Date: Friday 5/2/23
Location: La Bodeguita de Luis, Toa Baja
Distributor: LuxoWine
Wines:
- Heredad de Peñalosa – Rueda Verdejo (2021)
- Las Garnachas de Tritium – Rioja (2019)
- Hermanos Frias del Val – Rioja Alavesa (2018)
- Dominio de Berzal – Crianza Rioja Alavesa (2018)
- Dominio de Berzal – 7 Varietales (2017)
- Bagus – Ribera del Duero (2019)
- Clos Berenguer – Seleccio Priorat (2019)
Hemingway once said “When people talk, listen completely. Don’t be thinking what you’re going to say. Most people never listen”. That’s so true today when a large group of our society are waiting someone finishes talking so that they can sell their position and win the argument. There’s very little real conversations happening now a days and that is a loss for human interactions. So every time I have the opportunity to listen, I just absorb what I can.
Recently I had such opportunity when I was invited by my friends from LuxoWine to meet Gil Nuñez. Gil is sommelier, a winemaker, a professor of enology and an entreprenaur as he is the General Manager of the Bertha Group which helsp distribute small and family run wineries by combining efforts as they export their product. One of the first things we talked about was him having any free time to which he chuckled and said “barely”.
The evening planned was for a small group of us to try some of the wines he made and some of the wines he distributes through the Bertha Group and the manner in which it was going to be run was pretty informal. The environment we did the tasting was a small shop called La Bodeguita de Luis and even though it was the first time I visited it, I must say it was a nice place, with great service and a very nice selection of wines in their wall.
We tried seven wines that night and each one told a different story and I must say, as a person that drinks a lot of Spanish wines, I was very impressed with what we were introduced to.
The first wine was the Heredad de Peñalosa – Rueda Verdejo (2021). A white wine from a region I had recently tried quite a few wines from. This wine was very fresh with a well balanced acidity something I enjoy when I find in Rueda. It’s easy to find wines with an overture of acidity, but when they are well made, its a refreshing experience. Bodegas Pascual, established in Ribera del Duero but as it’s a common practice, there are many wineries in Duero that have white wines grown in Rueda. When you learn that they both share a campaign in Puerto Rico to promote their wines, this type of interconnection makes even more sense.
The second wine was Las Garnachas de Tritium – Rioja (2019). As Gil talked he made some nuggets of information as if he was giving a class to his students sharing notes like Garnachas being sensitive to oxidation and that winemaking at low temperatures is important because it gives a lot of concentration but when they ferment it gives a lot of alcohol. The wine itself had a fruit friendly nose, good body, rounded tannins, alcohol palpable in the finish and overall a very fine example of Rioja Garnacha.
Then we moved onto Hermanos Frías del Val Crianza Alavesa (2018). This wine was a revelation to me. Mainly because of the price/quality graph. I’ve lately become a fan of Rioja Alavesa wines because I’ve learned to appreciate what makes them different. These vineyard is at 550+ meters of altitude in the Basque Country. It’s 100% Tempranillo, very traditional, rustic aged in 225 liter barrels for 12 months on a 50/50 american/french oak combination. It had that note of vanilla only good oak gives and that I enjoy but I find in expensive wines. I tell you, this is a wine to look at.
Now this was the interesting part. Gil and the friends at LuxoWine did a Vs tasting of two Rioja Alavesa wines from the same year, with a difference in location of 3 kilometers and pretty much the same terroir and they were two different wines.
This other wine was the Dominio de Berzal Crianza 2018 from Rioja Alavesa. There was a search for more finesse in this wine, more acidity and more elegance. The vines are 50+ years old and the combination of wood which might be the other difference other than winemaker style, was 65/35 french/american oak. This wine is also considered vegan for those taking notes.
We followed with yet another surprising wine from the region. Dominio de Berzal 7 Varietales 2017. First of all the wine already had six years. It spent 17 months in barrels and 10 in bottle afterwards. Here’s where it gets creative. It’s a Rioja wine, and you read all the months it spent aging. Not quite a Reserva, but definitely a Crianza, but they go with the simple Cosecha label because this 7 varietal wine has no Tempranillo. They use Maturana Tinta (40%), and the rest of the grapes 10% each (Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot, Mazuelo, Garnacha and Prieto Picudo). This is a wine to own. It has aged elegantly, and it has a way to go. They make only 1,800 bottles so production is limited, but it is a great curiosity.
The second to last wine was a departure from Rioja and a visit to Ribera del Duero with this Bagus 2019. The vineyards are at 860+ meters of altitude in basic soils, there are climate changes and uneven days and nights. This wine has great structure and body and its made from wines from a single parcel called Pago Manvirgo. 15 months in barrel, 1 year in bottle. They make 3,000 bottles and if it’s not a good year…they don’t make any.
The final wine was the Priorat. Clos Berenguer Seleccio 2019. Quite young and a combination of Garnacha and Carignan from vines with 90+ years and cabernet and syrah. Each grape gives the wine a little something. The Cabernet the structure, the Carignan some color and freshness, the Syrah fruit flavors and the Grenache the alcohol. Good combo. 14-15 months in french oak. Also 3,000 bottles made, very few quantities.
There was a great anecdote that Gil shared about the Priorat and how it was founded by monks (like most great wine places). But being the professor he is, he started telling us about the parallels of Chateauneuf du Pape and the Priorat and the similarities of grenache in both locations. Interesting stuff.
From there we diverted into micro conversations and sharing experiences and asking some questions to Gil.
Great event, great wines, great venue. I appreciate the invitation to participate in the tasting and was left with great impression of wines that are new to me but will definitely become part of my recurrent wines.
