years: purple, some rich, 'hidden' fruit on the nose which bursts into life on the palate with big spicy ripeness and a long, golden finish. Excellent. 18/20

Traditional Sweet Wines

2007 Edetària Dolç, Edetària - Garnacha/Cabernet-Sauvignon - 15% abv, 8 months Fr, €12.50 retail (50cl) - dark purple, lovely dark, rich 'fruitcake' nose, classic tannic 'grip' on the foretaste and some real structure on the mid, and long, long, long. 17/20

2007 Merian Dolç, Tarroné - Garnacha - 3 months Fr, €8.25 retail (50cl) - very dark purple, lovely perfumed 'hi-end' fruit nose, lovely fresh clean uncloying sweetness on the mid but still with a gentle tannic 'grip'. 18/20

1928 (solera) Covilalba Ranci - Garnacha Blanca - 19% abv, €20 retail. This is the Vilalba co-op's flagship ranci, the most traditional style all the way along Spain's north-east coast. Walnut, rich, soft, long 'dry Oloroso' on the nose, but more like an old Amontillado on the palate, nutty, perfectly mature and excellent. 18/20

I am always depressed when I taste these wonderful, old-fashioned wines, that they're virtually impossible to sell in the UK market - people simply don't know what they are. Fortunately, however, from Alella in the north to Terra Alta in the south they are still being made, and local people (and visitors such as I) continue to enjoy them.

Our next visit was just around the corner to Bàrbara Forés. I'd particularly asked to go there because I'd been before and the winery is an agreeable, handsome old family house (built by the architect Ramon Salas Ricomà), in a city street and on several levels, but also because of its history. Bàrbara Forés (1825-1905) was a winemaking pioneer of the nineteenth-century, and her son, Rafael Ferrer, followed in her footsteps, and even bottled wine (which was rare at the turn of the 20th century). Bàrbara's great-great-granddaughter María-Carmen Ferrer and her husband Manuel Sanmartín did the restoration work and put the bodega back to work in 1994 with the help of José-Luís Pérez of Clos Martinet (whose daughter Sara we shall meet in two days' time). The wines, I remembered, had shown great potential and this was confirmed by the tasting:

Tasting at Bàrbara Forés - María-Carmen Ferrer third from left

White Wines

2007 Bàrbara Forés Blanco - 90/10 Garnacha Blanca/Viognier with 18-20 hours' maceration - 13.5% abv, €7.90 retail - very pale straw, Garnacha Blanca power on the nose with some Viognier perfume. On the palate a bit austere but with fresh fruit and good acidity and weight, steely dry on the finish with a hint of bitter almonds. Lovely. 17/20

2005 Bàrbara Forés Blanco barrel-fermented with batonaje - Garnacha Blanca (60-y-o vines) - 14% abv - full straw, rich, smoky Garnacha Blanca aromas, and a lovely structure with complex 'savoury' fruit with a minerally character. Some austerity on the finish but long. 17/20

2007 Bàrbara Forés Blanco barrel-fermented with batonaje - as above - pale straw, that 'mineral' character again on the nose, big, mouth-filling fruit, some austerity but good balance and lovely freshness and cleanliness leading to a long finish. 17/20

Red Wines

2004 Coma d'en Pou - Garnacha/Cabernet-Sauvignon - 14-16 months Fr - 14% abv, older vintages retail at €18-€20 - This is a single-vineyard wine: dark purple, real, rich, deep, dark fruit with subtle 'chocolatey' hints on the nose, rich, structured, complex, and lovely fruit on the mid, tannins kick in but in balance, and the length shows real class. 17/20

2005 Coma d'en Pou - as above - bigger spice but still rich deep, dark fruit on the nose, and big fruit on the palate along with big tannins and an equally big finish. This will be a blockbuster. 18/20
Traditional Sweet Wine

2006 Vi Dolç Natural - Garnacha Blanca - 13.5% abv, 16 months - Also from the Coma d'en Pou vineyard: pale walnut in colour, soft, gentle, aromatic sweetness on the nose, carrying through to the palate. This is simply long, generous and delicious. 17/20

And, on a self-referential note, they had a copy of THE NEW SPAIN in their library, and asked me to sign it.

DO MONTSANT

It's about an hour's drive from Gandesa to Cornudella de Montsant, which is 33 km north-west of Reus, where we were to visit Cingles Blaus ('blue cliffs' after the Montsant rockface). The bodega is new but housed in ancient stone buildings in a kind of 'farmstead' down an unmade road, with a pleasant courtyard and an even more pleasant 'lounge bar' well supplied with cold beer, which was much in demand after a hard morning's work. We were hosted by Jordi Busquets, a member of one of the owning families (the winemaker, Eloi Milà is a member of the other family), and served coca, the savoury Catalan cake which is made with different toppings according to the time of year and the saints' days.

Cingles Blaus - the road to the winery

While the others went off to look at the steel tanks I had another beer and examined the 'QR (Quick Response) Code' which adorns the labels of the wines. This a matrix of dots unique to each wine (or any other product - it was originally developed for tracking motor parts in Japan), rather like a barcode but, according to the blurb, 'more glamorous' and favoured by designers because of its graphic potential. The idea is that you download an application into your mobile 'phone and then you can take a picture of the Code. This will then trigger a text message giving you information about the product, possibly including a web address and, if the 'phone has internet access, a click-through to the website for more information. So you could be sitting at a restaurant table drinking a bottle of wine, want to know more about it, and be looking at the winery's website in a matter of moments. Clever, eh?

One of the QR Codes from Cingles Blaus

But back to the tasting: outside in the courtyard they were barbecuing huge fillets of beef for lunch, and when my compatriots returned we tasted through the range:

2007 Octubre - 40/40/20 Garnacha/Cariñena/Syrah, 4½ months Romanian - 13% abv, €8 retail. Purple/ruby with soft, smoky rich subtle aromas, and excellent balance on the foretaste with fruit well-integrated - clean, soft tannins on the finish. Delicious. 17/20

2006 Mas de las Moreras - 50/20/30 Cariñena/Garnacha/Cabernet-Sauvignon, Merlot Syrah, 12-15 months oak - 14% abv, €12 retail. Purple/ruby with lotsa fruit perfume on the nose. Another very nicely assimilated palate, with musky tannins well under control, and a good, right mid and length. 17/20

2004 Cingles Blaus Selecció - Garnacha/Syrah, 13½ months new oak - about €20 retail. Ruby, with big smoky, dark subtle fruit on the nose and another beautifully balanced palate - the tannins are still a little prominent on the mid, but there is great potential here. 18/20

2002 Cingles Blaus Dolç - Garnacha Gris, 18 months French - 15% abv, about €25 retail. This is a passito wine, the grapes allowed to dry inside the winery for four months to concentrate the juice and encourage Botrytis, and fermentation is stopped at 15%. Pale gold, some Botrytis evident on the nose and also the palate - a very gentle but rich sweetness but not cloying. Lovely 'golden' finish. 18/20

And then it was upstairs for lunch at a long table - huge fillet steaks, chips and coarsely-chopped salad with the remains of the tasting wines. A splendid repast, indeed.