Freixenet Cava Carta Nevada N.V. It’s Valentine’s Day, so grab a bubbly and share with someone special! The first bottle of Freixenet was released in 1914, the creation of a couple named Pedro Ferrer & Dolores Sala who were both from winemaking families. In 1889, Pedro Ferrer married Dolores Sala, whose family had been making wine at their Casa Sala property since 1861. Pedro’s nickname was “El Freixenet”, named after his family’s ranch “La Freixeneda”, which means ash tree grove in Catalan. Dolores’ keen interest in the winemaking process was easily complemented by Pedro’s business savvy and sense of community. Their marriage coincided with the arrival of the Phylloxera plague…
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Hacienda Monasterio Ribera del Duero 2012 Hacienda Monasterio is owned by Carlos del Rio whose family has been in the sherry business for decades. Being fortunate enough to own some prime, south-facing parcels on the right side of the river, Carlos hired Peter Sisseck, the owner/winemaker of the famed Ribera estate Pingus to take over the winemaking in 1995. Peter has helped to turn this old estate into a Ribera powerhouse with wines that can age for years. A blend of 80% Tinto Fino, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot and aged for 17 months in French oak (30% new). Deep vivid red with berry fruits and light whiffs of…
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Clos Mogador Priorat 2013 In an arid and magical place, French monks discovered “Eden’s Ladder”, Escala Dei (12th century). It was here that they made the Lord’s wine. In this very same arid place, 800 years later, a young French woman and a Catalan man, Isabelle and René Barbier, found the place of their dreams, Clos Mogador. René Barbier led the original Priorat movement, proving that exciting and unique fine wines could be made in this forgotten corner of Spanish Catalonia. At Clos Mogador, he nursed back to life abandoned old vineyards planted on steep hillsides, where the ancient Grenache and Carignan vines had learned to struggle against the aridity…
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Bodegas El Nido Clio 2009 The Bodegas El Nido winery is located in the Valley of the Aragona, 10 kilometers north of the town of Jumilla, in the “top boundary”, so named because it is the highest altitude in the municipality. The vines are planted on soils mostly of limestone and very stony surface. The winery began bearing fruit in 2001 as a result of the partnership between the Gil family and Chris Ringland, one of Australia’s best winemakers. The first harvest sold was 2002 under both El Nido and Clio brands. A favorite. Dark red color with aromas of ripe fruit, floral notes and perfume spice. Aged for 24…
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I’Avi Arrufi Vi de guarda 2008 L’Avi Arrufi is an estate-bottled wine made by Celler Vinos Piñol with organically grown grapes in the high elevation region of Terra Alta, located south of Barcelona. The Piñol family has been wine growers for four generations. L’Avi Arrufi means, “Grandfather Arrufi,” the man who founded Celler Piñol in 1945. Today, less than 800 cases are produced of one of the family’s most distinctive wines, made from organically grown vines over seventy years old. L’Avi Arrufi is “liquid geography,” a wine that sings the special music of Terra Alta’s terroir composed of phrases and notes of the specific flavors of the Mediterranean climate. The…
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Bodegas Muga 2010 Rioja Selección Especial Reserva The Muga wine cellars were founded in 1932 by Isaac Muga Martínez who originated from a family with strong ties to the winemaking industry. On the death of the founder in 1969, his children Manuel, Isabel and Isaac Muga Caño took over the reins. Two years later in 1971, they moved their headquarters to their present location in the traditional Station District on the outskirts of Haro. Bodegas Muga has continued to grow as the years have passed but it has never lost the spirit of a family-run company. The winery controls every step of the viticultural and vinification process from the vineyards…
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La Rioja Alta S.A. 2007 Viña Ardanza Reserva On the 10th of July 1890, five Basque and Rioja families shared their passion for wine and founded “Sociedad Vinicola De La Rioja Alta” in what is known as the Haro Station District. That day was the start of an ongoing searching for excellence that their descendants still pursue today. The company changed its name to “LA RIOJA ALTA“ in 1891, and in 1941 the company took on its present name, LA RIOJA ALTA, S.A. A year later, chairman of the board, Leandro Ardanza Angulo, registered the renowned brand name, “Viña Ardanza”. To give you a little taste of the town of Haro, in…
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Zarate Rías Baixas 2015 Albariño This small well run cellar was established in 1920 by the Zarate family and is located in the Salnes Valley. Eulogio Pomares currently oversees the vineyards which are planted on granitic rock, and now beginning to replant some vines to biodynamics. The Zarate is sourced from 11 vineyards with an average age of 35 years. Only two Rias Baixas producers make reds and Zarate is one of them. Caino Tinto and Loureiro Tinto are both made from indigenous grapes of the same name and are both tiny production around 300 bottles. They are noted to be wines with an elegant, floral, tart, almost salty character…
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La Val Rías Baixas Albariño 2014 Bodegas La Val was established in 1985 and was one of the first wineries in Rias Baixas. Unusual for the area, La Val only uses its own estate grown grapes rather than buying them from local growers. They own 150 acres of Albariño most of which are located in the Condado do Tea sub-region. The particular micro-climate of their main holding in Condado do Tea allows them to be the first winery to open the harvest, which is typically in the first half of September. Jose Maria Ureta is the current winemaker and he is extremely well respected in the D.O. and considered to…
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Solar De Castro Vendimia Seleccionada 2009 The winery’s oldest reference dates back to 1888, year in which Vicente Domeco de Jarauta presented a wine in Barcelona’s world-wide exhibition and won an award. In 1995 José Vicente Domeco de Jarauta built a modern winery where he begins to make commercial wines, and later in 2005, he created Winery Domeco de Jarauta on the occasion of the incorporation. his son Jose Vicente Domeco de Jarauta, who after studying enology in San Sadurni D’Anoia (Penedés) joined the family business creating a winery where its primary target was combining tradition, quality and innovation. A blend of 80% Tempranillo 20% Garnacha with 12 months of…