Senorio De Broches, vino dulce natural

Senorio De Broches, vino dulce natural is a sweet wine from the region of Malaga in Spain. The producer is Bodegas Antonio Muñoz Cabrera, which is a family owned Bodega that was founded in 1927. They focus on the grape Moscatel to produce sweet and dry wines. 

Their wine Senorio De Broches, vino dulce natural is made by letting the grapes dry in the sun in so called paseros so they can get a high sugar level and therefore no extra sugar is added to the wine. The wine is fermented up to 10% before brandy is added to stop the fermentation at the ABV of 15%. 

The taste is of orange, honey and dried apricot. A nice fortified sweet wine.

Castano Dulce Monastrell 2016

The Castano family is a wine producer in south eastern of Spain in the region of Murcia in the small town of Yecla. The Castano Dulce is a fortified wine done in a similar tradition as port wine.  Monstrell grapes are a very hardy bush vine that can survive the dry and austere landscape of south eastern Spain. The overripe Monastrell grapes are handpicked from old unirrigated bush vines. The fermentation is done slowly during 17 days and then grapespirits is added and then the wine is stored for 6-8 months in oak barrels.

The vine that I have tasted is of the vintage 2016 and has an ABV of 16%. On the nose a deep hit of red and black currant. In the taste black currant, cherry and some chocolate. It feels like a lighter port wine but not written as a bad thing but it is different. I like this wine very much. Very good together with chocolate and is quite easy drinking.

Dominio Alto Rioja Gran Reserva 2013

Dominio Alto Rioja Gran Reserva 2013 is a spanish wine from the Rioja appellation. Gran Reserva says that the wine needs to be aged two years in a barrel and three years in the bottle before being sold.The name Dominio Alto is a Swedish Brand name and the real producer is Bodegas La Eralta. The taste is of violet, plum, tobacco and oak. Very dry finish with oak in it. This is definitely a food wine. Just a bit to much oak for my taste.

Tempranillo from Spain and Nero di Troia

This time I go from Spain to the south of Italy. I don't drink so much wine from Spain but it is interesting to try out new stuff. Anciano is a Gran Reserva 2006 made by Tempranillo grapes. It is from producer Bodegas Navalo. The wine is stored in oak barrels for 18 months before being bottled and then they store it 8,5 years longer before selling the wine. So it is as least ten years old. The vintage is 2006 and the ABV is 13% Since it is ten years old it is quite smooth. The wine has hints of vanilla with red currants and some liquorice. Just lacking a bit in the after taste. A good price for the value.

Now going to the south of Italy and the region of Puglia. In this region they have several interesting grape varieties and one of them is Nero di Troia. producer Poderere 20 produces a 100% Nero di Troia wine called Gelso Nero and the vintage that I have tried is the 2017, so it is quite a young wine. The ABV is 13%. It has a taste of plums,, dark cherries, viols and some tannins. Not an older elegant wine but a more younger wild wine which I quite like.

A round up of recent wines

First up is something I barely drink and it is a Sherry which is a fortified wine from Spain. It is the Real Tesoro del Principe Amontillado from producer Marques Real tesoro. It is an Amontillado sherry which has been ages for at least 15 years in oak casks. The ABV is 18.5%. The smell is strong of oxidized sherry. The taste is bonedry and it is a good sherry.

The Wine A Elisabeth if a Dolcetto wine from Alba in Piemonte. I have tried the 2015 vintage before and now the 2016 vintage is out. It is from producer Cascina delle Rose and the ABV is 13%. It has red fruits on the nose. Dark cherries, viols and liquorice with soft tannins and spices in the back. This vintage for me is better than the 2015. An excellent foodwine.

Now over to three white wines. First is a Vermentino wine from Tuscany. The producer is Aja Vecchia, the ABV is 13,5% and the vintage is 2016. I get a fresh nose with green fruits. The taste is citrus, green apples and some grapefruits. A great wine with seafood.

Next up is a white wine from Umbria. It is the wine Villa Monte Vibiano which is a white wine which contains the grapes Viogner, Grechetto and Trebbiano. The taste is a bit dissapointing with some pears and a lot of grapefruits. Works much better if drank with food.

The last wine is a French white wine from Loire. it is the Clisson 2013 wth an ABV of 12%. The grape used is Muscadet. It is a fresh wine despite the age. The taste is of citrus, peaches and minerals.

Older red wines from Italy and Spain

It is quite interesting to try older red wines and this time I have tasted two older red wines and also a younger red wine.

The first older red wine is the Marques De Arienzo Reserva from 2004. This I found at a lower shelf and I had forgotten about it. I think I bought it in 2010 and had been forgotten. It is a rioja wine and it is made of the Temopranillo (85%) and Graciano and Mazuelo (15%). The colour is dark red with a brownish tint indication an older wine.In the nose I get a smell of red and black currants. In the taste if get dark cherries, black currants and some tannins. I think that it has reached maximum maturity and it should be drank right now. As I don't feel that it will increase in complexity. A very good wine but I don't think that it increases so much in complexity by this long aging. 2-4 years of aging is recommended.

The net older wine is a wine that I have tasted before. It is the Les Cretes wine Fumin from Valle D'Aosta. The vintage is 2009 and the ABV is 13%. In the taste I get a dark fruity taste with red sour cherries and some black currants. In the aftertaste I get some viols and oak. I like this wine and it ages very nicely. I think that this wine can be stored maybe for 5 more years.

To finish it off I go with a younger wine from Veneto and it is a Castelforte Appassimento from 2014. The ABV is 14%. In the taste I get red fruits with some spices. A quite easy drinking wine.

Back to normal

Over five weeks since my last blogpost. Visits to Italy and Japan took has taken a lot of my time but now it is back to normal. A longer report from Italy will come one of these upcoming days but until then some wines that I have tasted.

White wine from Spain is something that I almost never drink and the wine Rueda by Marques De Riscal is a new experience. This wine is made from the Verdejo grape which is also new for me. It is grown in the Ruedo region in Spain. This wine is aromatic, but for me a bit single minded and lacking some freshness. Definitely needs food with this wine.

My favourite wine region in France is the Alsace region. They produce very good white wines. Turckheim is a small commune in Alsace that produces very good wine. Their Pinot Gris from 2012 is very good. It has a freshness and acidity that makes it so easy to drink. Highly recommended wine.

I like red wine from the Veneto region in Italy and one wine is the Millefiori by producer Traditional Wine Innovations. It is made by using the appassimento method, which means drying of the grapes like they do for Amarone wines. It has a strong taste of cherries but also feel a bit simpleminded. It lacks something and there are better red wines from Veneto region to buy.

Wine for barbeque

The days have slowly become warmer and yesterday was the first really good day to have a barbeque but due to other circumstances it was shifted to Sunday instead. And that was even better as the weather today was better, more warmth and no cold winds at all. Instead of the usual pork fore the barbeque I had beef for once. And what wine would go fine with the beef. Looking through the cellar I found a Marques De Arienzo Gran Reserva from 1998. That would be a fine addition to the weather and the barbequed beef. Marques de Arienzo started in 1981 and in 2010 it was bought by Marqués de Riscal S.A. This wine is made from Tempranillo grapes and has an alcohol level of 13% vol. The smell was very good. A good sign of a well stored wine. The colour of the wine was deep ruby red, very nice. The taste of the wine could be split into three difefrent phases. The first phase was a strong taste, almost earthy and leathery. Then t became a bit bitter to be followed by a long nice aftertaste. For those interested the 2001 Gran Reserva can be found at Systembolaget.