Farmstead Cheeses and Wines: Jeff’s Blog

Dinner with Raul Perez was optional. Why some of us didn’t jump at the opportunity to get some face time with a groundbreaking, singular visionary winery is beyond me, but needless to say I jumped at the chance.

Raul’s red wines are confounding - sometimes they are massive, chewy, dense and aromatic; other times they are delicate, ethereal and dead ringers for a premier or grand cru burgundy. Over the course of 24 hours I had the opportunity to taste dozens of his wines. Some of them ranked with the best wines I’ve ever had, while others were confoundingly flawed.

Here’s a guy who knows each plot, each grape in the plot, and vinifies the wines according to micro terroir, climate and ripeness levels. Some whole cluster, some, with five month post fermentation skin contact, so with just free run juice, some destemmed, some not - all according to his internal compass for each plot and project. I’m calling this micro-terroir winemaking.

He makes wines in several DOs - Bierzo, Rias Baixas, Ribera Sacra - and is perhaps best known for his 98 Parker point Mencia project El Picado, from an impossible to farm vineyard in the Sil Valley of Ribera Sacra; and his Albariño that is wackily aged at 45 feet below sea level, ostensibly because of a transference of salts that occurs at that depth. Both of these wines are wine geek wines to be sure, but both were astoundingly good.

To say the Perez is singular and driven is an understatement.

But I am getting ahead of myself.

So we carpooled the few miles to a quaint restaurant-inn in an equally quaint town. About ten of us from the wine trip, joined by Raul and several of his winemaking partners and friends. We had the top floor of the rustic restaurant - exposed beams and thatching. The food was very ggod - pork and some dried beef, a great fried goat cheese with pepper sauce, pork riblets and lamb. But what was astounding was the wine.

Raul brought out library wines - some of which he had made, some made by friends - a 1989 Godello, a 1968 Mencia, as well as exemplars from his 2001-2003 bierzo mencia cuvées. The Godello was past its prime to be sure, but still had fruit and structure. The same can be said for the 68 mencia - brick brown, but it still had some of the compelling aroma that makes mencias so good.

His more recent cuvees seemed massive to me - perfect with the food, but I would have guessed that the grape was syrah, not mencia!

After the dinner, I caught a ride back with Raul. He drove like a madman! He deciede to have a drink at a local bar and my colleagues and I were “stuck” there - not an unpleasant experience really - for a few hours, drinking with his pals.

But it was 3:00 a.m. before I made it home!

The next day we piled into the bus for what was to be our last vineyard trip - eastwards into Ribera Sacra to taste more wines from Raul Perez. It was a beautiful drive - if you like stunning views and curvy roads. Each turn revealed a roadcut hundreds of feet high, or a serene river far below, rugged cliffs, lakes, and after a while, vineyards -impossibly perched vineyards, clinging to the hillsides.

After about an hour, we pulled over, to be met by Raul and some of his partners. We were perched high above a canyon, and a vineyard stretched above us as far as the eye could see.

Raul poured a Godello Treixadure blend from this vineyard - the Treixadura adding great lemony acidity to the floral Godello. It sure was refreshing on this sweltering and bright bay.

The we proceeded to hike up the vineyard along a dirt path for about fifteen minutes. It was hot, and there was lots of elevation, but I sure was glad to be getting some exercise! Nine days in a bus was starting to get to me and I relished the idea of moving about a bit.

This was a very steep vineyard, and we had trouble imagining how anuyone could tend the grapes here. Little did we know that this was nothing - we were about to see vineyards that make those in Condrieu and the Mosel look like putting greens!

We piled back into the bus and drove about an hour down to the Sil Rivel, where we boarded a large pleasure craft for snacks and a guided tasting of Raul’s wines - Sacrato Blanco, Sacrato, El Picado, Sketch, A Trabe, and Godello, as well as some Moterrrei wines that he had a hand in Gorvia and QDM, based on the local Bastardo grape.

You could have told me that we were drinking Côtes de Nuits cru burgundies! These mencia based wines were feminine, delicate and not the fruit forward wines I’d had in the states. These were wines for contemplation, and contemplate I did!

As far as his Sketch Albariño was concerned, I was a skeptic -wines finished 45 feet below sea level. What an absurdity - but, he had something going on. The wine had a pleasant saltiness and depth that I hadn’t experienced before in an Albariño before. Too expensive for the shop, but not too expensive for my cellar.

Then came the big boy - El Pecudo - picked from an impossibly steep vinyard of pure old mencia vines. Deep, rich, complex. Wow!!

Did I mention that we were on a boat? The Sil river valley is stupendously beautiful - a steep rocky valley with vineyards - originally planted by slaves in Roman times(!!!) - terrassed and laddered from river level up about four hundred feet.

We saw an occasional person tending the vines, but being the hopttest part of the day, most folks were taking a siesta.

I returned below deck for Tapeo - Joselito Jamón, barnacles, pulpo al la gallega, empañadas, and tortilla. Mmm, another pound and a few points on the cholesterol, but how often to you see food like this?!?!

The boat ride lasted another hour or so, then we piled back to the bus to visit Raul’s winery - a garage at the edge of a shabby industrial area outside of a small Mencia town. The winery was dominated by large Autrian oak vertical barrels and a few barriques. This was a guy who belived in oak, but neutral, dialed back, unobtrisuve oak.

We tasted through barrel samples of more of his wines: Vico (a $20 wine that will be in the shop before too long), Muti, ST Jacques Claudina, Valtuille - amazing wines with grace, depth, terroir and true individual winemaking.

Then Raul did something amazing - he started pouring barrel smaples of wines that he thought didn’t work - a barrel fermented Gewurz, a riesling, some old Godello. These were flawed wines, and here we were, witgh a world class winemaker, who was showing us wines, warts and all!

Then it was back in the bus, then off to a last night dinner in Bierzo with Raul - where he poured some of his personal library wines - a de Montille Volnay, some old Nierpoort ports. Wow!

Today was an unusual day - we were staying at the hotel for a major tasting, then taking a three hour drive to Bierzo - the westernmost part of the trip.

The tasting was very well organized - fifty plus wines representing the majority of the Olé catalog that we weren’t visiting. Winemakers had bussed and trained in from all over the country - Yecla, Penedes, Rias Baixas, Extramadura, Cariñena, Terra Alta and Rioja. We were divided into five groups who roatated through each of the tables - at each one there was a presentation by the winemakers.

I was very impressed b y the breadth and depth of Olé’s portfolio - here were wines in value categories that delivered expression of terroir, authenticity, acid, and length, at great price points. We carry several Olé wines at present, but look to see more of them in the shops in the future!!

After the tasting Alberto and Patrick presented four very interesting a rare sherries - intense and concentrated Oloroso, Amontillado, Palo Cortado and Pedro Ximenez from an 1820 Solera. These were amazing dense, salty, complex wines with a finish that is still resonating in my mouth, hours later. They are extremely pricey wines - at least $450 per bottle. A lovely academic exercise, the kind one reads about in wine magazines.

Then it was time for paella - a wonderful Paella Valenciana served poolside, accompanied by most of the wines at the tasting. Being the rosé guy that I am, I made a beeline for Katas, a bright rosé of Tempranillo. The paella was a good as I’ve ever had, which is saying a lot considering it was made in a hotel! Chunks of rabbit, shrimp, mussels, langoustines, shrimp and chicken, in a wildly saffronned Bomba rice. Dedlicioso! Truly, the only thing missing was a salad.

Others in the crew chose to partake of the free hooch with abandon.

Then it was back in the bus for a three hour ride to Bierzo. I napped well, and arrived at the Paradores Bierzo Hotel tanned, rested and ready for our dinner with Raul Perez, maker of the 98 point Bierzo El Pecado.

I woke up to a beautiful crisp day - the weather looked great, and we didn’t have far to travel - one hour to Rueda to taste the Verdejo-based wines of Oro de Castilla and then another hour to go to Toro to taste the wines of Bodegad Matarredonda.

We were staying in Tordesillas, in a wonderful old hotel. A few of us met at 8:00 a.m. for a walk, then breakfast. At ten A.M., it was in the bus to Rueda.

Bodegas Hermanos del Villar makes great white wines. We carry their Oro de Castilla, a crisp, rich Verdejo (Classic Club in April).

After an hour’s bus travel, we pulled up outside of Rueda in the vineyards of Villar. Winemaker-owner Pablo de Villar an affable and gracious host. He walked us through the vineyards and showed us the 30-45 year old vines, and explained how nighttime harvesting, stirring on the lees, organic practices and long cold fermentations combined to produces wonderful wines with lots of aromatics and balance.

We hopped back in the bus for a quick tour of the winery, a tasting of their entry level Ipsum (Verdejo/Viura), Oro de Castillo and Sauvignon Blanc. Then came the Jamón, an olive oil tasting, a walk through town, and then a lunch in their deep subterranean caves.

Despite the lack of hunger at this point, who could refuse the great foie gras, tuna stuffed paquillos, braised bacala and the most amazing cinnamon infused cream puffs on the planet??

The folks I’d been hanging with, a motley group of pretty cool guys - soms, retailers, and wholesalers - was becoming a close knit group. Our conversations were becoming more familiar, wide ranging and fun.

Then it was back on the bus for a one hour drive west to Toro. Materredonda is an old vine Tempranillo project created by Alfonso Sanz Rojo and his frankly stunning winemaker Rosa Zarza.

Their two single vineyard bottlings - Juan Rojo and Libranza come from two contiguous single vineyard plots of 80 and 120 year old vines respectively.

The wines are deep and pervasive with a bright fruit core, balanced by good acidity. 14 percent wines in a 16 per cent region. Both bottlings have received scores in the 90s from the critics, and I expect to see both in the shops soon.

We walked the vineyards with Alfonso, Rosa and some local government officials - the sandy soil getting in our shoes. Rosa pointed out how it’s the sand that makes this vineyard special - these are pre-phyloxera original rootstock vines, as the louse cannot live in sand!

After a short tasting in the vineyards of both bottlings, it was off to the ultra modern winery for - you guessed it - Jamón - and some other snacks, a barrel and library tasting, then a braised chicken dinner, some more Jamón, and some more wine!

We watched the sunset over the hills, and then watched a bit of the European cup.

The next morning, several of us decided to hike to the medieval castle above the town, so we met at 8 a.m to make the two mile trek to the top of the hill. We walked through the quaint town of
Peñafiel, crossed the stream and started the trek up to the keep. It was a nice hike with good elevation, my walking partners were in good shape, and was the first time I had gotten any exercise since I had the flu several weeks prior. My lung capacity had diminished, and I was sure huffin’ and a puffin! However, the view from the top was spectacular!

We returned to the hotel and piled into the bus for the first tasting of the day - the old vine wines of Torremoron. Torremoron is a cooperative that controls many small vineyard plots in eastern Ribera. Some of the vineyards are over 120 years old. We debussed and walked through some incredible old vine vineyards, walking past the old subterranean bodegas where they used to make wines.

These subterranean bodegas were in use until the early fifties, when the cooperative was built.
The wines of torremoron are lovely - old old vine,with depth and clarity and a nice acid core.

Some of us had the opportunity to visit one of these underground wineries - dark, dank, cramped but very interesting.

Then it was time for an outdoor meal- Chuletas, small young lamb chops grilled on an open fire of vine cuttings - deliciouso!!

After lunch some of the crew decided to go on a walk up to the highest hill in Ribera, while others decided that drinking more beer was a better use of their time. Whatever, I certainly didn’t fly around the globe to drink beer, so twelve of us trekked up the hill with Torremoron’s winemaker in tow.

On the way up, she regaled us with stories about the terroir, telling us local lore about water tables, crop rotations and vineyard names. When we reached the top of the hill, it was a completely flat plateau, about ten or fifteen acres in area. She explained how the area used to be a Roman fort and vestal temple. Then we came to an area that was covered in wild herbs - thyme, rosemary,lemon balm, lavender and other herbs for which we couldn’t provide a cognate.

She explained that the herbs were probably first planted by the Romans in the first century AD- amazing.

We walked the perimeter of the plateau; she pointed out the many small patchwork of vineyards by name - she had lived in the village all of her life and knew each piece of dirt better than most of us know ourselves. It was an amazing walk, and I felt fortunate to spend the time with a woman so deeply ingrained in her village, it’s culture and it’s wines. It’s these experiences that make wine trips so valuable. Touching the dirt so to speak with someone who lives, breathes and toils in the terroir!

Then we piled back into the bus to visit Vizcarra - a small producer of Ribera who uses modern technique to fashion long lived wines of grace, depth, acid and power.

Juan Carlos Vizcarra is a fiercely proud man - proud of his accomplishments as a winemaker and proud of his newly built winery - which he put together brick by brick.

The winery is a testament to the benefits of gravity flow winemaking.

We toured the winery, and then repaired to an area in front of the barrels where we tasted current and library versions of Vizcarra, JC Vizcarra, Torralvo, Inés and Celia.

At each rung on the price quality scale, I found deeper extract that was both increasingly profound, yet precise. The wines had acid - for aging and the ability to go with food, structure, and fruit. A rare combination these days.

Then we toured his private cellar - large format bottles were everywhere– mags, doubles, five liter, ten liter - even a 12 liter bottle!!

Then back to the winery for more wine, jamón, wine, more jamón, empañadas, library wines, some jamón, and then a little more jamón!

Today, we traveled from Navarra to Rioja - a 1.5 hour drive to the north. We were heading to Rioja Alavesa - the cooler region closest to the Sierra Cantabria range to visit with two visionary winemakers - Tom Puyaubert of Exopto Cellars and David Sampedro of Londoño and Bodegas Indiano.

Our first stop was in an industrial section of Laguardia - for Exopto Cellars is a garagista operation - house in a industrial park of startup wineries.

Exopto is probably best known for Big Bang Rioja (or BB as it´s now called on the label - Farmstead Spanish Club selection in February), a fruit forward modern style Rioja that has more Garnacha than Tempranillo, but they also make Horizonte, a supple old vine Tempranillo-based cuvée and Exopto, a wine based on the elusive and hard to grow Graciano grape.

We were met in the parking lot by Tom Puyaubert- a big fella (the partners of Exopto met on the rugby field) who doubles as the Spanish rep for Demptos, a French barrel supplier. Tom walked us through the stark winery, showing us the cement and small oak fermenters, and the interesting chai system on wheels (allowing for batonnage automatique - an innovative way of stirring the wine on lees with little effort), before proceeding to taste us through his wines.

I particularly liked the Exopto cuvée - the Graciano makes this a wine for aging, while the 30% Tempranillo gives the wine a nice fruit approachability. That wine will be showing up for a Spanish and High End club selection before too long.

Then it was off to a small hotel patio for some wonderful international Tapas, made by Tom´s mother, a garrulous Bordelaise who takes obvious pride in her cross-cultural approach to cuisine.

Then, we piled back in the bus for a trip up the Sierra Cantabria, for a wonderful view of the Rioja Valley and a great geographic orientation by David Sanpietro of Londoño.

The Sierra Cantabria is part of a horsehoe- shaped mountain range that keeps the maritime climate of the north from spilling over into the valley - but still allows the cool air to come into the valley - allowing for long ripening times. The sight of the Sierras is imposing - the thick clouds being held back by the rock reminded me of the Lord of the Rings.

From the top of the mountain, it was easy to see the difference in the flora on the other side of the mountain. On the Rioja side - more deciduous trees, on the other side, more ferns and pines.

The weather turned stormy, so the planned outdoor tasting and Tapeo at an ancient Dolmen was rescheduled for a local Fronton - a gymnasium where the local hybrid of handball and jai alai is played.

We tasted through Cortijo White - a crisp Viura based wine that had a slight pinkish hue, a deep and rich Tempranillo-based rosado that was a bit too extracted for my taste, and a component tasting from a new project from David - El Brozal, a biodynamically farmed old vine Tempranillo project.

Then came the Tapeo, a lovely array of chorizo dogs, and other spicy and fresh small bites that went very well with the wines.

Then it was back in the bus for a rainy tour of David´s old vine vineyards. I got a little muddy tramping through the vineyards taking vine shots, but what the hey - how often are you in Rioja Alta??

Then it was time for a Frotnton demonstration by some local boys - a fast paced game that was fun to watch, followed by a top chef style team cook off of high end tapas - six teams of Americans, under the watchful supervision of a master chef. I was on the team that made a grilled white asparagus dish, topped with some molecular gastronomified wine globules. The asparagus was great and needed no new wave fancification. The dish that won was a shrimp dish in a small coctail glass.

The contest was a fun team building exercise however, and seemed to further bind our intrepid band of wine professionals together even tighter. The trip was becoming really quite fun.

Then we left around midnight to our hotel - at he same four star in Lagronia that I stayed in with Jorge Ordoñez in 2007 - in fact I was checked into the same room!. I washed the caked mud off my sandals in the bidet and then went downstairs to join my colleagues for some great riojas - Lopez de Heredia, Muga and Allende, as well as some crisp white ruedas!

Then it was off to bed - tomorrow - a three hour western trek to Ribera del Duero.

Ribera del Duero is to the west of Rioja - it lies on a high plateau at about 3000 feet above sea level. It’s a region of much greater weather extremes - cold winters and hot summers, and great diurnal shift in temperatures between day and night. The soils range from limestone to sandy loam to clay, all well suited for the local clone of Tempranillo - tinto del pais - a smaller berry than the tempranillo grown in rioja, which produces wines that have greater skin to juice contact, which means finer tannins, elegant wines that have true ageability.

The wines are made by David Sanpietro - the same cult winemaker who presented the wines to us in Rioja.

All of the grapes are farmed under biodynamic principles, and the winery is a model of modern vinification techniques - gravity fed cement, stainless and oak fermentation vats. Each of the old vine vineyard plots are vinified separately, with natural yeasts and minimally invasive pump overs.

Then the wines are moved to 1/3 new barrels for 18-20 months, then to bottle where it is aged for a further year. The crianza - nuestra- was a wine of amazing complexity with a finish that went on for near forever. The wine will definitely get into the shop - at around $35 per bottle, it’s a wine that delivers great value for the $$.

Then we stopped by a hermit house attached to a small church for a tasting and lunch. Roasted sucking pig and young lamb, cooked outdoors in an outdoor stone oven in a ceramic cazuela. It’s amazing how a well cooked meal can make a good wine taste even better. Nuestra rocked!!

After lunch, we piled back into the bus to go to MiBal - a small winery owned by Miguel Hornillos and Javier Ballestrelos, two young friends who’s families have been growing grapes for centuries.

Their winery makes precise Riberas at various price points - wines to age that have depth and clarity. I particularly liked their Roble, a relatively inexpensive oak finished wine.

Then off to one of their vineyards for “pruning” and back to the garage winery for a lovely home cooked meal.

At midnight, we turned into pumpkins on our way back to our hotel - the lovingly restored Convento Las Claras in Peñafiel.

Today, we traveled from near Madrid to southern Navarra - a three hour journey - to taste the wines of Magaña, producers of Calchetas, a fabulous Merlot blend.

Juan Magaña founded the bodega in the early seventies by smuggling in Petrus clone Merlot cuttings, and establishing vineyards for that varietal, Cab Franc, Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon - unheard of (and illegal) in that DO -to create a winery that produces wines of character, balance, length and age-ability.

The vineyard soils are composed of limestone that is studded with smaller stones - not a lot of dirt per se, and the minerality in the vineyard shows in the wines with a nice bite of freshness and acidity.

The wines range from the bargain-priced Dignus (Tempranillo and Merlot), to Calchetas, a premium cuvée, and a rarely produced all-Merlot bottling. All of the wines are elegant, with nice length and fruit/acid balance.

Juan and his son Diego met us at the winery - and proceeded to pour through some wonderfully aged wines, their 2005 Merlot, 1990 and 1982 Merlot blends. Amazing! Then they brought out an amazing array of food — lightly smoked peppers, radishes, white asparagus, a local bean-based soup with a leeklike vegetable, baby lettuces, a lamb braise to die for, poached pears, and lots and lots of library wines.

We feasted for what seems like forever, before piling back into the bus to go visit the Merlot vineyard - about a 30 minute drive on the Rioja/Navarra border. Juan and Diego brought a few bottles of their Merlot, so that we could taste the wine at the vineyard source (context is so important, and here, drinking the finished product where the grapes were grown, was extremely effective.).

Then it was back to the winery for a tasting of current vintages of Dignus, Baron Magaña and Calchetas, a quick tour of the barrel room, and then back outside again for more food - a lovely Jamón and a fresh Roncal, and more wine.