Here are my stream-of-consciousness notes from a tasting of local wines that are exported to the UK from this small but distinctive wine region in north-west Spain. I had the pleasure of participating in the tasting when I was there last November. See Cigales – between a rock and a hard place for a full overview of a small region worthy of your attention.
Just about to be released. 14 months in oak, 70% French, 30%...
Very dark crimson and high toned. Firm and rich and sleek. Solid...
Started growing vines 1965. Started bottling in 1999. Young...
They picked around 8 Oct in 2009. Very dark crimson. Smells very...
16 months in American and French oak. Chosen as the best wine of...
They own 80 ha of vines but buy in a lot, 80% red grapes. Family...
Doesn't say Frutos Villar on the label because it's the owner of...
They make perhaps more than any other producer here, though...
He comes with his first vintage of red and his English-speaking...
He owns 42 ha and 17 are of 60-100 years minimum. He buys in...
Walter the oenologist is Uruguayan and been here for four years...
Mid crimson, not the most intense colour. Rather rustic nose...
First vintage was 1998. Very dark. Quite a volatile nose. Blast...
Means 'The League'. Started in 1997 with vineyards that are now...
Very deep. Full and a little jagged and very sweet and simple...
Sweet and rich and round. Pretty heavy and voluptuous. Quite a...
Family-selected grapes. Scented and fresh and really lively...
Very fruity and relatively simple on the nose, but actually...
Belongs to the Matarromera group, their third winery. Looks like...
14 months in American and French oak. 90-year-old vines. Very...
Pre-phylloxera vines, 125 years old. Very noble and intense and...
Saignée, not the traditional blend. Very aromatic – I don't even...
55% limestone and the most recent DO study of the terroirs says...
Half of the vines are 60- to 100-years-old, grown on pebbles...
Just 11,000 bottles. Single vineyard. A partnership between Ana...
Started in 2000, a local family. Jazzy label. 15 ha vines...
Very dark crimson. He says the 2005 is rounder. This is...
Dark crimson. Smells as though picked a little overripe? Then...
