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wine to buy

  • 25-08-2006 12:38pm
    #1
    tipper1
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 107 ✭✭


    going to barcelona next week and looking for advice on good wine to bring home as gifts white/red any help appreciated


Comments

  • #2
    Theta
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,760 ✭✭✭Theta


    Was just in Barcelona a couple of weeks ago and I picked up a nice Mas La Plana on the cheap.


  • #3
    blorg
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 15,995 ✭✭✭✭blorg


    What's your budget? Good wine can be had from €5 in Spain (the price of many crianzas.) The cheaper stuff is often better relative value in the sense that while you'll get a wine that costs €12 in Ireland for €5 there you can often get a wine costing €45 there for only a few euro more here.

    Also do you have any experience of Spanish wine with regard to knowing what you like, as there are many different styles.

    http://www.elmundovino.com is probably the best website on Spanish wine.

    Aldeasa, the Spanish duty free, is the best duty free in Europe IMO. Not as good as a good wine shop but well stocked and often even a bit cheaper than the supermarket (generally it's the other way around.) So apart from things you might be specifically seeking out, it is possible to pick up a good amount in the airport on the way back which is very convenient.

    With regards to what to buy - I would suggest looking mainly at red crianzas from Rioja; these will be good value and should provide quite a typical example of Rioja. Particularly good Rioja producers would include Muga, Sierra Cantabria, La Rioja Alta, CVNE, Roda, Murrieta, and Contino. Maybe also a few more expensive ones: one of the nicest wines I have ever had from any country would be Sierra Cantabria's 2001 Cuvée Especial which you should pick up for around €12-13 (retails around €18-19 here.) Truly fantastic wine but really needs decanting for over an hour before drinking.

    Other particularly well regarded regions would include Ribera del Duero and most particularly Priorat, which is in Catalunya and considered by many to be the top region of Spain. Wines tend to be quite expensive. Cava is also mainly made in Catalunya so if you like sparkling wine pick up some of that; you can often get a reserva from the likes of Segura Viudas for around the €5 mark. Toro and Jumilla are also making some very good modern-styled wine (as are many other DOs.)

    Outside Rioja, the 2004 Descendientes de José Palacios Petalos from Bierzo and the 2003 Alvaro Palacios Les Terrasses from Priorat are wines I have tasted recently and been very impressed with.

    Don't forget sherry. There is a fantastic range from bone-dry fino to the unbelievable sweetness and concentration of Pedro Ximénez. Last night I had a half bottle of the 1975 Don PX Gran Reserva which would have to rate among the best desert wines I have tasted. Another very nice dessert wine is Molino Real; the "MR" mountain wine second label is much cheaper and very good indeed (around €13.) It's made from moscatel (muscat) and would be similar to a Beaumes de Venise.

    I am not a great fan of dry white wines but an exception would be Enate's Gewürztraminer which you should be able to pick up under €10.


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