Tag: Lopez de Heredia

The Perks

Originally published on July 16, 2009.

I spend a lot of time on this blog pulling back the magic curtain on the “dream” of owning a wine store. You may think owning a wine store is all about wine. But no – it’s really about hand trucks, electric bills, the perils of wooden wine boxes….

O.K…sometimes it is about wine. There are some very good wine perks. Like tonight, when I was the last stop on one of my sales rep’s daily road show. Being last is good – it means you get to take home the half-empty bottles. And tonight, they were some very nice half-empty bottles.

Tonight, I took home 2 different wine from Lopez de Heredia, the standard-bearing for old-school Rioja.

First up was the Cubillo Crianza 2003. It’s the first time I’ve had the Cubillo, which comes from the estate’s Cubillas vineyard, and it was quite yummy, even juicy. Now I’m never at a loss for words to decribe Lopez wines (elegant, haunting, exotic – pick your favorite semi-pretentious wine geek phrase) but “juicy” and “yummy” usually don’t spring to mind. It’s probably the combination of a very warm vintage (a.k.a. the heat wave of 2003) combined with the higher percentage of juicy, yummy Grenache in the Cubillo vineyard site. In any case, it was delicious and definitely a nice entry point to these very lovely wines.

Next up was the 2001 Bosconia Reserva from the El Bosque vineyard. I’ve had some older examples of Bosconia bottles, from the 1970’s and 1980’s and they evoke all the usual Lopez phrases (see above for elegant, haunting, exotic). But this is the first time I’ve had a chance to sit with an younger bottle and I liked it very much. Longer time spent aging in the big oak barrels, a better vintage, and a higher percentage of Tempranillo vs. Grenache all result in a wine with a darker tone (I apparently taste in colors) and firmer structure than the Cubillo. It was one of those wines I wanted to run out and buy a case in order to taste it as it evolves over many, many years. And at around $30-something on the shelf, it’s highly possible that I just might.

Ah, perks. Sometimes it’s pretty nice behind the magic curtain!

Things That Don’t Make You Go mmmmm: WSET Systematic Approach to Wine Tasting

Originally published on May 1, 2009.

Last summer I wrote about passing the WSET Diploma Unit 2 test. In the mean time I have not written any of the Unit 1 research papers, nor did I sit for Units 4, 5, or 6. I decided that adding another new baby to the 2 kids I already had, in addition to getting the Frankly Wines store through it’s first full holiday season would be challenge enough.

But now I’m back on track and studying for Unit 3, the Still Wines portion of the Diploma. Technically, I’m not studying, I’m writing about studying, but that’s close enough.

In order to pass the test, I need to become proficient in writing wine tasting notes that conform to the WSET Systematic Approach to Wine Tasting. Here’s an example:

Lopez de Heredia Vina Gravonia Rioja Blanco 1999

Appearance: clear, medium gold color fading to water-white rim
Nose: Generally clean, with some slightly oxidized sherry notes. However, medium intensity of citrus, lanolin, nuts and stones suggest this may be more a stylistic choice than a fault. Wine is showing development.

Palate: Dry, medium (+) acidity, medium alcohol, medium (+) body. Medium (+) flavor intensity with notes of citrus peel, lanolin, beeswax, exotic spices and stones. Slight sherry tang, although freshness of other flavors and presence of medium+ acidity also suggest this is not a fault. Long length with acidity and flavors persisting on the finish. Lovely silky, waxy texture.

This is a very good quality wine due to complexity of fruit, spice,nut and sherry notes, as well as remarkably fresh medium (+) acidity balanced by rich, mouth coating texture and body.

Drinkable now, especially for those who enjoy fresh, vibrant acidity. However, the wine will easily improve and evolve for 20 years or more with acidity preserving primary freshness even as wine develops exotic sweet spice notes, additional nutty character and notes of dried honey.

Cost: $25

12% abv

Does this make your mouth water? Probably not. But that’s not the point. These aren’t the sort of notes that make people actually want to drink wine….but they are the kind of notes that pass WSET tests, and that’s why I’m writing them

It’s Finally Thanksgiving

Originally published on November 26, 2008.

Here at the store, wondering if people actually will buy wine on Thanksgiving. It’s a grand experiment for the first Thanksgiving Frankly Wines is open. And since it’s just me here, no reason not to give some limited hours a try. I know I always need to do last minute errands on Turkey Day! And if the day is a bust, at least I’ll have a few hours to work on web site stuff (just as soon as I finish this post.)

I do feel obliged to say what I’m planning to open for dinner later today. Can’t say I’ve come up with a definitive list, but I’ll choose from the following:

  • Scholium Project “The Prince in his Caves”
  • Lopez de Heredia Rosado 1997
  • Klien Constantia “Vin de Constance” – gorgeous dessert wine from South Africa, what Napoleon requested on his death bed
  • Some Bordeaux for my father-in-law. Maybe La Lagune 1998 or one of the bottles we just picked up at auction
  • Terres Dorees Beajolais Nouveau because I have about 6 bottles left in the store and want to drink some more before I run out
  • A Cerdon-Bugey because it’s just so yummy
  • Grosset Polish Hill 2006 because I’m sick of looking at the bottle which I’m supposed to take home…and it would just be a good match for the meal
  • Felton Road Calvert Pinot Nort because Yanai’s making a lamb to go with the turkey

I need to pick 3 – so maybe I’ll just flip a coin. But you can see, not all wine geeks have their Thanksgiving wine planned out to the nth degree.

Thanksgiving Wines: Lopez de Heredia Rosado 1997 (for the adverturous)

A NOTE FROM THE FUTURE: Many vintages later, this wine is extraordinarily allocated. Like “here’s your six bottles” allocated. Which is less allocated than some wines, but for those of us that remember when we could buy as much of this wine as we wanted, whenever we wanted it, this hurts. Sure, it’s cool to see a new generation of going gaga for this wine, but still, it hurts, just a little.

Originally published on November 21, 2008.

Imagine Thanksgiving dinner (the food, not your crazy uncle or your tispy cousin-three-times-removed)

The cranberry sauce, the turkey, the yams, the turkey, the stuffing, the turkey. It’s a wine-pairing nightmare. But this is the wine that can handle it all. Delicate enough to handle the turkey (which let’s face it, is pretty bland), a little fruit to deal with the cranberries and exotic enough to stand up to the stuffing, yams, and even pumpkin pie. It’s perfect.

But it’s not exactly your typical rosé – it has some of the tangy-ness you’ll find in a good fino sherry, only a hint of fruit, and lovely exotic spices like cardamom and ginger.

So if you’re intrigued and looking for a little adventure, track down a bottle and include it in your turkey day wine spread. You should be able to find it for less than $30 which may be a lot for a typical rosé, but not this rosé (which is from 1997!)

More Validation of My Good Taste: Eric Asimov Writes about Lopez de Heredia Whites

Originally published on November 11, 2008.

Oh no, the cat is starting to get out of the bag. Eric Asimov from the NYTimes just wrote about Lopez de Heredia. Sure, everybody seems to write about this particular old school Rioja producer, but they usually go on about the reds. Mr. Asimov writes about their whites. Luckily, he spends more time writing about chicken (fingers and breasts) and football than he does about the wine, but still, the cat is out!

I tried some of the older whites at a tasting and fell so in love that I bought a small stash of vintages from the 80s. I’m a sucker for this style of wine – slightly oxidized, a bit of sherry-like tang coming through, a little bit of nuttiness, almost some waxy notes. Not much in terms of fruit, but somehow, the wines remain incredibly fresh and vibrant. While more exotic, Chateau Musar whites somehow seem to have something in common with LdH blancos. Intrepid Wine Company’s 2005 Asprinio also manages to balance an impression of weight and richness with incredible freshness. I have no idea if this is typical of the Asprinio grape – I’ve only ever had one in my life.

These are all wines for people who say they don’t like white wines. They’re worlds away from Piont Grigio, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc, which may be why they’re so difficult to describe. Even most wine geeks struggle to find words for these weirdly wonderful whites. “Beeswax” may not sound very appealing, but you’ll have to trust me…it is.

Or don’t trust me…then I can keep the wines for myself!