Spain, the final frontier, to boldly go....

Okay I am excited about the Star Trek movie but that is irrelevant.....

Spanish wines are so easy. I’ve just enjoyed a couple of days taking in the best that Spain has to offer and it did not disappoint. Great wine, full of flavour, fruit and it is so easy to drink. Admittedly most of the time it was washing down some superb Tapas but somehow the two go together like they are inseparable. Okay I have to admit to having a soft spot for Rioja, it is my drink of choice when I just fancy a glass of wine, satisfying on so many levels. The beauty of drinking it in Spain is not only the food but the constant sunshine and the incredibly cheap prices compared with anywhere outside of the country. The Euro’s relative strength to the Pound and Dollar may have hurt but when you think about the quality and satisfaction received from Spanish red wine, it’s very tempting to move there permanently.

I can strongly recommend the 2005’s, 2004’s and indeed most of this decade if you want a solid, reliable fruity wine with bags of flavour. Tempranillo, Gamacha (Grenache) and Carinena (Carignan) compete and meld to form this excellent wine. Personally I like Marques de Riscal, Vina Ardanza and Marques de Caceres, all readily available outside of Spain.

I’m off to the London International Wine Fair next week for two days of overdosing on every wine imaginable, wish me luck.

Great Value wines from the South of France

I’ve had a couple of French wines recently that have impressed me, not least of which because they represent excellent value for money. I know that we have ridiculous taxes and charges on our wines here in the UK, import duty, transport costs, supermarket mark-ups etc which leaves the actual cost of the wine a lot less than people think.

In this particular case I am recommending an obscure French wine for just £4.74 a bottle when you buy 6. It is called BASTIDE de Garille from a relatively unknown appellation (Cabardes) 2006. It is a delicious combination of Syrah, Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grapes. Apparently the cool air of the mountains combined with the Mediterranean sunshine in the south of France help produce some excellent grapes and because we are talking about France I am sure the terroir is perfect too.

The second recommendation is called Maison Maurel Vedeau 2007 also from the south of France. This Languedoc regional wine is taken from vineyards all around the region and is a lovely combination of Sauvignon Blanc and Grenache grapes. I was expecting the sharp capsicum taste of a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc but this had none of it. I don’t know what proportions of the two varietals were included but it has a lovely soft, honey/melon/lychee flavour that makes you want to drink more and more and before you know it the bottle is empty. This one retails at £8.54 a bottle when you buy 6. Quite a lot for a south of France wine made from random vineyards in the region but believe me well worth a try.

Both of these wines are available from Tesco’s Wine club and if you look hard enough you might pick up the odd bottle at their bigger stores.