WINE
I DRANK two red wines this weekend that really showed the skills of the two innovative winemakers who made them.
And the high level of skill used was matched by the high altitude of the vineyards from which their grapes were sourced.
One was a modern Rioja that displays some of the innovations and philosophies guiding producers there.
The other was an Argentinian Malbec made by one of its greatest wine-makers, Susana Balbo, and is - I believe - one of the very best wines of its type available in its price bracket.
Ramon Bilbao Vinedos de Altura 2014 (£13.95 Great Western Wines)
You don’t always know what you’re getting with Rioja these days. Classically Rioja was a wine heavy with oak but light on fruit.
Over the years winemakers have started to express the variety of the terroir rather than adhere to the old style of Rioja.
Permitted grape varieties have increased allowing for the use of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.
This wine from Ramon Bilbao, a producer with a growing reputation, uses grapes from high altitude vineyards.
The varieties, Tempranillo and Garbacha, are standard but winemaker Rodolfo Bastida takes them from both Rioja Alta and Baja.
Ramon Bilbao Vinedos de Altura 2014
He says: “For the Tempranillo I turn to Abalos on the slopes of the Sierra Cantabria in Rioja Alta, while the Garnacha is grown in Tudelilla in Rioja Baja, in the hills of the Sierra Demanda. “On paper, two very different landscapes in very different lands. Most importantly the grapes have the red fruit, elegance and freshness I’m looking for.” The wine is aged for 14 months in French oak rather than American which makes for a slightly more restrained woodiness on the nose with hints of cigar box aromas. Malolactic fermentation makes for a smooth velvety mouthfeel and ripe rounded fruit.
Susana Balbo Chacayes Single-vineyard Malbec Mendoza 2016 (£12.95 Wine Society)
This special edition wine was picked out by Wine Society buyer Toby Morrhall from some wines he tasted when visiting the Uco Valley.
As Toby says in his notes, sometimes Malbec works better as a blend
‘Probably one of the very best wines of its type available in price bracket’
but in this instance all the fruit for this 100 per cent Malbec comes from one vineyard in the sub-region of Chacayes. He was so impressed after tasting the wine in the cellar he asked for it to be bottled up specially for the Wine Society. And thank goodness he did because this wine displays everything that’s great about Argentinian Malbec. The colour is an inky purple while the nose is floral with violets and blackberries. The palate is elegant but full with notes of cocoa and a long bitter chocolate finish.