Day 1 and 1 1/2
My life is difficult. It involves all kinds of grueling things like having to go to Spain for 14 days to meet with producers, tour their property and taste their wares. Rough right? Well that is exactly what I’m doing for K&L currently and I figured I might as well get all my thoughts and observations down for others to read if they so choose. Just please don’t call this a blog. I hate that word and that idea. Think of it more as a bonus helping of information given to you by your friendly wine buyer, or some added context to the wines you’ve enjoyed in the past.

My trip started roughly. A two hour delay was not the best way to come out of the gate, but when flying there is really not much you can do. For example, if I didn’t have to have that young whipper-snapper crying directly behind me for half of the first leg of my flight I might have gotten a bit more sleep on the plane. Nothing I could do. After all who doesn’t like to stretch their lungs every now an again?

This two hour delay made me a little nervous that I was going to miss my connecting flight to Barcelona, the starting point to my first excursion to Spain. But I was assured that I was to arrive on time at Paris’s Charles DeGaulle Airport due to a “strong tail wind.” I called malarkey on that statement and I was correct. I touched down in Paris an hour after my connecting flight had already left, so I had to wait another two hours for the next plane out to Barcelona. Fun.

Once I finally got to my destination I was a bit weary, but happy to be on solid land. I picked up my bags, got my rental car, and was off to my hotel. Well maybe not that fast. I first had to have some trials with what is commonly known as a manual transmission. I can’t help the fact that I grew up driving a 1964 Malibu with a two speed “Power Glide” transmission. Luckily I’m by myself on this trip or my travel companion may have a bit of a stiff neck.

Once at my hotel, I freshened up, got all of the plane off me and checked my e-mail. After all I am here on K&L’s dime. I confirmed my appointments for the following day, wrote all of my directions down for the upcoming journey and felt good about where I was headed. Once that feeling of comfort sunk in I realized that I hadn’t eaten any real food (the watery pasta I had on the plane wouldn’t have counted as food in any sense) in like 24 hours. So I set off to find something and settled on a not so good place, but at least it was something and it would give me context for what was to come.

Day 2
The next morning I felt surprisingly fresh. No jet lag to speak of and I set forth from the north part of the city of Barcelona to the region of Penedes. Wait. I set forth after sleeping through my alarm and instead waking up to Josep from Albet I Noya calling to confirm our appointment later that afternoon. See what happened was this: A couple of weeks previous to this trip I bought my first cell phone. Shocking right? I still hate those damned things but it was time for me to join the modern age. I set the alarm on the phone but had the ringer volume turned all the way down. Brilliant, yet another case of technology being only as smart as the person using it. So I set forth in a rush. I had a 45 minute drive ahead of me and 45 minutes to be at my first appointment at Can Rafols del Caus in Avinyonet del Penedes.

Rushed but ready to take on all comers I tried to get out of Barcelona at 9 a.m. on a weekday. Not the easiest thing to do. It is kind of like getting out of San Francisco but on a nonsensical highway system. Nevertheless, I only arrived at Can Rafols five minutes late, even after taking a wrong turn. I was met there by Anna, a bright, sunny young woman that is one of the winemakers for this relatively unknown, but amazing producer. We started with a walk of some of their vineyard parcels. Some meaning 20 of the approximately 200 that they have under their ownership. The soils there are mostly calciferous and the vines are between 15-65 years old. This sprawling estate was something to behold, which makes perfect sense when you taste the quality of wine they produce.

Making 15 wines from something like 23 varietals has to be a chore for Anna and the team here. Some of this is now being alleviated by the addition of a brand new facility being built on the property. Pictures cannot do this new project justice. It is massive by most standards until you see other facilities in the area (Frexinet, Segura Viudas, etc). This is somewhat of a trend in Spain right now, but more on that later.

Sitting down in the kitchen Anna and I tried seven wines and some of her freshly baked bread with the house olive oil and salt, tremendous and a perfect way to start this long journey of experiences. The new vintage of the Gran Caus Blanco was incredible, showing even more freshness and zing than the 2004, which I love. The two vintages of Gran Caus Rosat, 2006 & 2007, I tasted were a contrast in styles, with the 2007 displaying much more fruit and the 2006 much more of a spicy, herbal character being very similar to Bandol. From there we tasted a wine made from Marcelan and petit verdot called Pedradura, which was incredibly interesting. The nose was a dead ringer for Bordeaux. I’d like to see this wine made in a vintage that was not so hot. As it was, it was a tremendous surprise. We ended the table wine session with a bottle of their flagship wine, the 1998 Caus Lubis. This is 100% merlot. All of you haters out there better hush up and recognize this: This is as good as any right bank Bordeaux, any of them. Deep, complex, youthful with amazing color and tons of length, I’d love to drink this wine in another 10 years.

But maybe the most amazing wines were the sparkling wines I tasted, after all Penedes is bubbly country. The 2003 Gran Caus Extra Brut Reserva Cava and the 2003 Gran Caus Rosé Cava were tremendous. When Anna asked which I liked better, I couldn’t give her an honest answer. First I said the Rosé, with its amazing aromas of golden beets and watermelon and persistent finish, then I said the Reserva, with its deft balance coming from such a ripe year. I could have easily drunk a bottle of either if I didn’t have more appointments and much more driving ahead of me.

Thanks to Anna I had a fantastic visit to one of my favorite producers of the Penedes. She was a treat and dealt with my non-existent Spanish with aplomb. She is also interested in coming to the US and working for a winery here after treks in Australia, South Africa and Chile. I told her I’d keep my ears open. If I owned a winery I’d love to have her on my team.

From there it was a short jaunt to Albet I Noya, made longer by a wrong turn, a theme in my travels so far. I can get from Sitges to Logroño with out missing a beat, but I can’t get somewhere five minutes down the road with out making a wrong turn. I was met there by Josep Jové I Ribalta and his adorable stocky black lab. Josep is a man that has done everything at this winery from international sales to winemaker. Located in the village of Sant Pau d’Ordal this was the first estate to be certified organic in Spain and the first from Spain to be certified in the US.

They are experimenters, mad scientists if you will. But ones that are rooted in the earth, ones that don’t want to stand in the way of what the land will give them. I was lucky enough to see their “experimental” winery consisting of some 10-12 1000L tanks that they have unknown wild varietals in. They make these wines, send them out to their customers, and have them send back their thoughts. What a concept! Never in America would this happen. I asked if I could be on that list.

He also showed me the “Eggs” they have, which I’ve never seen in the states. Two concrete pods shaped like eggs on a stand. Some crazy man with tons of money and a complete believer in biodynamics is making these things. I gathered it worked something like this: The egg is the most balanced shape in the world. The pressure inside of that shape is equal in all directions with respect to gravity. The particles inside these pre-historic looking things never stop moving. That is, all of the solid matter inside gets so much momentum it never stops moving. So basically you can do batonnage without ever laying a hand on the wine. Weird. Weird but cool.

We tasted wine but my mind was already blown by these egg-shaped contraptions. They were really good wines, natural, balanced. The highlights were the NV Brut Reserva with its amazing freshness of flavor, the 2005 Can Vendrell “Petit Albet” Tempranillo/Garnacha with its irresistible fruity charm, the 2005 Colleccio Syrah, which will knock the socks off any fan of this shape-shifting grape and the 2004 Reserva Marti, a blend of tempranillo, syrah, cabernet sauvignon, petite sirah and merlot and the houses top wine. This was undoubtedly something special, smoky, focused, earthy. It spoke of the land and the people working it, there was an honesty that is rarely seen in “top” wines today.

But the wines I was most impressed with were the wines they are making in the Priorat. All affordable, which in and of itself is amazing, the 2004 Barranc del Closos, the 2005 Mas Igneus “FA 206” and the 2004 Costers de Mas Igneus were honest, drinkable wines from this rugged appellation. I can’t wait until I can get these wines into the store and into the hands of my customers.

From there we went to lunch at a small café in the small town that the winery is located in. When I say small I mean 250 people, but these 250 people have five restaurants to choose from. Pretty good odds if you ask me, especially if this place was any indication. Holy crap was the food good! Simple, fresh and without any pretense, awesome. Thanks for Lunch Josep.

From there I met Joan Huget from Can Feixes Huget. What a man. He and his brothers have an amazing estate that has been in the Huget family for three generations and was purchased from a family that had owned the land for something like eight generations before. They have 130 hectares, roughly 330 acres, of which just about half are planted to grapes. The rest is dedicated to woodlands, keeping the natural terrain of the land just that. We started with a Land Rover tour of the property, always good to see vineyards in a 4x4. On our trip Joan explained to me the family’s philosophy and their dedication to land they farm. So far removed from the mentality I deal with in my buying of domestic wines. There is a farmer’s mentality in all the people I met with on this warm, sunny day. Everyone was about the land, the responsibility to it and what, if you treat it right, it will give back to you.

Can Feixes is a bit odd in that most of their plantings are of the traditional paralleda grape rather that the high-yielding macabeo. They believe it adds more flavor and complexity to the wines here. The 2004 Brut Classic Cava is one of the best Cavas not yet available in the US. Hopefully I can change that, I’ll keep you posted. This is so much richer and layered than 99% of the Cavas in the US today. Now don’t think that this is a heavy, yeasty monster. It is anything but. Vibrance is key; the acid is what makes this sing. The reds from this estate are quite nice as well. Perfectly serviceable Bordeaux varietal blends for someone on the more adventurous side. Plus, I actually got to see them disgorging the 2005. Pretty cool!

From there it was back to Barcelona, after a few more wrong turns I was back at my hotel thinking how great I have it. Dinner was next, good but not great, and then a trip to a local dive bar that my friend Jason Morgan, known as J-Mo (some of you might have seen him lurking around the San Francisco store) recommended. This place, called Barbara Ann’s, was the bar for me. The bartender was playing Sid Barrett era-Pink Floyd, some The Real Kids and a few other treats. Hell, bars in America don’t play music this good. No DJ, just a bartender playing what he wants to listen to. We befriended each other and talked about music without under standing each others language too much. A fun night that went on a little too long, thanks for the beers, Ramon.

Day 3
Yes, that was just one day. And this next one was even crazier. I was supposed to meet Nicole Andrus of Folio Fine Wine Partners, a company owned by a Mondavi, for a tour of Priorat and Monsant. But she just got off a trip showing a bunch of people like me around all of Spain and while they were in Barcelona her bag was stolen. She lost everything. Worst of all she was leaving to go back to the US in a week and had to get all of her paper work in order. So she was out. But not before she set me up with Rachel Ritchie, a British woman that lives in Spain, knows seven languages and helps run the tourism board for small village of Falset. She was to be my interpreter and my guide, fortunately, because I needed both.

I was supposed to meet Nicole at my hotel in Sitges, one of the most beautiful places on the planet, at 10 a.m. Did I mention something about the freeway system coming out of Barcelona earlier? Yeah, I did didn’t I? I missed one turn and it cost me almost two hours. Lame. So I checked into my hotel, didn’t even take my bags out of the car and proceeded quickly to meet Rachel in the town of Falset.

After picking her up and apologizing up-front for any of my erratic stick-shift driving we were over a winding road and into the hidden town of Porrera. Rachel gave me a great history of the area, which I could never do justice to. If you’d like to see it or get any info about visiting the area go to her new website www.visitpriorat.com. I promised I’d give her a free plug. Together we went to the cellar door of Vall Llach. This winery is owned by a famous Catalan singer and one of the most popular songwriters of his time. Basically he was described to me as the Catalan version of Bob Dylan. But the cellar was nothing compared to the vineyards.

We took a 4x4 up a mountain to the top and looked down. Incredible, these were the most rugged vineyards I’d ever seen. This would make the mountain districts of Napa look like road bumps. The vineyard has no top soil, just pure red slate with vines randomly popping out of it. This looks like what I envision Mars to look like or something. Oh and did I mention that I couldn’t walk past the first four rows of vines without rappelling equipment? Yes, that is how they have to harvest this vineyard due to its 75-80 degree incline. Never again will I complain about the price of Priorat, the labor that goes into these wines account for every penny. Words simply can not do this place justice. Photos can’t even describe this place.

It was back down the mountain to the cellar to taste components for the 2006 blend. The raw material is really special. I could just envision how all these pieces could come together. carineña, garnacha, cabernet sauvignon and merlot have never tasted better out of barrel. The merlot out of barrel here would change the staunchest hater of the grape into a life-long devotee. It was an honor to taste with the man who makes these wines. To even have a piece of time with him is near impossible, between making Vall Llach, being the Mayor of Porrera and the President of the D.O. of Priorat I don’t know how he had the time to meet some dude from California. We couldn’t understand a word each other said without Rachel, but we spoke the same language. Finally after we tasted all the different barrels, including the two barrels of sweet wine they are making for the first time, through Rachel he said, “It is pointless for us to keep talking, we are just saying the same thing.” Very true. On the way out the door I tasted the yet to be released 2005 Vall Llach and 2005 Idus these will be in the States soon and they are not to be missed. They will score high and we’ll watch them fly.

Lunch ensued. Lunch doesn’t happen in Spain. It is a planned, almost sacred event. You don’t mess with the two hour lunches here. Doesn’t matter if you’re in a hurry it’s going to come out that way one way or another. When in Spain…

From there Rachel and I were off to Capafons-Osso. There is not too much camaraderie between wineries in Spain. That is not to say that people are not civil or even friendly, but everyone think what they do is the best. The one person everyone loves, however, is Frances Capafons. He was one of the pioneers of Monsant and is beloved by everyone. Unfortunately he has just had surgery and was unable to give me one of his legendary tours. His son, Francesc Xavier, did his father proud giving me a legendary tour of his own, one that lasted more than four hours. By the end I was yawning apologetically, but not because it was dull or uninteresting, it was just that all the Estrella and Four Roses were catching up to me.

His tour, like his father’s are known to be, is much more than just a this-is-this-and-this-is-what-we-do tour. It is a lesson in botany, geology, farming and history. Francesc Xavier spoke more about the rocks and herbs in his vineyard than about the grapes themselves. But to the family you can’t separate one from the other. Everything here is a part of everything else—one large, living organism. This is a must-visit place. The wines are great but get completely overshadowed by the people and their enthusiasm for what they do.

Tired and drained it was back in the car and an hour north to Sitges to meet up with Nicole and her boyfriend, Alfredo. They took me through Sitges to a Basque-style tapas bar. Did I mention how amazing this town was? This was the real deal. Fish caught that day from local waters. Mind boggling. The pulpas were one of the best things I’ve ever tasted. Patatas Brava, crab croquettes, anchovy and olive tapenade, where does it end? It didn’t for a while. We ended up in a local bar called the Highlander, which is a local British-styled pub. They were playing the Stones and the Stone Roses. There was a lot of rock that took place that day. There was a lot of drinking that took place that night.

Day 4
Nothing exciting to report unless you think driving for five hours is cool or listening to “ZZ Top’s First Album” while driving the coast of Spain is something of interest. Maybe paying $40 to drive on the zero-traffic toll roads is something people want to hear about. Maybe you need to feel better about the price of gas: It cost $80 to fill the tank of my super-compact Fiat Bravo. Fun!

Day 5
Another fun one, lots of e-mail checking and scheduling of appointments. Getting everything in order after my sprinting start was a necessity. Eating a Serrano ham and cheese sandwich and a slice of tortilla with chorizo and three beers, don’t worry they were small ones, for lunch. Hey I had to get in the mood to write the first part of this monstrosity.

—Bryan Brick