I had a bottle of Faustino VII white Rioja from ASDA. I’m a convert to white Rioja, I still recall the first time I tried it over a decade ago, I couldn’t quite work out what was going on with my taste buds, but they were clearly having a great time with nutty, bitter almond,… Read More »
Hurrah for Carlos Sastre who won the Tour stage today after a heroic team effort got him there. It was pretty much sewn up last night at the time trial when Cadel Evans failed to pull off the outstanding time he’d relied on so we had a Spanish classic to celebrate. It was a Palacio de… Read More »
So ‘perennial underachievers’ Spain have made it through to the semi-finals of the European Championships. It does seem like they’ve trademarked the phrase. What better way to celebrate than with a bottle of Cava, a Freixenet Excelencia Brut Cava. It’s made from the classic Cava grape blend in what I’m not going to call the… Read More »
Alberto Contador secured his win of the Giro this weekend, becoming the first non-Italian to do so for over ten years, and joining Miguel Indurain as the only other Spanish winner. Time for a Spanish wine. We had Castell de Veza 2006, a Malvasia Moscatel blend from Valencia. It was lurking in the fridge as… Read More »
We had a bottle of Marqués de Toledo 2001 Crianza from Laithwaites at the weekend. It was a purple-red with a light vanilla aroma followed by lots of fruit, mostly raspberries. It had a medium level of tannin, soft and ripe, with a balanced acidity. It tasted decidedly fruity and younger that 7 years old.… Read More »
Marques de Murrieta is a big name Spanish producer. It has made its reputation in Rioja turning out consistently good wines. Back in the late 19th Century, Peruvian born Luciano de Murrieta took the cash his family had made banking in the City of London and purchased the Ygay vineyards near Logrono on the Camino… Read More »