You may have seen Louis Latour wines on store shelves or in restaurants. You might have even tasted some of them yourself. How much do you really know about Maison Louis Latour and its wines, though? Read on for three things you probably didn’t know about this historic family wine business.

3 things you didn’t know about Louis Latour

With such an extensive family history in the region, there are probably closer to 300 things you didn’t know about Louis Latour. Let’s keep it simple, and go with the three most important facts that make Louis Latour such a special company.

1. Louis Latour owns more Grand Cru vineyards in the Côte d’Or than anybody else

Louis Latour has got to be proud of this one. Grand Cru is one of those tricky terms in wine, mainly because it means different things from one region to another. In Burgundy, “Grand Cru” is the highest classification that a vineyard can have. Crucially, it is the vineyard land itself that is not classified and not its owner or the producer. This is in contrast with Bordeaux, where it’s the producers that are classified, regardless of whether they buy or sell part of their vineyard land.

The Côte d’Or (“the golden slope”) is the beating heart of the Burgundy region. It is subdivided into the Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune. Broadly speaking, the Côte de Nuits is home to Burgundy’s finest red wines, and the Côte de Beaune produces the best whites. Let’s summarise, then: Louis Latour owns more Grand Cru land – that is, the best vineyard sites – in the Côte d’Or, Burgundy’s finest region. That’s a big deal.

2. Louis Latour doesn’t just make Burgundy wine

Though the Louis Latour name will be forever entwined with the Côte d’Or and Burgundy in general, there’s more to it than that. Never content to stand still, Maison Louis Latour has developed vineyards and wine production outside its Burgundian stronghold.

Louis Latour was an early pioneer in the relatively unknown region of Ardèche, on the southern bank of the Rhône river. Ardéche occupies some rather unfashionable vineyard land between the far more prestigious regions of the Northern Rhône and Southern Rhône. Here, Louis Latour produces some world-class white wines, exporting its Burgundy know-how and expertise to cultivate the Chardonnay grape.

Elsewhere, you’ll find Louis Latour vineyards in Provence. Here, the Latour team takes advantage of its red wine expertise to produce excellent Pinot Noir.

3. Louis Latour is the only Burgundy producer to make its own barrels

Oak barrels are big business in the world of fine wine. French oak, in particular, is in such high demand that there is an entire industry dedicated to producing oak barrels in France. These companies are called cooperages, and they supply oak vessels to the producers of the best wines in the world.

Louis Latour has its own cooperage, which is unique in Burgundy. Here, they produce around 3,500 barrels per year. Of these, about half are used to age Louis Latour wines and the other half are sold to other wine producers.

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A one-minute history of Marqués de Cáceres Rioja

The bodega was founded in 1970. Its founder, Enrique Forner, was influenced by legendary Bordeaux figure Professor Emile Peynaud – so much so that he took a decidedly modern approach to producing Rioja wine. His focus then was less on oak ageing and more on fruit expression. The result was fewer oak flavours, making Marqués de Cáceres one of the most fruit-forward of all Rioja wines.

With the history lesson out of the way, let’s open some bottles and see what the Marqués de Cáceres wine range tastes like.

1. Tasting Marqués de Cáceres Rioja Crianza

If you remember your Rioja ageing rules, you’ll recall that Crianza wines must be aged for at least two years before they’re released, and at least one of those years needs to be in oak. Rioja Crianza usually errs more on the side of fruit than oak, and the wines are usually quite easy-drinking.

The 2012 Marqués de Cáceres Rioja Crianza is a blend of 85% Tempranillo with the balance made up of Grenache and Graciano. It’s got a bright and youthful ruby colour and a nose of fresh red fruits and spice. In the mouth, it is rich and smooth with lots of generous fruit.

Alcohol content: 13%

Serve between 12ºC and 16ºC

Optimal consumption period: 2012-2018

The wine does not need to be decanted

Best served in Tempranillo Glass

Pairing: Aged Cheese, Game Animals, Grilled Red Meats, Legume, Roasts, Stews.

Buy Marqués de Cáceres Rioja Crianza 2012 here.

2. Tasting Marqués de Cáceres Rioja Reserva

The next step up from Crianza ageing is Rioja Reserva, and for many Rioja producers the Reserva is the flagship wine. 

Tasting the 2011 Marqués de Cáceres Rioja Reserva, it’s easy to see why. This has the same blend as the 2012 Crianza, though the key difference is in the grape selection and ageing. The grapes for the 2011 Reserva came from older vines, giving greater concentration and ultimately quality. The wine itself was aged for longer, seeing 20 months in French oak barrels before a healthy 18 months of bottle ageing.

The resulting wine has a darker colour than the Crianza, a deep red almost verging on black. Aromatically, there’s blackberry fruit and considerable spice and pepper. On the palate, there are pleasantly fresh fruit flavours, alongside supple tannins and an overall smooth mouthfeel.

Alcohol content: 14%

Serve between 14ºC and 18ºC

Optimal consumption period: 2011-2022

We recommend to decant the wine 1 hour before serving

Best served in Tempranillo Glass

Pairing: Beef, Game Animals, Grilled Red Meats, Roasts, Stews.

Buy Marqués de Cáceres Rioja Reserva 2011 here.

3. Tasting Marqués de Cáceres Rioja Gran Reserva

Gran Reserva Rioja sees the longest time in oak, and is a very distinctive style of wine. For some, the oak flavours of Rioja Gran Reserva are too much, with astringent tannins overtaking any and all fruit flavours. It’s true that some wines of this style can be over the top, but remember the Marqués de Cáceres approach is decidedly more modern than many other producers, so that’s not a problem!

The 2009 Marqués de Cáceres Rioja Gran Reserva has a very similar blend to the two younger wines, though the key difference is in the ageing. This wine was aged for as much as 28 months in French oak before a whopping four years of further bottle ageing. This real deal Rioja Gran Reserva, make no mistake.

It’s all about the tasting though. Its colour is a dark cherry, maintain a surprisingly youthful look for its age. The nose strikes a delicate balance between fruit flavours and oak influences of spice and vanilla. It’s complex, and you’ll want to come back to it again and again. In the mouth, it is plush, elegant and powerful. There are woody notes for sure, but they’re in balance and never overpowering.

Alcohol content: 14%

Serve between 14ºC and 18ºC

Optimal consumption period: 2009-2030

We recommend to decant the wine 1 hour before serving

Best served in Tempranillo Glass

Pairing: Beef, Game Birds.

Buy Marqués de Cáceres Rioja Gran Reserva 2009.

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What’s Wolf Blass all about?

You’d be forgiven for thinking that Wolf Blass is German wine. That name, right? In reality, Wolf Blass wine comes from Australia – though its colourful founder, the eponymous Wolfgang Franz Otto Blass, came from Germany. After his formative wine years in Germany, France and England, Blass moved to Australia in 1961. He established his company, Wolf Blass Wines, in 1966.

The rest, seemingly, is history. Today, wines bearing the Wolf Blass name are sold in every corner of the world. The company produces about 60 million bottles each year. That’s a success story, right? Let’s take a closer look and discover three things you probably didn’t know about Wolf Blass wines!

3 things you didn’t know about Wolf Blass

Wolf Blass has been around for more than half a century, and a lot has happened in the world of wine in that time. We could write a book about unusual Wolf Blass facts, but let’s go with the top three!

1. Wolf Blass is a big company, but it’s owned by an even bigger one

60 million bottles of wine a year is a lot by any standards. Wolf Blass is a big, big wine brand. Did you know that Wolf Blass is owned by a much larger company? Its parent company is Treasury Wine Estates, one of the world’s leading wine groups. It’s not easy to make a giant like Wolf Blass look small, but overall production at Treasury Wine Estates in 2016 exceeded 400 million bottles! As part of the Treasury portfolio, Wolf Blass is joined by other leading brands like Penfolds, Beringer, Matua, Stags’ Leap and Lindeman’s.

2. Wolf Blass and sport = a winning team

It’s not secret that Wolf Blass sponsors sports and sporting events throughout the world. The company has long supported baseball, basketball, football and other sports in places as diverse as Japan, China, the UK and Australia. Perhaps no other wine company has such links to the world of sport. Remarkably, the company’s sporting ties date back to Mr. Wolf Blass himself, who has long been involved in sports including horse racing, soccer and skiing.

3. Wolf Blass is a “classified” wine

Loosely based on the 1855 classification of Bordeaux wines, Australia has a classification system of its own. Langton’s Classification of Australian Wine was developed by the auction house Langton’s, and is regularly revised based on how wines perform in the secondary auction market. The wines are ranked across three tiers: Exceptional, Outstanding and Excellent. One Wolf Blass wine is featured in the Outstanding category, the Wolf Blass Platinum label Shiraz.

To taste what an Australian “first growth” is like, we’ve got a couple of wines from the Exceptional ranking available:

• Buy Cullen Diana Madeline 2001

• Buy Torbreck RunRig 2004 (99+ points from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate)

Do you have any interesting Wolf Blass facts of your own?

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Anyone thinking of making a trip to Bordeaux anytime soon: Visiting Château Lynch-Bages is an absolute must, and in this guide, we’ll tell you why!

3 reasons you must visit Château Lynch-Bages

Any serious wine lover won’t need an excuse, but there are plenty of good reasons to make visiting Château Lynch-Bages a top priority next time you’re anywhere near it! We could go on at length, but we’ve boiled it down to three absolutely essential reasons.

1. Château Lynch-Bages is one of Bordeaux’s finest wines.

   Let’s not beat around the bush: People visit wineries to taste wine, first and foremost. A wine like Château Lynch-Bages may be relatively affordable when compared to the likes of Château Mouton Rothschild and Château Margaux, but it’s still gonna cost you a few hundred euros, at least. This is not an everyday wine – for most of us, at least! Making a trip to the château is a great opportunity to taste the wine without too much expense.

2. Château Lynch-Bages has a Michelin-star restaurant on site.

   Did that get your attention? Foodies and gastronomic geeks will certainly want to make a reservation at Château Cordeillan-Bages, one of Bordeaux’s finest restaurants. This is the height of Bordelaise cuisine, served in highly memorable surroundings. Each table is unique and adorned with artwork from famous artists. The wine list, perhaps not surprisingly, is superb: The cellar is stocked with around 1,500 different wines, including some of the best red wine in the world. Oh yeah, it’s also a four-star hotel, so there’s that, too!

3. Château Lynch-Bages has its own living, breathing village!

   So, let’s picture this: You visit the château, you dine at the restaurant and you stay overnight at the hotel. Sounds good. However, Pauillac is about an hour’s drive outside of Bordeaux – on a good day. There’s only so much you can see in Chateau Lynch-Bages’ cellar, right? Well, no. The château itself is located within its own dedicated village, Bages. Visit the Bages village and you’ll find life is bustling. Buy wine at the local cave, or grab a slightly less formal lunch at the brasserie, Café Lavinal. Yes, they’ve got two restaurants at Château Lynch-Bages! Otherwise, take a stroll at this classic Médocaine village, and enjoy all it has to offer.

What if you can’t visit Château Lynch-Bages?

OK, so let’s say that visiting Bordeaux is not an option. One way to recreate the magic of Château Lynch-Bages is, well, by drinking a bottle of the stuff!

• Château Lynch-Bages 2010 is a 96-point blockbuster wine.

  Pick up a bottle of Lynch-Bages 2010, and you can enjoy the magic of this legendary Pauillac property from the comfort of your own home. Its colour is deep, dense and concentrated. On the nose it has profound fruit aromas with underlying spice, and on the palate it is full-bodied and tannic, yet highly refined. This is a bucket list wine, certainly, and it deserves to be paired with a bucket list food. Recreate the Bordeaux experience with some traditional Médocaine food: Pair this with slow-roasted Pauillac lamb, and savour every second of it!

Buy Château Lynch-Bages 2010!

Want to understand wines like Château Lynch-Bages a little better? Check out our guide for understanding Bordeaux wine labels!

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For those of you that might be tempted, but aren’t fully convinced, we’ve laid on this handy guide. We’ll tell you a little bit about the estate and give you three good reasons to splash out on a bottle of this Bordeaux blockbuster!

Château Ducru-Beaucaillou: The basics

Before we get into the why, let’s take a quick look at the what. Let’s establish a few facts about Ducru-Beaucaillou, shall we?

• It’s a member of the Grand Cru Classé

  Ducru-Beaucaillou was ranked as a second growth in the famous 1855 classification of Bordeaux. This ranking places it just one tier below the legendary first growths, like Château Margaux and Château Mouton Rothschild.

• It’s a Super Second

  Beyond its official ranking, Ducru-Beaucaillou belongs to an informal and unofficial grouping of overperforming châteaux known as “Super Seconds”. Alongside other top estates like Château Palmer, Château Léoville Las Cases and Château Cos d’Estournel, these guys are well able to produce first growth quality at (relatively) more affordable prices!

3 reasons you should be drinking Ducru-Beaucaillou

To be frank, there are any number of good reasons for you to bag a bottle of this stuff. The only really good argument against it is the price, but even with such a high price, it can offer some relatively good value. Those that have already tasted this beautiful Bordeaux will need little convincing, but for those in any doubt, why not consider:

1. Where it comes from!

   The word terroir can appear quite terrifying. It’s a French word for which there is no direct English translation, and it is thrown around with reckless abandon in the wine world. At its essence, it refers to a product – in this case a wine – having a sense of place, and expressing the specific area from which it has come. Ducru-Beaucaillou comes from a 90-hectare vineyard site facing the Gironde river in St. Julien. Locals say that the best wines are produced from riverside vineyards, and you’ll see where they’re coming from if you taste this wine. It’s got nice neighbours, too: To the south you’ll find Château Beychevelle, and to the north Château Léoville Barton.
   Buy a bottle of Château Ducru-Beaucaillou 2006 and taste its terroir: Though predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon, it is never overpowering: there is a finesse here that simply couldn’t be achieved anywhere else!

2. Critics love it!

   For those inside the wine industry, there are few estates whose reputation has the caché of Ducru-Beaucaillou’s. Robert Parker has awarded these wines with some very strong scores, rating the 2009 vintage a perfect 100 points. Anyone that enjoys fine wine knows what a 100-point score means: On the plus side, you’re guaranteed an exceptional wine, however, it’s going to be in short supply and hot demand – and you’ll pay for it!
   Look instead to Château Ducru-Beaucaillou 2005. At 97 Parker points, this is a top-notch wine, and it won’t cost you (quite) as much as the 2009!

3. Food, glorious food!

   Ducru-Beaucaillou is an outstanding food wine. The estate is led by the colourful Bruno Borie, who is well-known for hosting dinners at the château – and getting his hands dirty in the kitchen! It’s no surprise, then, that the wine itself is especially food-friendly. Pairing Bordeaux wine with food is one of life’s great pleasures, and Ducru-Beaucaillou is a case in point. Each vintage has its own unique characteristics, of course, but there’s nothing quite like pairing a mature Bordeaux with fine food.
   Grab a bottle of Château Ducru-Beaucaillou 1995, an elegant wine from a very strong vintage that is now in a beautiful point of its life. Pair it with something special: Recreate French Michelin-star style dining with a foie gras pôele or entrecote with red wine jus. Bon appetit!

Want to learn more about wines like Ducru-Beaucaillou? Find out how Twitter can teach you about Bordeaux wine!

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Palacio de Fefiñanes: Masters of Albariño

Bodegas Palacio de Fefiñanes has been a major player in Rías Baixas for more than a hundred years. Its origins date back to 1904, though it was in 1928 that it rose to prominence with the release of its first vintage of Albariño de Fefiñanes. In a region renowned for its youthful spirit and modern approach to winemaking, Palacio de Fefiñanes is remarkable for its long history and legacy. The bodega is far from conservative, though, and produces a wide range of different Albariños that any white wine lover will want to try!

The wines of Palacio de Fefiñanes

They’ve been around for a while, so these guys know what they’re doing. Whether it’s something light and simple, slightly more complex or seriously high end, there’s guaranteed to be a style to suit your tastes (and budget)! These are dry white wines from the Albariño grape, but that’s where the comparisons end. Let’s take a look at three distinct styles!

Light and fresh: Palacio de Fefiñanes Albariño

The Albariño de Fefiñanes range offers a wonderfully lively and welcoming introduction to Rías Baixas Albariño. With these wines, Palacio de Fefiñanes does everything to preserve and express the intense aromatics of the grape. Fermentation takes place in neutral stainless steel tanks, ensuring that the aromatics can develop without any oak or other influence. What you get here is pure Albariño fruit with flavours of herbaceousness and citrus fruits, refreshing acidity and pleasant minerality. These wines are perfect as an aperitif, though will pair very well with white fish in zesty lemon sauce.

Ageing on lees: Palacio de Fefiñanes Albariño III Año

Though this is also 100% Albariño, the technical team at Palacio de Fefiñanes have done something entirely different here. The Albariño de Fefiñanes III Año is a more complex wine, in large part due to its ageing on the lees. The lees are the dead yeast cells left over after alcoholic fermentation, and are usually separated from the liquid immediately after that process is complete. Some winemakers like to age their wine for a time on the lees, which can impart a new level of depth and complexity. At Palacio de Fefiñanes, they do this in stainless steel tanks, and so they strike a delicate balance between primary fruit aromas and the added complexity of ageing on lees, with notes of brioche, cream and toast. These wines are longer-lived than many white wines, and three of our favourites are:

• Albariño de Fefiñanes III Año 2009

• Albariño de Fefiñanes III Año 2011

• Albariño de Fefiñanes III Año 2013

These wines are more complex and can stand up to fuller-bodied dishes including cream-based sauces and soups.

Limited edition: Palacio de Fefiñanes Armas De Lanzós

To finish with something very special indeed, we’ve got Armas De Lanzós 2013. From small parcels of the best Albariño fruit, this is the cream of the Palacio de Fefiñanes crop – literally! This is a limited production with just 633 magnum bottles produced. Aged again on the lees, this wine has all the depth of that above but thanks to an even stricter selection of fruit it offers an even purer expression of Albariño in conjunction with delicious and nuanced complexity from its ageing. This one can be sipped by itself, but its large bottle format lends itself instead to food and celebration. Gather friends and family around the table and serve this with a mixture of pintxos or tapas!

Have you tried any Palacio de Fefiñanes wines? If not, what are you waiting for?! Pick up a bottle! If you have, tell us about it! What is your favourite?

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1. Mouton Rothschild is a first growth – but that wasn’t always the case!

Along with Châteaux Margaux, Haut-Brion, Latour and Lafite-Rothschild, Mouton Rothschild is a member of the top tier of the historic 1855 classification of Bordeaux wines. Most fine wine buffs can rattle off these prestigious names with relative ease, and know that they represent the cream of the crop. What you may not know is that Château Mouton Rothschild did not start out as a first growth at all.

Back in 1855, the estate was ranked a second growth. some no small feat, and indeed there are many second growth estates that can and do give the top tier producers a run for their money. This wasn’t good enough for Mouton’s proprietor, the late Baron Philippe, however. Convinced of his property’s exceptional quality, he pushed and lobbied hard for the classification to be revised. Considering that the only change until then had been a minor addition in 1856, this was not easy. Eventually, he was successful: In 1973, Château Mouton Rothschild became the fifth first growth!

2. The influence of Mouton Rothschild extends beyond Bordeaux

Château Mouton Rothschild wine can only be produced in Bordeaux, from the 90-hectare vineyard in Pauillac. However, Mouton has long had an international perspective, and the winery is involved in a number of joint ventures with other wineries throughout the world, including:

• Opus One Winery, the super-premium Oakville, California producer founded as a joint venture between Mouton Rothschild and Robert Mondavi.

• Almaviva, a collaboration between Mouton Rothschild and Concha y Toro in Chile.

The Baron Philippe de Rothschild name and association with Château Mouton Rothschild makes these wineries and their wines incredibly popular and in high demand. Opus One is the only American wine to be distributed through the Place de Bordeaux system!

3. Château Mouton Rothschild is not just a winery

Visit Château Mouton Rothschild and you’ll soon discover that this property is not merely a winery: It’s also a museum. Visitors to the estate will, of course, see all the state-of-the-art winemaking facilities and equipment and taste Château Mouton Rothschild wine. Pretty standard for a top château, right? Above and beyond that, the estate has its own museum and art gallery!

The Museum of Wine in Art is a breathtaking museum space housed in an old barrel cellar. The museum is a treasure trove of wine-related artefacts and is worth the trip to Pauillac alone. On top of that, there’s an art gallery space housing the original artwork of all of those iconic Mouton Rothschild wine labels. Picasso, Jeff Koons and Andy Warhol all in one place – what are you waiting for?

If a visit to Château Mouton Rothschild is not an option, the next best thing would be to grab a bottle. If you’re in doubt about which to choose, our bucket list wine has to be…

Château Mouton Rothschild 2005

Buy Château Mouton Rothschild 2005, and you’re getting more than a wine. The original artwork for this one comes from the famed Italian sculptor Giuseppe Penone and is a conceptual piece intended to evoke the image of the green-fingered winegrower or vigneron. It’s a collector’s item in and of itself.

Of course, you’re getting a wine too. The 2005 vintage in Bordeaux is the stuff of legend, and this is one of the top wines of the year. Robert Parker gave this one 96 points. It’s a full-bodied blockbuster wine with excellent blackberry fruit, succulent tannins and great length.

Have you tasted Château Mouton Rothschild? What is your favourite vintage? Tell us what you think of this estate in the comments below!

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Ferrer Bobet – the best winery in Priorat?

Much like the vineyards themselves, competition in Priorat is steep. There are many producers all vying to be the best in the region, though few can come close to Ferrer Bobet. Located over 15 hectares of vines in the esteemed Porrera subregion, the winery makes a range of wines that express the complexity of its soils and quality of its production techniques. The vineyards are almost exclusively made up of slate soil. These soils are the region’s most prized and are known locally as llicorella. The reputation of Ferrer Bobet Priorat in Spain and throughout the world is so high that is sometimes easy to forget that the winery was born relatively recently!

The history of Ferrer Bobet Priorat

It may sound funny to talk about “history” with such a new winery, but Ferrer Bobet has already had some impressive milestones in its relatively short lifetime.

• The winery is formed by friends Sergi Ferrer-Salat and Raül Bobet and is named Ferrer Bobet.

• Ferrer Bobet’s vineyards are planted in 2004 and 2005. The vines used are 100 years old.

• The first Ferrer Bobet wines, Ferrer Bobet Vinyes Velles 2005 and Ferrer Bobet Selecció Especial Vinyes Velles 2005, are released onto the market in 2008.

• Word spreads about the excellent organic wines of Ferrer Bobet, and the winery deservedly earns a reputation as one of the best Priorat wines.

3 Ferrer Bobet wines you must try

The Ferrer Bobet wine range is seriously impressive, and you won’t find a bad wine in the bunch. We have picked out three of our favourites from the range, though, and we can’t recommend them highly enough!

• Ferrer Bobet 2014 is a new release, having only recently come onto the market. This is a big, bold blend of Cariñena, Garnacha Negra, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. It has undergone ageing of 12 months in French oak barrels, of which 60% was new oak. Grab a bottle of this, and you’re in for a full-bodied and complex red that will perfectly complement any rich game meats or birds.

• Ferrer Bobet Vinyes Velles 2014 is another new arrival, and again from the 2014 vintage. Here, the winemakers have eschewed the international grape varieties; the blend is 70% Cariñena and 30% Garnacha Negra. These grapes come from those old vines that we mentioned early. Their 100+ years of existence give rise to rich and concentrated wines. Further, the wine has been aged for 15 months in French oak and at least another 11 months in bottle. Pair this one with a Sunday roast!

• Ferrer Bobet Selecció Especial 2013 is our final selection and is very special indeed. Just released onto the market, this one is 100% Cariñena and is made in extremely limited quantities – just 3000 bottles were produced in the 2013 vintage! With 18 months’ ageing in new French oak and a further 15 months in bottle, this is a powerful and complex wine. This is a great steak wine, and will pair beautifully with your favourite cut of beef.

The best Priorat wines

Ferrer Bobet comes close, but there are actually even more premium Priorat wines out there. For us, the top two Priorat wines are L’Ermita and Clos Erasmus.

• L’Ermita, the top wine from Alvaro Palacios, is absolutely sensational. Vintages of this wine are in short supply and always sell out fast. Snap up L’Ermita 2006 or L’Ermita 2012 while you can!

• Clos Erasmus is a firm favourite of Robert Parker, and routinely receives excellent scores. Tiny yields lead to highly concentrated wines bursting with character. Clos Erasmus 2004, with 100 Robert Parker points, demonstrates the wine’s fantastic ageing potential.

So, those are our current favourites from Ferrer Bobet. Do you agree? What are your favourite Ferrer Bobet wines? Do you have any other favourite producers from Priorat?

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Martin Codax Albariño is a Postcard from Galicia in a Glass

At the moment, we’ve got two really great wines from the winery. Both of them use 100% Albariño grapes, which create light wines with a peachy flavour. The wine can be a tad acidic. But that’s a good thing – you now have an excuse to eat lots of gorgeous oily/fatty foods that will match it perfectly like pâté, or fried seabass. These bottles are:

• Martín Códax. In 2017, this wine scored 88 Peñín points. To get such a score from the internationally acclaimed wine critic, it has to be seriously good wine, and the tasting notes are particularly impressive. Expect the peachy flavours characteristic of the grape. Yet also it has lovely lemony notes, as well as an inviting nose of mimosa, apple, jasmine, orange and grapefruit. That’s one heck of a glassful. Try to get a young example of the wine which will still have a slight spritz, which is excellent for seafood.

• Marieta. They’ve produced this bottle with a groovy label, which could be quite fun to look at on a dinner table. Yet when you’re done staring at it, you might well want to drink it. Again, Peñín scored it highly – giving it 87 points. But it’s about a third cheaper than the other bottle – not a bad table wine to have for everyday drinking.

Plan the Perfect Vineyard Tour

Handily, the winery has a list of its opening times. That’s quite important as you don’t want to travel half way across Europe only to turn up on a day when the place is closed. Visiting at different times of year will have its benefits:

• Spring is when the days lengthen out again and there’s more time for tastings or tours. As it’s before the season’s peak, the place won’t be so crowded

• Summer in Spain is of course divine. Galicia is a slightly more temperate area of the country too which makes it ideal for holidaymakers who don’t like excessive heat. If you do, the rest of Spain is just a short drive away. Also June is when vines come into flower, and have you ever seen field after field of vines in bloom? It’s truly beautiful.

• Autumn is when grapes are harvested in Europe. Specifically, Martin Códax does this in September, and you can see below for a really good wine tour to take at this time.

• Winter is when the hotels should be at their cheapest. What’s more, Rias Baixas is a cosy 10? at its coldest – which makes it a great location for a Christmas break.

What’s on Offer

• The Martín Códax Tour. On this tour, they’ll explain how they make Albariño, which you also get to taste.

• Martín Códax Lías Tour. This is double the length of the previous tour, and you can taste their Lías wine too.

• Martín Códax ‘Troubadour Tour’. Not only do you get to taste three wines, but the tour makes reference to Martín Códax, the medieval poet after whom the winery is named. Very cultural.

• Martín Códax Selección Tour. There’s four wines to taste here.

• Torre Quintáns Tour. Not only do you get to try three of their best wines, but the winery tour opens out into their vineyards as well.

• Martín Códax Premium. There’s more wine to try on this tour, and you’ll visit their more prestigious parcel of land, Pe Redondo.

• Special Wine Tourism Packs. This is a more in depth option. You’ll even learn how to shellfish, as well as get a real sense for how the Atlantic coast affects these wines. It’s delivered on a cruising boat as well!

Tastings

What’s more there, there are three special tastings to try out:

• “Blessed by the Aging”. Here, you’ll appreciate how oaking affects Albariño;

• “Forever Young”. These wines typify what’s best about Rias Baixas – very drinkable, fresh, fruity wine;

• “Alma Atlántica”. In this session, you’ll get more of an appreciation for how the area’s climate and soil creates a terrific terroir.

Join in the Harvest

You can even take part in harvesting the grapes! Of course, this can only take place in September, but in a way, that makes the experience more special. Think of it as a fun way to end the summer, while you learn about wine.

La entrada Martin Codax Albarino is So Good You’ll Want to Visit se publicó primero en Blog INVINIC.

The best Ramón Bilbao Rioja wines to try

The range of Ramón Bilbao Rioja has something to offer every wine lover, no matter your budget or tastes.

• Ramón Bilbao Rioja Crianza 2013 demonstrates the winery’s commitment to quality at all levels. This is a highly affordable – and highly drinkable – Rioja Crianza. From 100% Tempranillo grapes that are grown in plots located close to Haro, the wine is aged for 14 months in new American oak and a further 8 months in the bottle itself. The high quality fruit combined with careful ageing gives this wine a beautiful balance of ripe red cherry flavours and oak influences: The fruit is backed up with structure, gentle tannin and vanilla flavours from the oak. Pair this one with a juicy grilled steak and you won’t be disappointed.

• Ramón Bilbao Rioja Crianza Edición Limitada 2013 is another Crianza. Again pure Tempranillo, this limited edition sees longer ageing than the wine above, with 14 months in oak and 10 months in bottle. The wine is blended from the best available plots of Tempranillo, and offers the drinker tasty cherry fruit alongside slightly firmer structure and tertiary aromas of vanilla and coconut from the oak. This wine can stand up to some seriously meaty dishes, with game birds being a particularly suitable match.

• Ramón Bilbao Rioja Reserva 2011 is a step-up from the Crianza level wines, though maintains a very strong price/quality ratio. This Rioja Reserva is a blend of Tempranillo with Carignan and Graciano. The additional grape varieties and longer ageing time makes for an altogether more complex wine. The wood influences are more apparent here, with a great tannic structure and more well-defined tertiary aromas and flavours. This is a perfect Sunday roast wine, ideal with slowly roasted cuts of beef and lamb.

• Mirto de Ramón Bilbao 2009 expresses the winery’s modern and progressive side. This is a modern style of Rioja, aged exclusively in new French oak. The fruit for the wine is 100% Tempranillo, is a selection of the best available from seven top villages close to Haro. This is a full-bodied, powerful wine with a huge concentration of fruit flavours backed up with the oak backbone. Tertiary aromas from the oak range from coffee to vanilla and spice. This one will sing when paired with a meaty stew, such as a Rioja-style potato and Chorizo sausage stew.

• Ramón Bilbao Rioja Rosé 2015, in stark contrast to the wine above, is a light, fresh, fruity and fun rosé. This one is 100% Grenache and could be mistaken for a Provençal rosé given its light colour. This is beautiful by itself, though is also a great match for just about any light entrée dish you could imagine. Try it with a light vegetable omelette.

Which is your favourite Ramón Bilbao Rioja wine? Do you have any interesting food and wine pairings that we’ve missed?

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La entrada Ramón Bilbao Rioja: A wine empire se publicó primero en Blog INVINIC.