started our day with
another winemaker named Joseph - this one was full of smiles and apologies -
apologizing to us because we couldn't speak a word of his language and he could
speak ours pretty damn well - smiling that he will get to share the passion for
his wines with us
the Dosteras winery is tiny - 4,000 cases a year -
Joseph however is passionate about every bottle he produces - first took us
down a rickety iron spiral staircase 2 stories below ground to his tiny
cellar - probably 40 barrels or so of this years harvest were inside - let us
barrel taste the whites that had been inside for 50 days - the first was a
Grenache Blanc that was in a new French oak barrel - the oak was palpable but
the wine still showed some subtle fruit - next was the same Grenache Blanc but
in older oak barrels - the fruit was so bright and appealing - last was a blend
in older barrel of Rousanne, Marsanne and Pedro deJiminez - rich and heavy with
palate coating viscosity - Joseph will blend all 3 in the bottle - un-damn-believable!
"c'mon - I want to show you my
vineyard" was next - we hopped in his Nissan pickup and he drove us a few
miles into the outback - just past an almond grove we drove through emerged one
of the most beautiful vineyards I've ever seen - 85 year old gnarled up
Carignan vines on a terraced hillside facing northwest with beautiful green
grass growing between rows - although he has many vineyards his sense of pride
in this one radiated through that big smile - "I make really good Grenache"
he said - "I make award winning red blends" and then he said
something I'll always remember - "but this vineyard and I make the worlds
best Carignan" - and then fearing he may have gone too far he patted his
chest and added humbly - "for me"
the restaurant in the town of Falset he drove us
to for lunch was run by a Chef native to Catalonia - as a child he had grown up
on the Mediterranean in the rice country of Spain - Joseph said "he really
knows how to work the rice - we must try his paella" - we did - I was ashamed
at what I have made and called paella - his sautéed Octopus with lemon aioli
was simply elegant - the free range chicken and salt cod and roast beef - ok
I'm done you get the picture
and the wines - first came last years white blend
- the aromas alone were intoxicating - peach and jasmine and honey and the
color was a deep shade of gold - the palate was mouth coating and luscious -
could have been the setting but I swear it was the best white wine ... I'm not
going there
the first red was a red blend of mostly Grenache
with a touch of Carignan called Vespres - have had before - a bottle is sitting
in my store as we speak - super tasty and rich - dark aromas but with light
fruit on the palate - great start - next came another blend of the same grapes but
50/50 instead - from older vines - again deep and brooding but the palate
stayed with those flavors - dark cherries and a slight spiciness - was superb - finally came his "worlds best " Carignan - if you don't know that grape its mostly used in blends in the
Cotes du Rhone - is nothing special in that region but ... when planted in the
black slate schist of the Monstant region of Spain and allowed to
mature for eight decades or so it is so complex, so polished, so full of minerality,
so spicy - absolutely incredible - as to his claim - I've no point of reference
as this was my first 100% Carignan - I can tell you this - it will be on my
shelves when I return
next came a 4 hour drive across the high plains
& desert of central Spain - through the tiny medieval towns of Aragon on
our way to Logrono in the northern Rioja region - a monsoon rain made driving
in a foreign country slightly more difficult - parking in the bustling
downtown on a Saturday night even more challenging - 28 times around
the square when finally a Smart car backed out of a spot just barely big enough
for our Chevrolet - horns blaring behind me as I maneuvered it in place - love
these experiences - we take a ton for granted in the USA!
and finally off to Laurel street and the one
hundred or so Tapas bars on this bustling pedestrian only street - literally
teaming with thousands of Spaniards imbibing on wine and beer and spirits
unknown to me - we munched on Iberico ham and small toasts with chorizo
sausage and quail eggs on top - a thousand other tasty delicacies were on
display - old men dancing to hip hop in one bar and young Spanish women dancing
the traditional foot stomping arm waving dances we've all seen in movies in
another left an indelible impression on all of us - it felt like we were in a
movie just watching as mere spectators until a group of rowdy Basque men bumped
into John and I was thinking " uh-oh"- but Jamie's brother just gave
that big Montana smile and suddenly we had hopped onto the screen
it was 1 a.m. and time to head back - on
the way nature called and I pulled behind a tree - when I emerged John was
laughing uncontrollably - through the tears he said - sis just called you
"European Tronson" - and so it ends
your pal,
mt
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