A Taste of Spain.

1964 Vintage-Exceptionally good.

A few days ago I attended a Spanish Wine Masterclass which was conducted by Carlos Read a well known master on Spanish wines.

In all we taste-tested six wines, two whites and four reds, but I personally have only found two wines that are really worthy of a review in this site. The other four wines, although acceptable and very good for everyday drinking, are not what I would call top of the range premium wines. So I shall restrict myself to the the real McCoys in the selection.

The two wines which I have selected to bring to your attention are the:

VINA' TONDONIA GRAN RISERVA BLANCO 1964
which is produced by R. Lopez De Heredia Vina' Tondonia S.A. of  Rioja;

and the other is the:

BAI GORI DE GARAGE 2005 (RED)
which is produced by Bodegas Bai Gori of Rioja.

The Vina' Tondonia Gran Risereva 1964 is a wine that was produced, as the name implies, 46 years ago from a blend of vintage Macabeo blended with Malvasia grapes.
This wine was aged for about eight years in oak casks, racked periodically by hand and clarified with egg whites., before bottling in special wax-sealed bottles.

After 46 years, having aged for so many years in the bottle, this wine has an extraordinary deep and intense golden yellow colour, with a bouquet of fine sherry and an exotic combination of orange peel, almonds and mineral flavours.

It is rich on the palate, with a lemony and citrus sense of freshness and maintains a good balance with fresh acidity.

It is a premium, vintage dry white wine, and pairs well with all kinds of fish, seafood and white meats.

Serving temperature recommended is 14 to 16 Deg.C. This wine is not to be chilled so that its aromas and natural flavours are retained.

The production of this wine consisted of only 12,000 bottles, so it can be quite difficult to get hold off, after the 46 years which have elapsed since it was produced.

Alcohol content of this wine is 12% by volume.

The cost of a bottle is in the region of $300, but recent enquiries made indicated that one might have to pay in excess of this figure to acquire a bottle, but for a true, white wine connoisseur, this price would be worth it.

RATING: RS94 POINTS.

The second wine which I liked was the BAI GORI DE GARAGE 2005 RED.

This wine is produced from 100% Tempranillo grapes, which in my opinion are Spain's answer to Italy's Nebbiolo and France's Cabernet Sauvignon grape varieties. The grapes for this wine have been harvested from very old vines yielding small quantities. The grapes are then hand selected grape by grape using sorting and vibrating tables.
Careful production processes makes for very limited production volume of this wine, depending on each year's harvest, but generally it is one of the exclusive wines produced by this winemaker, and the 2005 vintage is considered to be one of the best.

After pressing, fermentation with a  long maceration period is carried out under controlled temperature conditions in wooden barrels, which allow the primary aromas of the grapes to be extracted. Malolactic fermentation of the wines on the lees is carried out in new French oak barrels to obtain natural stability and an alcohol content of 14%.


Tasting & and review of Bai Gori de Garage 2005.



The wine has a deep, cherry red and very clear colour with aromas of herbs, and figs and dark fruit.

On the palate it is rich and lush and is very round with a good balance between tannins given by the French oak and the grape variety itself. The taste has sensations of liquorice, oak, and a trace of black berries.



The finish is long and persistent, and leaves long legs on the inside of the glass, due to its concentrated full body.

It is a premium, excellent and full bodied red wine and well worth its price tag.

Food paring: Grills, roasts and prime red meats.

Alcohol content: 14% by volume.

Price range: Eur50/$70 per bottle.

RATING: RS90 POINTS.