This month, we present two great wines from northeastern Spain - Bodegas Piñol Portal Blanco, an organic white blend from Terra Alta, and Joan Anguera La Planella, an organic and biodynamic red blend from Montsant.

Pinol Portal Blanco   "Portal Blanco is a blend of 80% Garnacha Blanca with the balance Sauvignon Blanc, Macabeo, and Viognier fermented and aged in stainless steel. It displays a slightly pink tint from 36 hours of skin contact along with a hint of herbs, baking spices, and plenty of minerality. In the glass lively acidity comes into play providing refreshment to the medium-long finish. This excellent value will drink well for another 3 years.

Celler Vinos Pinol is a 4th generation family-owned winery consisting of 100 acres in and around the village of Batea in Terra Alta, the southern-most DO in Catalunya."  88 points, Jay Miller, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Portal Blanco is an estate-bottled wine made by Celler Vinos Piñol with organically grown grapes in the region of Terra Alta, located south of Barcelona. To understand how Portal Blanco relates to the world of wine, it’s important to note that the birthplace of the Garnacha Blanca grape is Terra Alta. Today, Terra Alta’s beautiful panoramic landscape is home to 35% of the world’s Garnacha Blanca vineyards and 70-75% of those in Spain. Portal Blanco contains a small percentage of other grapes, but its essential identity is derived from Garnacha Blanca. This limited production wine is made in stainless steel tank to emphasize purity of fruit and terroir. Here, Garnacha Blanca makes a gutsy, full-bodied wine with a character similar to a red. This white is a perfect compliment to all seasons. With lots of dry herbs, it’s not an overly ripe “tropical wine.”

Joan d'Anguera La Planella  The 2009 Planella is a blend of 40% Mazuelo (Carinena), 20% Syrah, 20% Garnatxa, and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon aged for 11 months in French and American oak. Deep purple in color, it exhibits an inviting nose of cedar, mineral, balsamic, lavender, leather, and assorted black fruits. Rich, layered, and succulent on the palate, it will evolve for 2-3 years and offer prime drinking from 2013 to 2021.  90 points, Jay Miller, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

About Bodegas Piñol:  Bodegas Vinos Piñol owned by the Piñol Family, founded in 1954 by Josep Arrufi, owning 100 acres of vineyards in Terra Alta. Located in in northeast Spain, a few miles south west of Priorat at 1,168 ft altitude. The vineyards and winery are located in the small town “pueblo” of Batea.

The warmer temperatures and lower rainfall produce consistently riper grapes, creating wines richer in lactic acid with dark pigmentations. (Note: though Terra Alta and Priorat are a few miles apart--Terra Alta’s warmer microclimate produces fuller bodied, richer wines than Priorat).

The vineyards of Vinos Piñol are composed of slate with small particles of clay in the topsoil and small particles of limestone in its subsoil. Light textured and free-draining with low water retaining capacities thus in dry years younger vines with shorter root systems are water stressed i.e. shorter shoot growth, reduced berry size, premature leaf fall hence reduced photosynthesis hence, delayed ripening with retarded aromatic development. Fortunately, at Vinos Piñol threat of drought is not of major concern, due to the number of older vines with longer root systems.

About Joan d'Anguera  One of the most exciting producers emerging out of Spain is Joan d'Anguera. Located in the D.O. of Montsant, this family estate dates back 200 years. Montsant, formerly part of the Tarragona D.O., is found in the heart of the Tarragona region. Surrounding the famous D.O.Q. of Priorat, Montsant is southwest of Barcelona.

The vineyards lie at an altitude of 200 to 300 meters on clay and calcareous soils. The majority of the Syrah and Cabernet plantings are now more than 20 years old, and the Grenache and Carignan are more than 50 years old.

The two sons, Josep and Joan, of the late patriarch, Josep Anguera, run this domain under the vigilant eye of their mother. Their intention is to produce the best Syrah-based wines of Spain. Known as "Mister Syrah" in Spain, Josep (the father) was a man with an extensive knowledge of the international wine scene. Introduced to Syrah by a Spanish enologist who had traveled to California in the 1970s, Josep started planting the grape in 1977 anywhere he could find vineyard space.

Joan d’Anguera produces three wines that each explore a different perspective of their land. Planella is their expression of Carignan, Finca l'Argata is their expression of Grenache from a parcel of the same name, and Bugader reflects their oldest parcels of Syrah.

The Anguera brothers strive to work as naturally possible, both in the winery and vineyard. As such, all fermentation is done with indigenous yeast. Also, in 2008 the winery began its switch to biodynamic agriculture, and it expects to be certified by 2011.

About Montsant:  Officially approved by Madrid in August 2001, this area is no longer known as D.O. Tarragona subzona Falset. And with good reason--Montsant is more similar to Priorat than Tarragona. In fact, it's named after a mountain that lies within Priorat.  While similar to Priorat, there are a few differences. Loose red sands and limestone are found instead of the black slate of Priorat.  The region boasts dry reds that are concentrated, deep red, and with high alcohol content. Along with old vine carignan and grenache, cabernet sauvignon, syrah and merlot are also planted.

About Terra Alta:  A few miles south and west of Priorat, within the Terra Alta DO in Catalunya’s Tarragona province in northeastern Spain. The winemaking tradition in this remote region dates back to the 13th century.

These two regions are the decidedly poor cousins of the Priorat wine region which is also nearby but has been much better at putting itself on the world wine map.

Terra Alta and Montsant both have the poor soils, rolling or steep hills, extreme weather and little rain which provides the raw materials for producing wines with character. There are fewer wineries here as most of the hot money went to Priorat which had a better name and where the wines commanded a premium while the world economy boomed.
Red wines from these areas are mainly made from the garnacha (grenache in France) and cariñena (carignan in France) grapes which complement each other very well in aromas, colour and structure.
The whites tend to be garnacha blanca, xarello or macabeu mixed with some more recent arrivals like chardonnay and sauvignon blanc.

Recipe:  Rabbit with Aioli - serves four

Rabbit is a very popular dish in Spain and is prepared many different ways. Fried in garlic-infused olive oil, this rabbit dish is simple and delicious. Drizzle aioli over the pieces of rabbit and this is truly a garlic lover's dish. Rabbit meat is very nutritious and has a lower percentage of fat than chicken, turkey, beef, or pork.

Ingredients:

    aioli sauce (recipe below)
    4 sprigs Italian (flat leaf) parsley
    1 rabbit, approximately 2-3 lbs, cut into 8-10 pieces
    2 heads garlic
    16 oz Spanish olive oil (approximately)
    salt to taste

Prepare aioli, which takes about 10 minutes. Whirl parsley and aioli together. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Purchase a whole rabbit and ask the butcher to cut into 8-10 pieces, or cut it yourself. Rinse pieces and pat dry with a paper towel. Remove excess skin from garlic by rubbing it.

Frying the garlic in the oil infuses it with garlic flavor. Pour olive oil into a casserole pan or large, heavy-bottomed fry pan that is at least 3-4 inches deep. Oil should be at least 1.5 to 2 inches deep. Heat oil on medium. When hot, place the heads of garlic in the pan and fry on medium-low heat for about 5 minutes. Remove and allow to drain on a paper towel.

Turn up heat to medium so oil is hot enough to fry rabbit. Rub salt onto pieces of rabbit on all sides. When oil is hot, add pieces of rabbit to pan. Fry for 7 minutes or until rabbit is golden brown. Remove and let drain on paper towels.

Cut garlic heads in half. Serve rabbit with aioli on the side and fried garlic cloves.

Aioli

This sauce originated in Cataluna and has spread all over Spain. The name comes from the Catalan words for the two main ingredients all (garlic) and oli (oil). It is quick, easy and very flavorful, so it is easy to understand why it is so popular in Spain. Serve it with meats, fish, or vegetables - or just spread it on bread. The Spanish also use it as an ingredient in main course recipes. This recipe makes about 1 1/2 cups and uses 2 egg yolks.

    4 medium to large garlic cloves
    salt to taste
    2 egg yolks
    1 1/2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
    1 cup extra virgin Spanish olive oil

Preparation:

Peel and mince the garlic. Using the flat side of a large knife, crush the garlic. Place in a small mortar and pestle and add ½ tsp salt and smash into a paste.

An alternative to save time is to use a good garlic press that peels and mashes the garlic in one step. Either way, you can use a mortar and pestle to mash the garlic into a paste.

Crack the eggs and separate the yolks into a small mixing bowl. Transfer the garlic paste to the bowl and whisk to blend. With a hand mixer on low speed, slowly pour in the olive oil in a THIN, steady stream until a creamy sauce forms. Add the touch of lemon juice slowly at the end, while keeping the mixer on to ensure that the sauce stays smooth.

The traditional version of this sauce did not have egg yolks, but the yolks make it easier to whip.

Note: If you enjoy spicy sauces and the fresh garlic flavor is not enough, after the sauce is made, season it with cayenne pepper for a spicier taste.

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