Spanish Wine Tasting

Last week we visited our friends who live near London, they love Spanish wine and food with both their families originating from Spain. Dave loves wine, which is how we met many years ago, and on Friday hosted a wine tasting evening for a few friends. Agnes provided a lovely variety of foods to accompany our tasting, it was a lovely evening and nice to meet everyone. 

Our evening began with a Cava Gran Reserva 2021 from The Wine Society. From their Exhibition range this wine had an abundance of bubbles with a yeasty, biscuity flavour along with a lovely citrus finish. Having spent 30 months on its lees gives this bottle of bubbly a delicious complexity which was enjoyed by all. 

The three whites we tasted were all from The Wine Society but they were from different regions of Spain: Terra Alta Barcelona, Galicia and Rioja. Our first white was a Garnacha wine, Far del Sud Garnatxa Blanca 2024. This was my favourite white, not surprising as it's Grenache Blanc if grown in France. It had plenty of apply flavours and not being oaked was delicious for me. 

The history about Far del Sud on the back of the bottle was fascinating, I love learning about how wines get their names - ' The old Boda Lighthouse, located in the heart of the Elbro Delta where we find the island that gives it its name, was built in 1864 and presented at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1867. Known as the Eiffel Tower in the Delta, was practically destroyed during the Civil War and toppled by a storm on 24 December 1961. The new lighthouse, built in 1983, watches over the old one buried under the sea "surrounded by the opulence of the Buddha landscape where the water is smooth and the rice is green" 

Pazo do Mar Blanco Ribeiro 2024, our second white, was a blend of four grapes: Treixadura, Torrontes, Albarino and Godello. I have tasted Ribeiro wine before and really enjoy their crispness which comes from being a region on the Atlantic coast. Giving floral aromas and crisp fruity flavours that had a depth of complexity this white would be a great pairing with seafood, my thoughts were instantly of pairing this with a hot steaming bowl of mussels. 

Our final white was liked by many but not for me, I do struggle with wines both white and red from Rioja. Navajas Bianco 2021 is a Crianza, young, wine made predominantly from Viura that are harvested towards the end of September and fermented in stainless steel tanks. It spends six months in new American or French oak barrels giving a vanilla edge to its flavour. It was quite a bright wine with strong fruity flavours that produced a long finish. 

Our first red was also from the Rioja region, Cune Rioja Crianza, purchased from Sainsbury's. CVNE, Compania Vinicola del Norte de Espana, is a wine brand we have tasted at a few wine events with Heather Dougherty DipWSET. I have enjoyed their sparkling wines but still struggle with the Rioja reds. 

Cune brand came about simply due to a typo in the late 1800s, the acronym C.V.N.E. being mis-read and the V change to make the word Cune, a name the Bodegas have stayed with ever since. This young red wine made from Tempranillo, Granacha and Mazuelo grapes is matured in American and French oak barrels for a minimum of 12 months. It is Spain's top seller with plenty of flavours of dark berries, a touch of liquorice and vanilla notes leading to a hint of spice on its finish. I will always take a sip of a wine, even if I think it's not for me: this wine had great flavours but still not my style of red. 

The Wine Society's Parcelas Ecologico Monestrall 2023 was next in our red tasting, I really enjoyed this wine made from the Monastrell grape known as Mourvedre in France. This wine was produced in the warmer climate of Southern Spain, inland and at a higher altitude to benefit from the Mediterranean warm breezes. A rich dark red in colour with aromas of dark fruit this wine had plenty of texture with its berry flavour and peppery notes, a really delicious red that paired really well with the Red Fox cheese provided by Agnes. 

Our final red was one Hubby and I have enjoyed many times, Papa Luna 2022 from The Wine Society. From Calatayud Zaragoza region, inland from Barcelona, this Garancha, Syrah, Mazuelo wine is made from old vines and was the full-bodied wine of the evening with many layers of dark fruits giving a mouth full of deep flavours. It is a wine that calls out for a cosy winter night, a roaring fire and comfy sofa, although I have previously enjoyed it in the summer with the rich flavours of a bbq. 

After three great whites and three super red wines our evening finished with two sherry tastings: Palo Cortado produced exclusively for Waitrose and a small bottle of Very Rare Oloroso.

I know very little about sherry, a trip to Jerez is on our to visit list. A light orange colour the Palo Cortado sherry had plenty of flavours of orange with a nutty background whereas the Oloroso was much darker in colour and had more of a spirit finish probably due to it being blended with brandy. 

It was a really good evening hosted by Dave and Agnes, great to meet new wine appreciative friends and try a variety of wines from Spain - thanks to everyone for a great night. 

Our Welsh journeys

It was quite a journey from home to West Wales sop it was lovely to breakfast our journey with an overnight stay at our daughter and son-in-law's in South Waales. Our journey took us through the lower part of the Brecon Beacons, beautiful scenery including this waterfall at the roadside.

We haven't driven the Brecon to Llandovery road before, it was beautiful. Our reason for taking this route was to visit Dinefwr, a National Trust property near Llandeilo. 

For over 2000 years this area of Wales has been important for many reasons; an Iron Age hillfort, a Roman military fort, a monastery at St Teilo's and part of the Bishop of St David's estate.

In the 1100s Dinefwr Castle was part of the kingdom of Deheubarth; The Lord Rhys fought against the Norman Conquest. In Tudor times the first mansion on the site was built by Sir Rhys ap Thomas who fought along side Henry Tudor at the Battle of Bosworth. Newton House, named this as it was the new town built by the English, became the home of the Lord Dynevors who were significant families in South Wales. 

After hundreds of years being passed down through the family the huge park became owned by the National Trust in the late 1980s and Newton House a few years later. Dinefwr Castle is a ruined castle which stands high above the house, it is owned and looked after by Cadw. 

Because of time and the very wet weather we only visited the house which was very interesting although the furniture was not original to the property, only the blue clock belonged to the family.

  

After a super weekend in Tenby we journeyed on to New Quay on the west coast of Wales. Our journey took us through Narbeth where we had a coffee stop along side the river, it was so peaceful.

Narbeth castle is also now a ruin with the history of being the place where the last dragon in Wales was killed. There was a very impressive dragon above the gateway.

We had a lovely time exploring the west of Wales including a trip to Cardigan where there was a cardigan hanging in the market hall. It was made by local people in 2010 with support from the Heritage Fund. 

 

We had a great time travelling through Wales as well as our two short breaks: Tenby and West Quay. I'll be blogging about our times in each location soon. 

White Castle Winery

Our first visit to White Castle Vineyard was a few years ago when our daughter and (now) son-in-law adopted a vine for us following our discovery of this superb wine by winning a couple of bottles in a raffle. We were delighted as you can see in my blog post in 2021

We have revisited Robb and Nicola a few times since, in particular to purchase Welsh Sparkling Wine to celebrate our daughter's engagement to her Welsh love and for a super tour & tasting with our wine friends. 

The White Castle dream was to have a winery at the Vineyard making their wine pure Welsh from ground to bottle. 

The dream came true in 2024 with the opening of Y Gwindy, a superb purpose build winery with a row of impressive stainless steel vats and all the necessary wine making equipment including a bottling machine. 

White Castle wine is now grown, nurtured, harvested and produced on site making every drop 100% Welsh.

It's been a great growing year for the vines producing an abundance of grapes with riping happening earlier than previous years. When we visited Siegerrebe and Pinot Noir Précoce had already been harvested, pressed and were happily fermenting in the vats. 

We tasted both and although cloudy and still developing they were delicious, especially the Pinot Noir Précoce with a deep red colour and evidence of complex flavours maturing.

Robb and Nicola's hard work is evident all around the winery, as is their passion for what they are producing. Everything is in place and ready for the next harvesting which was happening just a few days after our visit. 

Y Gwindy had a wine smell that just made me smile, a smell I have appreciated in many wineries across Europe. One fragrance in particular means wine; that for me is wood, in particular oak, and filled the air from the White Castle branded barrels sitting ready for their next fill.

There are still a few finishing touches to happen in the winery, mostly finding the easiest working place for equipment, this is a discovery that will happen over the next few months as Y Gwindy is in full swing with this year's bumper crops.

One item to find its permanent place is the lovely board Robb and Nicola have had made to thank those who helped crowd fund their dream.

White Castle now produce a sparkling Cabernet Franc Rosé, a great addition to their range and one that came home with us along with Regent, our Christmas Day red. 

A sparkling Cabernet Franc is a new discovery for me that I'm keen to taste but I'll be opening it for something special with time to savour, as yet who know why or when that will be but hopefully soon.

Thank you Robb & Nicola for such a warm welcome, it was a real pleasure to visit Y Gwindy, your pride and enthusiasm is a delight to see. We'll certainly be calling by again on one of our travels to Wales, diolch.

Guinness Storehouse

Our other experience in Dublin was a visit to the Guinness Storehouse for an amazing tour through the world of this delicious dark brew that we both enjoy especially when used to make Guinness cake!

As we approached the Storehouse through old streets surrounded by brewing buildings the excitement atmosphere was building. There were tourists chatting full of anticipation, coaches dropping tours off and horse drawn carriages waiting for visitors wanting a ride back into the city centre.

Once inside we were lined up with our fellow 12noon tourers not quite sure what to expect. It was amazing, we were ushered through into a massive 7 floor open plan storehouse with activity and noise on every floor. Our host guide explained that if we looked down we see we were standing on a huge circle and if we looked up to the topmost glass ceiling we'd realise we were actually standing on the largest glass of Guinness in the world. It was incredible design and construction and really did give that impression.

From then on our tour was self guided, each section leading to the next progressing up and up the building explaining in great detail about how Guinness is made and it's history.

 

Starting with fields of barley my photos will reveal all that goes into each pint of creamy smooth Guinness.

And there it is ... pure Guinness. The interactive displays were so good, the water was actual water falling in a sequence. 

Our tour then carried on upwards after going into the tasting room, jet black inside where we all had a tiny tasting glass of smooth black beer.

After the tasting room we wandered through exhibitions and advertising characters, including the fish on a bike, the hanging harp was so effective.

It was an amazing experience over 7 floors packed with interactive displays, knowledge and so much fun. 

Our tour ended in the high up Gravity Bar overlooking Dublin where we happily spent a couple of hours enjoying a pint or two chatting with visitors from America and Germany.

 

 

A few souvenirs to remember our amazing day in a very large glass of Guinness.

Hanwell Vineyard

My lovely sister-in-law and her hubby gifted us a Vineyard Tour with Lunch for my birthday. There were a few to choose from but we chose Hanwell Wine Estate as it was driveable so no need to stay over although there is a camping site for touring caravans and motorhomes.

The venue was lovely, with a greatbar area and seating outside. Our tour began in the big barn and was set up ready for us, it was a lovely space and very inviting.

Our wine host was very knowledgeable and once everyone had arrived she explained how the Wine Estate had begun in the 1960s when Tony and Veronica discovered a neglected Vineyard in a greenhouse. In 1975 they planted the first Vineyard at Eglantine, not far away. In 2012 Helenka had taken over the vineyard and planted vines at Hanwell. The soil being similar to the Champagne region the vines planted were Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay, perfect for making English Sparkling Wine.

After sharing the history of the estate we all wandered down to the vines. We were so lucky to visit when the grapes were perfectly ripe and harvest was taking place, although not the day we visited. The grapes looked amazing, it was certainly the best time to visit.

Back in the barn our wine host explained about each of the six wines we were tasting, some from Hanwell and some from Eglantine. The selection included two sparkling wines, a rose, a red, a dessert wine and a cherry wine.

Hanwell 'Classic' Dry Sparkling Wine 2018 - made from Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay using the traditional method this wine had great aromas of pear drops and elderflower. It had plenty of bubbles with quite a sharp citrus flavours of apples with a lemony finish.

Eglantine Dry White Sparkling - made from Madeleine Angevine and Seyval this wine had a lighter nose with plenty of apple flavours.

Hanwell 'Romance' Dry Rose 2021 - made from Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier with its blush colour coming from the grape skins. A light wine at 9.5% it had flavours of cranberries and apples with a dry finish.

Eglantine 'R & R' Red - made with Regent and Rondo grapes this red had a slight spice on the nose. A light red at 12.5% with plenty of hedgerow fruit flavours, damson, sloe and bramble.

Eglantine North Star Dessert Wine - ice wine is made by leaving the grapes on the vine until frosted but as this isn't possible in the climate the grapes are picked then frozen. This wine was served at The Ritz banquet for the King's Coronation. It was full of sweet flavours including apricot, mango and marmalade.

Eglantine Cherry still wine - full of morello cherry flavours with a sweet edge this wine had a slightly smokey finish.

After our lovely tasting we settled in the barn for lunch. Hubby ordered the cheese platter and I chose the Mediterranean platter but we shared both. It was so nice relaxing with a glass of wine enjoying the fresh food, the cheese was really good.

It was a super afternoon discovering a new vineyard and new wines. Thank you Deb & Erik for such a great gift, we really enjoyed our wine treat.