AN/2 from Mallorca: A nice surprise
The prices issue...
Ver mensaje de THuRStoNHi all,
IMHO there are many topics involved in the problem of the spanish wines out of here. But from my point of view one of them is the same than we can find here: Any newcomer think that his wine worth a 30 EUR/U$A price.
Well, it can be a great great great wine... but when we have the budget for wine in our pockets and think about a wine to buy, will we buy the ";great-price-newcomer"; or the ";great-wine-we-know-it-rocks!";?
In addition to this we have an enormous market outside with zillions of wines in many different price-range. Maybe some wines are trying to be placed in the drop dead gorgeous shelves, but their place is just mid-price range...
Cheers,
Jose
An example of (one of) the problems...
Ver mensaje de THuRStoNhttp://forums.winespectator.com/6/ubb.x?a=tpc&s=9306023451&f=3146091161&m=69260924
Cheers,
Jose
Spanish garagistes
Ver mensaje de joseAn interesting thread. I liked the comment from Marc:
";That makes them what? Spanish garagistes producing Super- oder Cult-Spaniards? Or idiots? I wonder how long the market bears those silly overpriced microcuvees without any track record! It’s very sad that talented spanish winemakers jump on the same train.";
If you publish this in the Spanish forum of Verema some winemakers may think you are against new Spanish wineries. Fortunately, when you see Spanish wine from a broader international perspective (through the eyes of other foreign aficionados) it’s crystal-clear that there are too many aspirations of ";grandeur"; in that industry right now.
As we all know...
Ver mensaje de Juan SuchWhen we travel, we free up our minds. Is something very refreshing to read what other wine geeks think about wine and specially about spanish wine.
Sometimes (but only sometimes ;), I think that we all (wineries and spanish consumers) have a total lack of perspective... and an absolut provincial approach to the market.
Of course I’m not one of that people who always think that any foreign wine (or whatever) is better than any of the spanish wines... but I do never think that any spanish wine, just for the fact of being spanish, is better than foreigner wines...
I think that wineries and consumers still have a lot (a lot x 10e6) of thing to learn...
Cheers,
Jose
Re: Anima Negra
Ver mensaje de Juan SuchI thought this was an interesting thread too. Partially because my girlfriend is a Mallorquina, I have been drinking AN for several years and always have a supply in my cellar. Because it was so familiar to me, I was amused to see how excited Jancis Robinson was about the wine.
In addition, I had the same experience as others with the special cuvee, Vinyes de Son Negra. I drank it this past summer in Barcelona and it was just too hot, making the wine volitile. (Same story with Sot Lefriec.)
I think I disagree with the negative sentiments about Spain’s ";garagiste";-type winemaking efforts. Remember, not that long ago, in 1989, the major producers in Priorat barely even qualified as garagistes. From my perspective in the US, it is efforts like these that help give Spain greater recogniton beyond the cheap Rioja that flooded the export market for years. The ";garagiste"; efforts in Spain reflect what I consider to be a great amount of energy and enthusiasm in Spanish winemaking today. It is not uncommon that the wine that I consider to be the BEST wine many D.O.s is a very new venture. This is remarkable and a very good sign for the future.
Re: An example of (one of) the problems...
Ver mensaje de joseI completely agree with Marc’s comments, I would go even further sometimes buying Spanish wine makes me feel like an idiot.
Don’t believe me, look:
DESC.J.PALACIOS corullon 1999 64,70
DESC.J.PALACIOS corullon 2000 51,85
DESC.J.PALACIOS corullon 2001 36,70
That wine has almost halved its price in three years! It is ridiculous.
I don’t want to spoil innovation, but as Manuel says I don’t want to pay winery’s experimentations until they get the wine right (sometimes they don’t).
”õã0D
Angered THuRStoN :^),
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Re: Anima Negra
Ver mensaje de Juan SuchOK but they must be careful with prices as some ";garage"; wines have been released to the market at such unbearable prices that it looks as an speculative bussiness.... and how to distinguish between ";real"; garagistes and pretenders?
Re: An example of (one of) the problems...
Ver mensaje de THuRStoN";Don’t believe me, look:
DESC.J.PALACIOS corullon 1999 64,70
DESC.J.PALACIOS corullon 2000 51,85
DESC.J.PALACIOS corullon 2001 36,70";
Your point may be valid but your example is exaggerated for unrelated reasons. Corullon 2001 is cheaper because all the best grapes went into the 4 single-vinyard projects (which are generally more expensive than the ’99 Corullon). I have not tried the ’01 Corrulon yet but I do not think that anyone disputes the fact that it is a very different wine than past years due to the exclusion of the old-vine grapes. Frankly, I thought ’01 Collulon was the same as the old ";Bierzo"; label. That may be true, but I was surprised to see that there is an ’01 ";Bierzo"; too.
Also, bear in mind that in ’99 most people considered Corullon the best wine of the DO. (I happen to think the superior Bierzo at the time was Ardai, but that is besides the point.) What would you have to pay for what is popularly regarded as the best wine of a particular region of France, Italy, etc.? I don’t want high prices any more than you do. (And in the US I almost always have to pay substantially more than you for Spanish wine anyway.) But it is important to have some relative perspective.
One example that should make you happy is Universal Eneas. It is a relatively new venture, it is cheap, and I could make a good argument that it is the best wine from Monsant. I love this situation but recognize that it is almost too good to be true, and it probably will not last.