Wine days in Barcelona

Bill Bolloten chooses some favourite wines from three days of tasting in Barcelona.

Earlier this month, three Spanish Wine Collective writers covened in Barcelona for three days of wine tasting, discovery and general camaraderie.

The big event was, of course, the fifth edition of Barcelona Wine Week held in the cavernous pavilions of the Fira de Barcelona. With over 1200 wineries and 81 DOs represented, it was, understandably, impossible to take it all in or taste even a fraction of what was on offer.

On a more intimate scale, we also attended two events focusing on small producers: Vinos OFF the Record at the charming Casa Rius, and Liquid Vins at Metrònom Barcelona.

Great meals and wines were also enjoyed at Bar del Pla, Suru Bar and Denassus.

Thanks to Fernando Vázquez Rojas of Naturcode and Antonio Izquierdo, the general secretary of the Consejo Regulador of DO Condado de Huelva, for inviting us to BWW. And muchisimas gracias to Alan, José Luis and Mary for the friendship and sharing the experiences.

Here are a few wines that I particularly enjoyed.

Ecléctico Sobre Lías 2022, El Hato y el Garabato

El Hato y el Garabato is located in the Arribes del Duero region, where the Duero river becomes the border between Spain and Portugal. In their small winery José Manuel Beneitez and Liliana Fernández work with rare local varieties such as Juan García, Doña Blanca, Tinta Jeromo, Gajo Arroba and Bruñal.

The Ecléctico Lías, made with Puesta en Cruz, another unique local variety, was crisp, vibrant and wild with salty citrus and mineral flavours. The juicy ‘Nat Cool’ tinto made with Juan García also impressed.

Corregüela 2022, Malahierba Vinos

Jason Wilson, creator of the essential Everyday Drinking Substack, recommended we visit the Malahierba Vinos stand, and we were certainly glad we did. In this project, located in the Sierra de Francia in Salamanca, the local red and white Rufete varieties are the protagonists.

The Viuda Silvestre cuvée, made with Rufete Blanco, was broad, opulent and elegant. But the lithe and refined Corregüela tinto was superb, with its perfectly poised floral, red fruit and herbal complexity.

Fino Viejo En Rama, Amontillado En Rama and Cáliz Amontillado Viejo, Lagar de los Frailes

*Fino Viejo En Rama, Amontillado En Rama 25 Años and Cáliz Amontillado Viejo 35 Años*

At Vinos OFF The Record, we had a memorable experience tasting the magnificent aged Finos and Amontillados made by Lagar de los Frailes, a winery located in Moriles Altos, an area belonging to D.O. Montilla-Moriles in the south of Córdoba. Surrounding the bodega are 11 hectares of Pedro Ximénez vines in chalky albariza soils.

The Fino Viejo En Rama is unfortified, like all Montilla-Moriles wines, and aged under flor for 15 years. Golden yellow, it was vertical, sharp, powerful and persistent.

The two Amontillados, made with over 25 and 35 years of ageing, were both stunning and perceptibly the most treasured wines of the Pérez Morales family. Mahogany in colour, the palate of both wines was complex, bracing and intense with an endless finish.

Manzanilla Fina Solera Playa, Bodegas del Río

It was good to meet the del Río brothers, the small team behind Bodegas del Río. The del Río family, in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, used to work as almacenistas, small bodegas that mature wines in soleras for several years before selling them on to larger sherry houses. In 2022 they decided to start bottling wines under their own label.

The Manzanilla Fina Solera is a super pure and fresh wine made from Palomino. The pungent aromas of citrus and sea air, mingle with a vertical, precise, briny palate. An astonishingly good Manzanilla for around 16 euros in the shops.

Facatúa, Castúo Wines

This project is changing perceptions of wines from the Tierra de Barros region in Extremadura through the use of local varieties, minimal intervention and the use of clay amphorae for fermentation and ageing.

The skin-contact Facatúa made with the local white variety Pardina had a light amber colour and tasted of green apple, ripe fruits and earth.

In the Extremaduran dialect facatúa means ‘mischief’. The label shows two naughty boys making fun of people, because, in the words of the bodega, “orange wine is made by naughty people”.

El Bufón Albillo Real 2023, Bodegas Arrayán

This bodega was founded in 1999 in Santa Cruz de Retamar, a small village in the province of Toledo (Castilla-La Mancha), south of Madrid.

The El Bufón (the jester or buffoon) was a bold expression of Albillo Real, full of detail and nuance with its zingy grapefruit acidity, minerals and waxy texture. A serious white wine, that unlike the guy on the label, wasn’t fooling about.

Wine of the week

Wine of the week