I've long admired the beautiful red wines of Bodegas Montecillo, which is among the most consistently brilliant producers in Spain's renowned Rioja district.
Until recently, however, I didn't know the secret to Montecillo's remarkable record of consistency. Maria Martinez, who has been Montecillo's winemaker for the past three decades, recently toured the United States and we had a moment to chat, a very illuminating moment.
Martinez is very much a traditionalist, shunning many of the trends of modern winemaking, but she thinks outside the box. What that means for a winemaker in today's Rioja is that she hasn't joined the parade toward riper, jammier wines.
The new style offers the seductiveness of softer, sweeter tannins but in Martinez's mind loses some of the typicity of the Rioja character. She prefers to soften her tannins the old fashioned way -- over time in the barrel.
And she uses only French oak barrels.
"French oak is the best because it's not giving to the wine that intense vanilla flavor," she said. "It gives a more refined wine; lets the wine express itself. French oak doesn't mask the flavors in the wine."
Holding to the tradition of lengthy barrel-aging, and using French oak are not Martinez' secret weapon, however.
No, Montecillo's success lies in the fact that it doesn't own vineyards and isn't forced to produce wine in poor vintages. Martinez refrained from purchasing grapes in 1992 and 1999, and in the rain-soaked harvest of 2002 only bought grapes for Montecillo's crianza, its least expensive wine.
"The grapes are not good every single year!" Martinez said with the force of her conviction. "I only buy grapes and make wine when the grapes are good. And I only buy grapes from the oldest vineyards in Rioja Alta, at higher altitude, which give tannins that are much more refined. I buy no grapes from Rioja Baja."
Of course, it helps that Montecillo is owned by the Osbornes, the famous Sherry producers and one of the wealthiest families in Spain. If Montecillo misses a vintage or two, the Osbornes can absorb the pain. And their deep pockets command respect in the open grape market.
"When I see the quality of the harvest is going to be good, I buy up as many grapes as the Osborne pockets can afford to buy," said Martinez.
There is little question that once Martinez gets the good grapes she knows what to do. She ages her reservas and gran reservas in barrel longer than most, and gives them additional aging in the bottle before releasing the wines for sale. This accounts in part for the silky tannins and smooth texture of Montecillo Riojas.
That's also why the gran reservas currently available are from the 1995 and 1996 vintages. What's most stunning about the Montecillo wines, given the quality and the length of time Montecillo has sat on the inventory before releasing it, is the price: gran reservas retail for about $25, reservas for $18 to $20 and crianzas for $15 or less, usually less.
If you're anxious to taste one of the world's great red wines and don't have a fortune to spend on the pleasure, a Montecillo Gran Reserva Rioja just might be your ticket.
Recent email exchanges with Josh Jensen, owner of Calera Wine Company, have been both engaging and enlightening. Jensen makes the Calera vineyard-designated Pinot Noirs that have attained icon status among wine collectors the world over.
Jensen was somewhat taken aback that my response to two new releases, the 2002 Jensen Vineyard Pinot and the 2002 Reed Vineyard Pinot, was not as enthusiastic as he had anticipated, knowing I've been keen on these wines for a number of years.
They are both good wines, but I found them a bit on the austere side. Jensen defends both wines, pointing out that his Mt. Harlan estate in the hills of California's Central Coast typically yields long-lived Pinots that are tannic and slow to come around. In some vintages this is more true than in others.
He holds back release of new vintages longer than most other Pinot producers, fearing that otherwise most of it would be drunk well before its peak. Jensen added that when people ask the best time to drink one of the Mt. Harlan Pinots, he recommends between six and 12 years after the harvest, but adds they will evolve nicely for a couple of decades.
Jensen prefers this style of Pinot Noir and I admire him for sticking to his guns in the face of the conventional wisdom. The popular trend in Pinot Noir has been toward more opulent, fleshy, fruit-driven wine. Jensen's style is more European and less fashionable, but no less legitimate.
So should you be inclined to purchase the Jensen or Reed Pinots, clearly buy it with the future in mind. Don't even think about popping those corks until at least 2008!
As the Jensen Pinots evolve, I do intend to re-taste, and revise my review accordingly if warranted.
Every wine competition has its own distinct personality, a personality that changes from year to year. I know because I am Director of three major international wine competitions here in the United States. Each one is an experience unto itself.
The 2006 San Diego International Wine Competition, one of the nation's oldest commercial wine competitions, surprised with its diversity and international flavor, particularly in the areas of white and sparkling wines.
The SDIWC was once the largest "national" wine competition in the U.S., but opened up to wines from other countries in 2004. The international component didn't really kick in until this year. A glance at the gold medals awarded in the early April judging tells the story.
I found myself quietly rooting for New Zealand's Cloudy Bay 2005 Sauvignon Blanc in the "sweepstakes" voting for Best of Show white wine. This vintage was one of my favorites from Cloudy Bay, the winery that led the charge for Sauvignon Blanc long before it became popular.
Cloudy Bay didn't win the taste-off, but another New Zealand wine did: the 2005 Kathy Lynskey 'Single Vineyard' Gewurztraminer, another wine I've recently recommended. In fact, the Lynskey gewurz is a wine I re-tasted and elevated substantially in a subsequent review.
Other international entries populated the sweepstakes round, including a face-off in the sparkling wine vote between Moet & Chandon's 1999 Brut Champagne and two of California's most splendid bruts, the 1996 Gloria Ferrer 'Carneros Cuvee' and the 1999 Mumm Napa 'DVX.' Banfi's 2005 Rosa Regale, a sparkling Brachetto d'Aqui from Italy's Piedmont region, also competed in the sparkling sweepstakes, which was won by Gloria Ferrer for the second consecutive year.
Of the 152 gold medals awarded (from nearly 2200 entries) 23 went to international entries representing nine different countries. Australia and Italy led the way with eight and six gold medals, respectively, with New Zealand and Argentina also claiming multiple golds.
Complete results can be found at www.sdiwc.com or interested readers can email me at whitonwine@aol.com for an excel spreadsheet with all of the winners and pricing information.
