A Spanish Wine Night

[OzPiper]

A few rare(-ish) Spanish bottles at dinner (for 9) last night.
Food was not Spanish, but it all came together.





There was a Spanish sparkling, but we had to have a Champagne

The sherry was pretty special - the wine of the night.

The 1986 white Rioja was just a whisker behind

A pity one of the reds (2004 Tondonia) was corked but the other 2 bottles flew the flag proudly for traditional red Riojas

Then 2 wines from Alicante. Reputedly asked for by the Sun King Louis XIV on his deathbed

 

[camaguey]

Probably your best bet is on the Oloroso. The Castillo de Igay RED is a great wine produced by Marques de Murrieta (one of the best riojas you can find for its price) but this one looks white (?). If you want to try the best from spain...go with Ribera del Duero , specially their Vega Sicilia.

 

[shanez]

There was a Spanish sparkling, but we had to have a Champagne

Oh the horror!

A bucket list bottle for some and it didn't even make the top 2 of the night. I can't even imagine how good the top bottles were.

Color me, just a little, jealous.

I think I'll be seeking out some white Riojas in the near future.

 

[OzPiper]

Probably your best bet is on the Oloroso. The Castillo de Igay RED is a great wine produced by Marques de Murrieta (one of the best riojas you can find for its price) but this one looks white (?). If you want to try the best from spain...go with Ribera del Duero , specially their Vega Sicilia.

Some years ago, I organised a Vega Sicilia tasting with vintages back to the 1950's
Pretty impressive wines overall, as befits their status
A pity they have become so expensive.
Even their 2nd label, the Valbuena, have become occasional bottles

 

[OzPiper]

Oh the horror!

A bucket list bottle for some and it didn't even make the top 2 of the night. I can't even imagine how good the top bottles were.

Color me, just a little, jealous.

I think I'll be seeking out some white Riojas in the near future.

Traditional white Riojas, especially those from Tondonia with their oft times oxidative, almond-y characters, can be a bit polarising to those who are used to "technical" wines.
Tondonia, perhaps THE most traditional house in Rioja, has bowed to market pressure and has been making a more "modern style" of white Rioja, and released young. They also make a very gulp-able rose.

Our group last night were friends who share a love of "traditional" wines, albeit some with characters that may be seen as "faults" to a winemaker who is technically trained

The champagne was to placate those who feel a dinner shouldn't start withOUT one.
Or perhaps as Otto von Bismarck said reputedly (when he dined with the Kaiser) "I cannot drink German champagne. My patriotism stops at my stomach"

 

[OzPiper]

The Castillo de Igay RED is a great wine produced by Marques de Murrieta (one of the best riojas you can find for its price) but this one looks white (?).

The 1986 Marquis de Murrieta Castillo Ygay Blanco was THE first Spanish white wine to be accorded 100 points by Robert Parker's wine review.

The reason why I seeked out this wine was because a few years back I put on a tasting of traditional Riojas - both white and red.
The best white was a 1976 Marquis de Murrietta Carta Blanca - their entry level white, which I had cellared for some 20 years

I generally DO NOT place any import on Parker reviews, but the review was by Luis Guterriez, a Spanish wine reviewer

 

[kcghost]

Looks like you had libations worthy of a good night!!

 

[OzPiper]

Looks like you had libations worthy of a good night!!

Thank you.
A great night was had by all
And we were done and home by 9.30pm
Off to work this morning with NO ill effects from the dinner.