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Spanish Wine

Don't ignore Spanish wines just because their labels seem more confusing than those from the New World. Spain produces some of the world's most seductive wines, and they cost a fraction of the price of comparable wines from more fashionable regions.

Spain offers a rich seam for wine lovers on the hunt for character and value for money.

The country's wines - which range from delicious, mature-tasting red Riojas to heady, awe-inspiring Fino sherries - are almost the antithesis of the easy, fruitdriven offerings from Australia, Chile and South Africa. The result is that - like wines from unfashionable European wine regions such as southern France, Italy and Germany - they require a different approach to wines from the southern hemisphere. Nevertheless the rewards are great for those prepared to forget about consistency, clear labelling, and familiar grapes - and to set off to explore the highs and lows that Spain has to offer.

In the late 1970s Spanish wine - particularly Rioja - came within a hair's breadth of being fashionable. Stratospheric red Bordeaux prices were France's loss and Spain's gain. But just as Spanish wines were beginning to enjoy their newfound respectability, so too were Australian wines that were more approachable and offered better value. Whatever the claims that renewed energy and investment would enable the Spain's winemakers to compete, Spanish wines still present something of a minefield to the casual buyer. As you may have realised by now, a casual buyer's minefield is the free-thinking drinker's gold mine.

ORIENTATION TOUR - REDS

Because Spanish wines are so varied in style starting your tour with a scattergun approach will help you find the styles you like. Over a period of a few weeks taste as many reds as you can from the two areas best known for their red wines: Rioja and Ribera del Duero. Having identified your favourites from each area, taste them again alongside other reds that you know well. A possible line-up could include: Ribera del Duero × 2, Rioja × 2, Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon, a southern French red, Rhône red and a good mature red Bordeaux.

COMPARE AND CONTRAST

The joy of this Taste Test is that you will be comparing some wines that couldn't be more different - not just because they are made from different grapes but also because of the climate and landscape where they were produced. Nevertheless, the chances are that alongside the differences you'll also find some surprising similarities.

ORIENTATION TOUR - WHITES

Take a similar approach with the whites. Again, start with Rioja: try a handful of whites before moving on to Galicia, the region in the windswept northwestern extremity of Spain, where you should try any Albarinos you can lay your hands on. Finally, select your two favourite wines from each area. For your Taste Test you might then compare: white Rioja × 2, Albarino × 2, New Zealand Sauvignon, good oaky Australian Chardonnay, Muscadet and Verdicchio.

COMPARE AND CONTRAST

As in France, the focus of the winemaker is on style rather than grapes - of which there are almost 600 different varieties in Spain. From a filleting perspective the only grapes you need to concern yourself with are Tempranillo, used to make red wines in Ribera del Duero, and Garnacha - the grape that the French call 'Grenache Noir'. The two white grapes to focus on initially are Albarino and Viura, the grape in white Rioja.

TYPICAL VERSUS MODERN

When selecting wines from European regions such as Spain you're faced with a choice between those that are 'typical' - i.e. they adhere to a style that is true to the region where they are made - and those that are 'modern', which seek to mimic the styles of wine from the southern hemisphere. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with the latter, but in the interest of deepening your knowledge of Spanish wines it makes sense to avoid them.


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