TWO CENTURIES OF GREAT SPANISH WINES by La Revue du Vin de France

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TWO CENTURIES OF GREAT SPANISH WINES by La Revue du Vin de France

La Revue du vin de france

 

THE FORMIDABLE AFFIRMATION OF THE GRAT WINES FROM SPAIN
by  Pierre Citerne

Date of Publication: April 2021

From the French model of the early years to present-day explorations of new styles and terroirs, Spanish viticulture is exemplified by these outstanding wines, the pride of a vineyard that asserts its independence.
By Pierre Citerne

Velázquez, Ribera, El Greco, Murillo, Goya, Picasso, Dalí... Spanish painting exhibits an expressiveness, a violence, a need to assert itself that is rarely found in French, Flemish or Italian works of art, like a vital need to affirm the singularity of its genius. A "refusal of classicism", as the historian Bartolomé Bennassar, a specialist in modern and contemporary Spain and a renowned bullfighting critic, points out.

Is the same true of its wines? Spain needs iconic labels to show the world that it exists as a country, or even as a group of regions, with its appeal and its excellence... The representational function, the iconic, sacred dimension of wine has always been present in the relationship that Mediterranean societies have with this drink. In Spain, this seems to be magnified. The consumer becomes almost an officiant. It has to be rare and it has to be expensive. In short, wine must be wrapped in light.

 

A TOUCH OF MEGALOMANIA
In the 19th century, the model for great wine was French —and Spanish aristocrats and aesthetes tried to import it into their country. Although techniques and ideas from France continue to influence the new explorations currently underway in Spanish wine, the relationship is now different. French producers are sometimes overwhelmed by the speculative value of their wines but nevertheless continue to market them at "reasonable" prices to avoid losing their traditional clientele (names such as Coche-Dury or Overnoy come to mind), and, at the very least, wait for the market to respond before increasing their prices. By contrast, Spanish producers seem more inclined from the outset to create very expensive "super premium" wines. In this respect, Spain is closer to the New World than to the classic European model. It is not necessarily an imitation, but rather a realisation of one’s own talent, a touch of megalomania, as is the case with the country’s great artists. One thinks of Picasso’s reply to the innkeeper who asked him to sign the sketch he had just drawn on the tablecloth: "I'm paying the bill, I'm not buying the building”.

This "rise to prominence" of certain wines is the result of social and economic success, such as in Priorat, whose reinvention illustrates the Catalan economic miracle, and stands up to the iconic wines of Rioja and Castile, in a bid to assert its cultural and even political independence. In the Spanish wine scene, things are changing rapidly and at full steam. And when it comes to championing indigenous grape varieties and the emergence of "natural" wines, the country is not merely making up for lost time but it is pulling out all the stops.

 

A WINE HERITAGE FINALLY RECOGNISED
Now that the number of prestigious cuvées is increasing, we have focused on the most significant ones. To understand their rise, we need to think about three different periods: before the Movida [the post-Franco countercultural movement], from the 19th century to the 1970s; then the general awakening to modernity and the global ambitions that defined the 1980s and 1990s; and finally the 2000s and even more so the 2010s, when a wide diversity of styles and concepts emerged, shaped by the re-conquest, both territorial and ampelographic, of a winegrowing heritage whose magnitude had previously gone unnoticed.

Tasting process: All the wines were tasted by Pierre Citerne, most of them in February 2020 in the offices of La RVF; older vintages were tasted on various earlier occasions. The prices indicated are those quoted by wine merchants. From the 19th century to the 1970s: A strong French influence.

Alvaro Palacios Priorat L'Ermita horz

ÁLVARO PALACIOS
Priorat L’Ermita

Since his arrival in Priorat in 1989, Álvaro Palacios, born into a family of Rioja wine producers and educated in Bordeaux —which is reflected in the meticulous balance of his wines—, has brought greater prominence to this small wine region.

This ambition culminates in the very rare L'Ermita, a wine born in 1993 from a vineyard with rolling terraces of indescribable beauty. Yields on this north-facing vineyard are very low, around 10 hl/ha. The wine is made from old Grenache (85%), supplemented by Carignan and a small percentage of white grapes (Grenache, Macabeu, Pedro Ximenez). The 2016 (95/100, €1200) is fairly pale in colour, with remarkably transparent aromas and a distinctly Mediterranean character: resin, caramel, graphite, balsamic notes, fig leaves, menthol... On the palate, the wine displays its anticipated velvety rich fluidity and perfectly retains the aromatic identity of the place, showing outstanding finesse, underpinned by a lingering acidity.

In contrast to the 1990s versions, the wine’s substance is considerably more refined. The fifteen months of ageing are now totally imperceptible. Still restrained, refined but taut, with an austere finish, stony instead of fruity, this is a wine for purists rather than hedonists.

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DESCENDIENTES DE J. PALACIOS
Bierzo La Faraona

Here we are at the forefront of the renaissance of the prestige of Atlantic vineyards in the Iberian Peninsula. The young Bierzo appellation, established in 1989, lies to the northwest of the León province. Its grape variety is Mencía, which is somewhere between Cabernet Franc and Grenache. Behind this project is the unstoppable Álvaro Palacios, who founded the estate with his nephew Ricardo in 1999 from old vines perched on the hillsides. Several single-vineyard wines were launched shortly thereafter: Las Lamas, Moncerbal and, in 2001, La Faraona (the highest vines, at 1000 metres elevation). The colour of the 2015 (95/100, €1000) is fairly pale. The nose displays a singular and captivating charm, with hints of faded roses and saddlery. The palate is Atlantic, aerial but lively, with great personality and length, long-lasting acidity and ad libitum notes of fresh leather. The "delocalisation" of the great Iberian red wine from Mediterranean and continental influences to this Atlantic character is a success! But beware, because this refined wine is not at all showy; one could easily miss it, which would be a pity, given its price...

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valmira

PALACIOS REMONDO
Rioja Quiñón de Valmira

Álvaro Palacios' project is a return to the origins of his family estate in Alfaro (Rioja Baja), a region renowned for its Grenache rather than its Tempranillo. And this much-anticipated luxury cuvée is almost pure Grenache (90%) —it is indeed difficult to find traces of the "classic" riojas or "high expression" wines… The winemaking resembles that of L'Ermita in Priorat (destemming and crushing, fermentation in wooden vats, native yeasts, malolactic fermentation in barrels and 16 months of ageing). The 2017 vintage (93/100, €360), only the fourth so far, has little colour but feels remarkably fine, layered and complex, with inviting fruit and hints of cherry (more red than black), strawberries with sugar and blonde leaf tobacco. It is undeniable that the wines of Álvaro Palacios now share a family resemblance, not only amongst his finest, rare and very expensive singlevineyard cuvées, but also within his more affordable ranges. Having rid himself of the emphatic and sometimes overpowering style of the 1990s, he has nevertheless retained his own identity, without succumbing to the latest fads —namely "natural" wines. His wines stand out for their definition, their precision, and even a certain austerity, cerebral rather than playful.

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