Friends,
Last Friday evening I attended Martin's first foray into Spanish wines and, although it was uncharted territory, it was a truly serendipitous evening. The general quality of the wines was exceptional and the accompanying Asturian Bean Stew with sausages and pork belly matched the wines perfectly. In fact, it was the best single dish that I have ever enjoyed at Martins. Nice job!!
Last Friday evening I attended Martin's first foray into Spanish wines and, although it was uncharted territory, it was a truly serendipitous evening. The general quality of the wines was exceptional and the accompanying Asturian Bean Stew with sausages and pork belly matched the wines perfectly. In fact, it was the best single dish that I have ever enjoyed at Martins. Nice job!!
There was no doubt in my mind that selecting the order of flights was going to be challenging. Spanish wines run the gamut from delicately light, low alcohol to full flavored, high alcohol, over the top wines, with vintages spanning almost forty years. To compound matters, Martin disclosed that, with the exception of Vega Sicilia, most of the wines were uncharted territory for him as a taster.
The first flight consisted of the 1970, 1975, and 1986 vintages of Vega-Sicilia "Unico" the most historic, famous and iconic of Spanish wines. Rather than decanting, Martin chose to pout the wines through a filter inserted into the neck of the bottle. As great as the evening was, this was, in my opinion, a mistake. All three wines were clean and sound but, quite honestly, not very exciting. Because of the obvious class and the elegance of the wines I scored them each in the 93 to 94 point range. The 1970, one of Spain's legendary vintages, had an undercurrent of sweet fruit that truly great old wines seem to have. The 1986 was a little darker, more aromatic and interesting.
However, something was really bothering me. These great old wines should have been far more complex and interesting; mere cleanliness and holding up well just doesn't cut it. I remembered that when my friend Ray worked at the Red Carpet wine bar years ago, he would filter and decant some of the wines before pouring. I often went to taste wines I had in my cellar to see how they were tasting and. At times, they were flat and hollow at the wine bar, but vibrant and wonderful when I tried one from the cellar. My theory was that the filtration somehow damaged the wine.
So I tried an experiment; I pulled the filter from the '70 Unico and poured an extra touch into my glass. The wine seemed to come alive. I asked my friend to taste it and we agreed. The wine was far more complex and intriguing. Then we repeated with 1986 and the result was the same. My theory is that wines contain certain solids in colloidal suspension. The solids come out during fining and filtering and we have all been educated about those "evils". My takeaway (which not everyone at the table agreed with) is never to filter older wines. I'm more than happy to chew on some sediment and get the real, unexpurgated wine, "schmutz” and all. Perhaps someone that has a background in chemistry can validate (or debunk )my theory.
The second flight, which I regard as one of the high points of my wine tasting experience, consisted of Vega-Sicilia “Unico” 1994, 1998 and the legendary 1998 Pingus. I have the ’96 Pingus in my cellar, and I have probably consumed more than two cases of the Flor de Pingus, Peter Sisseck’s wonderful second wine. Like many people, I have been saving my rare and precious Pingus for the right occasion, so I was quite excited to try this one.My habit is to wait until all three pours are lined up, at which point I sniff and swirl each in succession, and then I swirl and sip each wine the next time around (yes, a little "OCD" runs in my family…) So I picked up the glass of the 1998 Unico and did what the canine protagonist in the Pixar movie "Up" did when he saw a squirrel. (For those of you that didn't see the movie, the pup would stop mid-sentence, head snapped in one direction and exclaimed "squirrel!", upon which everyone in the audience, especially children roar with laughter). My "squirrel moment" happened when I lifted the glass and could tell from inches away that I was about to taste a shockingly magnificent wine. (this happened last with the 2001 Masseto, also at Martin’s.)
Oh my gosh! Completely abandoning my routine, I considered the Unico, slowly letting a few drops fall on my tongue, inhaling essence as it trickled into my mouth. How can you describe greatness? I can say it was silky and elegant, that it fills the mouth in a way that warms me, that the texture was rich and light and full at the same time, that it was voluptuous and sexy…but I can't really find words to tell you how it tasted. That is the unspoken secret of "winespeak"; we all know the words on the flavor wheel, but unless you have shared experience you can only approximate, never really communicate your personal experience. This is why I love tasting with good friends, whose palate I trust, so we can share sublime moments together. I encourage you to seek out the ’98 Unico and let it take you to that place we visited Friday night. I’m thinking that perhaps four of my friends with “extra”sensory perception and I should buy a bottle and huddle together to share this magic.
How unfair is it to be in a flight with a wine like the ’98 Unico! Robert Parker rated the next wine, the'98 Pingus, a mere 90 points. After my "squirrel moment" rapture, I hesitatingly tasted the Pingus. It was really quite beautiful. Now I realized that there was more joy to come. It had a magnificent nose, a full and balanced, essence of 100% Tempranillo, elegant and just a little restrained. Then I tasted the '94 Unico (maybe best vintage in Spain ever) wondering if the magic could continue. It was a step up from the older vintages, about halfway between the 1970 and the towering '98.
Then dinner arrived in the form of an Asturian beef stew with sausages and pork belly. I was hungry, but fearful of polluting my palate with spicy food that would remove me from blissful state. And I was looking forward to the remaining wines with terrific anticipation. My trusty proboscis came to the rescue and I took a small taste of the bean stew. Wow! To me, great food makes your mouth water AFTER you taste it. This was it, and when I topped it off with a little Pingus, both food and wine tasted even better. Brilliant! As I savored the food, sopping up the liquid with a little bread, I tasted each wine in succession and was deliriously happy. To my great joy, the Pingus came alive and continued to open up. I rated it 96+ and I rated the '94 Unico 95+.
Next came the flight of '94, '98, and 2002 Clos Erasmus, wines I had only read about before tonight. What a change in direction! These were beautiful wines, with rich, glycerol taste and silky texture. They were also Parker darlings, and it was easy to see why. Unfortunately, at 15% alcohol, following six wines that spoke of elegance and nuance, they were tough to drink. I rated them between 95 and 96+ points but had to spill them out. I love wines like these but I consider them "main event" wines--not great with food, and certainly should be consumed in modest amounts. The 2002, my favorite, had a lovely chocolate nuance, whereas I detected orange liqueur in the '98. Interestingly, the '94 Clos Erasmus, at 15 years of age had hardly evolved. Perhaps the alcohol is too high, or perhaps it needs 30 or 40 years. I do think that Parker's palate is astute, and I've learned that in the long run his predictions are remarkably good. I have found this to be particularly true with Aussie shiraz, as well as Rhones. In fact, I could have easily mistaken the Clos Erasmus for a Bonneau "Celestins" or something similar.
The next flight consisted of the '96 Artadi, Vina El Pison", a beautifully, balanced and elegant wine that suffered from my palate fatigue. It was served with two mystery wines, the 2005 Muga Riserva--a perfectly "serviceable wine" that I have tried to avoid (life is too short not to drink great wine, especially on this particular evening). The second mystery wine was a '90 Clos De Cailleux Chateauneuf du Pape, aptly placed in this lineup, particularly since the Clos Erasmus was so CdP-like. It was quite aromatic, in a locker room kind of way and approaching decline, but I really didn’t dislike it. It was actually an interesting and odd old bird. I rated the Artadi 94 points and would love to retaste it when I can give it its due. Tough luck to come this late in the evening.
Next came the flight of '94, '98, and 2002 Clos Erasmus, wines I had only read about before tonight. What a change in direction! These were beautiful wines, with rich, glycerol taste and silky texture. They were also Parker darlings, and it was easy to see why. Unfortunately, at 15% alcohol, following six wines that spoke of elegance and nuance, they were tough to drink. I rated them between 95 and 96+ points but had to spill them out. I love wines like these but I consider them "main event" wines--not great with food, and certainly should be consumed in modest amounts. The 2002, my favorite, had a lovely chocolate nuance, whereas I detected orange liqueur in the '98. Interestingly, the '94 Clos Erasmus, at 15 years of age had hardly evolved. Perhaps the alcohol is too high, or perhaps it needs 30 or 40 years. I do think that Parker's palate is astute, and I've learned that in the long run his predictions are remarkably good. I have found this to be particularly true with Aussie shiraz, as well as Rhones. In fact, I could have easily mistaken the Clos Erasmus for a Bonneau "Celestins" or something similar.
The next flight consisted of the '96 Artadi, Vina El Pison", a beautifully, balanced and elegant wine that suffered from my palate fatigue. It was served with two mystery wines, the 2005 Muga Riserva--a perfectly "serviceable wine" that I have tried to avoid (life is too short not to drink great wine, especially on this particular evening). The second mystery wine was a '90 Clos De Cailleux Chateauneuf du Pape, aptly placed in this lineup, particularly since the Clos Erasmus was so CdP-like. It was quite aromatic, in a locker room kind of way and approaching decline, but I really didn’t dislike it. It was actually an interesting and odd old bird. I rated the Artadi 94 points and would love to retaste it when I can give it its due. Tough luck to come this late in the evening.
The next flight was the Numanthia 2004, followed by Numanthia "Termanthia" '04 and '05. These wines, also Parker darlings, I have tasted with enormous pleasure in the past and appreciated their quality but had a tough time drinking this on this special evening. A couple of months ago I listened to a two hour public radio interview with Manfred Krankl (of Sine Qua Non) where a call in listener quizzed him about the high alcohol content of his "supercult" wines. Manfred clearly adores great wines of delicacy and nuance, so why is he making these high alcohol monstrosities that fools (like me) pay so much money for? He explained in a clear and unapologetic fashion that great wines make themselves, and some wines need a certain level of alcohol to fully express their flavor and complexity. I agree with him and I do appreciate great wines, whether they grow in cool climate and emerge at 12.5%, or those that grow in the South of France, Napa Valley, Australia, etc that need 15% or more alcohol to fully express themselves. In that context, the '04 Numanthia was a wonderful, full-bodied expression of wine which I rated 94 points. The Termanthia '05 was richer, more complex a step up which I rated 96 points. The 2004 Termanthia was a true beauty, mouth filling, velvety, rich and complex at the same time, easily worth 96+ points in my book. Alas, I spilled out some of these wines because I didn’t want that much alcohol in my system.
Lastly, we tasted a 1936 Rivesaltes French Muscat. It was pleasant and tasted remarkably fresh for such a senior citizen but a fairly simple Muscat for my taste- 92 points.
I want to thank Martin for a truly spectacular evening, wonderful company, and mouth watering "cassoulet" and the amazing wines. If there is anyone out there that doesn't believe that Spain makes some of the greatest wines in the world, they need only to taste some of these gems that Martin served last night.
Andy.
I want to thank Martin for a truly spectacular evening, wonderful company, and mouth watering "cassoulet" and the amazing wines. If there is anyone out there that doesn't believe that Spain makes some of the greatest wines in the world, they need only to taste some of these gems that Martin served last night.
Andy.