TAPAS

On Sat June 5th I attended the TAPAS tasting at Fort Mason in SF. The tasting focused on Spanish and Portugese varietals and had wines from California, Oregon and even Arizona. In addition to Spanish and Portugese varietals there was paella, oysters and tapas.

Since I am not a big fan of Tempranillo, I decided to focus on white wines but I then later turned my attention to some delicious red blends and 2 new varietals to me Tannat and Graciano.

Spanish and Portugese white varietals consist of Albarino, Grenache Blanc and Verdelho. Albarino is typically a light wine with very high acidity. It's good to drink on a hot summer day but in my opinion is better enjoyed with food to cut the acidity. Grenache Blanc on the other hand is light and low in acidity. It's crisp, tart and refreshing. Often used as part of a blend in French Rhone Varietals and thought to be a Rhone varietal it actually originated in Spain and is a great varietal in it's own right.

The following were my favorite whites at the tasting:

The 2009 Grenache Blanc from D'Alfonso-Curran Wines in the Santa Ynez valley was lush, creamy and tart. It tasted like a juicy green apple and was very refreshing. At $22 a bottle it's a wine to consider when you want to go for something tasty and out of the ordinary.

The 2009 Bonny Doon Vinho Grinho from Sant Cruz at $20 a bottle is a blend of 56% Albarino and 44% Loureiro. A biodynamically made wine, it's crisp and tart with many flavors and some nice complexity. It's fruity and herbaceous all at the same time.

The 2009 Villa Creek White from Paseo Robles at $24 was my other favorite white. A blend of grenache blanc, roussance and picpoul blanc. This wine was well balanced and well rounded. This is a white rhone varietal instead of a spanish blend but I suppose because of the granache blanc it qualified to be poured at the TAPAS tasting.

After tasting whites I turned to the reds. The most common Spanish and Portugese red varietal is Tempranillo which I am not usually a fan of because of it's tobacco and leathery taste which typically overpowers any fruitiness. Tempranillo is a ruby red color and grows best in high altitudes . While Tempranillo can grow in hot climates, the ones I seem to like best are grown in cooler climates as they tend to have more balance, elegance & fruitiness.

Abacela Winery from Oregon poured the only 100% Tempranillos at the tasting that I liked. The 2007 Tempranillo Cuvee at $20 was low in tannins, easy to drink and the best value of the 3. The 2006 Estate Tempranillo at $35 had big fruit and a nice finish and was my favorite Tempranillo at the tasting. The 2005 Tempranillo Reserve at $45 was a big bold red with fruit and some spice which would be great with food.

Since I am not generally a big fan of Tempranillo (though I was pleasantly surprised by the ones from Abecela), I decided to focus on the other red varietals at the tasting. Silvaspoons of Lodi poured a 2008 Alta Mesa Cellars Tannat at $18 a bottle that was quite tasty and unique. Typically a wine used for blending Tannat has a deep purple color, high tannins and high alcohol but the Alta Mesa wine had nice berry flavors which were given complexity and not overpowered by the tannins in the wine.

Graciano is a varietal that is typically used as part of a rioja blend and is one I had not tried previously. At the tasting there were 2 wines with graciano that I tasted and both were quite good.

The 2006 Graciano from Bodgeas Paseo Robles Winery at $36 a bottle is 100% graciano grapes and had a cherry berry taste with some spice.

The Bokisch 2006 Gracino from Lodi at $21 a bottle is 95% graciano and 5% tempranillo. This wine has a dark inky color and is rich in the mouth with a nice jammy taste complimented with some spicy overtones.

Mourvedre is a wine that although it originated in Spain is usually used in Rhone Varietals and is typically blended with other grapes to provide some structure and earthiness with red berry flavors. When you can find it, 100% Mourvedre is a real treat.

Villa Creek poured 3 red wines at the tasting that I really liked. The 2007 Mas de Maha from Paseo Robles at $35 a bottle that is 60% Tempranillo, 30% Granache and 10% Mouvedre and tasted of dark fruit and spice and was the best Tempranillo blend I had at the tasting. La Botta from Paseo Robles at $4o a bottle a blend of 50% Mouvedre and 50% Granache, has a nice fruity and earthy balance with great complexity. Finally, the 2007 Damas Noir from Paseo Robles at $40 is rich and bold fruit with a nice spice compliment and a great finish.

The TAPAS tasting gave me a chance to taste some new varietals, find some Tempranillo I actually enjoyed and to confirm that I prefer blends in Spanish wines and wines made in the Rhone style.

Wine tasting is all about trying new things and deciding what tastes good to you. Speaking of which, if you want the chance to come out and taste some wines there are several events coming up in San Francisco. This Sat June 12 is Golden Glass and June 26 is Pinot Days both at Fort Mason so come join me. If you can't make it, don't worry, I will be providing a full write up on both events. Salut!