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Meeting 376 - -"The Wines of Catalonia"

Friday 15th August 2014     Neville Hall, Waltham St Lawrence 

Speaker:  Ian Webb  


       Ian explained the range of wines from the Catalan area and gave us a taste of some of the wide selection by choosing just three districts :- Cava, Priorat and Monsant. A Spanish sparkling wine was first made as early as 1851, although the roots of the Cava wine industry can be traced back to Josep Raventos' travels through Europe in the 1860s. Our sparkling aperitif was a classic Brut NV form Castillo Perelada (40% Macabeo, 30% Xarel-lo, 30% Parallada) Yeasty, a touch of herbs this light fresh easy drinking wine was a perfect starter to the evening.
       The Priorat DOC has been producing wine since the 12th century when Carthusian monks planted a vineyard and established a priory from which the region took its name. Priorat still has marked monastic influences, with many top estates prefixing their vineyards with Clos in recognition of the region's early winemaking history, similar to the naming of many of Burgundy's grand crus. The Montsant DO was formed in 2001 in the area around Falset, Tarragona to distinguish itself from the wines of the greater Tarragona DO. This upland area is noted for its old Garnacha and Cariñena vines along steeply sloping vineyards.
       Our white wines consisted of two from Joan Sangenis. The first, Cal Pla Blanco was a surprisingly deep staw colour. Good fruit, a hint of raisins with a clean gentle acidic finish. Fairly long. The other JS was Mas d'en Compte Blanc, distinct hint of lanolin, cream and tar. Fermented in old oak barrels, the production of this wine is limited to around 30K bottles. From Monsant we had Clos d'Engora Blanc from Baronnia del Monsant. Fresh peppermint or liqourice on the nose, this had light acid and apples on the palate. Probably a bit young - give it another year or two.
       For the red wines Ian divided them into two Monsants and three Priorats. Fom Baronnia del Monsant, we had firstly a 100% Grenache Flor d'Englora Garnaxta. Rich damson fruit, good tannin, oaky and spicy - just about everything a grenache can throw at you! The Clos d'Englora which followed was a complex blend which was reflected in the range of flavours it showed. Spice, raspberries, damson. A touch of grass suggested it should go on for some time yet before it was at its best. Definitely more complex than the pure granache before. For the Priorat reds, the first was from the Bartolome Vernet Clos. While a pleasant enough wine with an attractive ruby colour, it had a rather alcholic sweetness. Good fruit but clearly needed some time to get to it's best. The two wines from Joan Sangenis which followed were much more popular with the members. The Cal Pla Crianza had a nettles and spicy nose and a plate suggesting mint and soft fruit. At 14% it was to be expected that a touch of alcoholic sweetness would be present but it didn't detract from the overall excellence of the wine. The final wine, the JS Mas d'En Compte Crianza was simply the best of the evening, spicy, full fruit and a very smooth tannins, this wine was one of those that would last a very long time, but why wait - enjoy it now just as much.


       Charlotte provided us with a range of nibbles to eat with the wines and a pork shoulder casserole as the main course. A range of small mouthwatering nibbles for dessert followed. For a full list of the wide selection Charlotte provided click here


The Wines
Cost(£)
Score   
Aperitif:
Castillo Perelada, Castel d'Olerdola Brut Reserva NV DO Cava
11.49 7+
White Wines:
   (1) Joan Sangenis, Cal Pla Blanco 2011, DO Priorat
15.49 7
(2) Baronnia del Monsant, Clos d'Englora Blanc 2012, DO Monsant 9.35 6
(3) Joan Sangenis, Mas d'En Compte Blanc 2009, DOCa Priorat 24.99 7
Red Wines:
   (4) Baronnia del Monsant, Flor d'Englora Garnaxta 2011, DO Monsant
11.49 7+
(5) Baronnia del Monsant,Clos d'Englora 2008, DO Monsant 18.49 8
(6) Bartolome Vernet, Clos Bartolome 2010, DOCa Priorat 26.99 7
(7) Joan Sangenis, Cal Pla Crianza 2011, DOC Priorat 17.49 8
(8) Joan Sangenis, Mas d'En Compte Crianza 2008, DOCa Priorat 28.99 8+