Spanish & Portuguese Wine News: Señorio P. Peciña Rioja

By: Joe Manekin | K&L Spanish & Portuguese Wine Buyer

Estimados Clientes:

Hi there.  Apologies for the formal Spanish intro, this is more or less how I begin my emails to folks whose wineries I am looking to check out in Spain.  I've been doing a lot of this over the past month and a half or so, as the annual spring product sourcing mission to Spain is fast approaching.

So, what are we selling this week?  Peciña Rioja. 

There are few wineries - year in, year out - whose entire range of production you know will be consistently delicious. Peciña is amongst the few. I think it's fairly telling that, should you ever visit Pedro Peciña Crespo, there will likely be a leg of Joselito Jamón Ibérico on offer (there are different producers of Spain's most famous food export, of which Joselito is widely regarded as the best).  Pedro trades Peciña wines for Joselito's delicious Ibérico. They're buddies, and while I do not know Joselito, I can only imagine that there is a mutual admiration of each other's products which unites them.

Please browse our entire Peciña inventory online (search 'Pecina')- there's everything from sumptuous Gran Reservas, to 12 year old magnums of Crianza, a Reserva from the banner 2001 vintage, etc. 

For this email, though, I'd like to focus on their most humble, though arguably the most transparent and expressive, of their wines.  It's consistently the best unoaked tempranillo from Rioja we carry.  A real treat which shows the quality of the terroir and of the wines casa Peciña.

2010 Señorío de P.Peciña Joven Rioja - $13.99

http://www.klwines.com/detail.asp?sku=1090007

Un saludo,

Joe

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Joe Manekin

Spanish, Portuguese, Latin American Wine Buyer

K&L Wine Merchants

Ph: 877.559.4637 ext. 2748

joemanekin@klwines.com

Spanish & Portuguese Wine News 4/5/12: Save the Date! Cool Northern Spanish Wine Tasting in all Three Stores, Saturday 4/14

By: Joe Manekin | K&L Spanish & Portuguese Wine Buyer 

Greetings all,

Let's get right back into it after an uncharacteristic buy week last week.  Your inbox will not be spared this week!  All good things, though, so here we go.

1.) Northern Spain Tasting next Saturday 4/14 - Are the oldest albariño vines in the world really 180 years old (and is wine still made from them?) What the heck is the difference between Guimaro's two Ribeira Sacra bottlings, B2M and B1P?  What does 30+ year old CRIANZA Rioja taste like?  Don't they only made cider in Asturias? For answers to these questions (and likely, many more) please join us for our Northern Spain tasting in Redwood City, SF, and Hollywood on Saturday 4/14. Yours truly will be in RWC, while incredibly knowledgeable guides for the day are likely to pose some of their own questions based on their in-store line-ups in the other locations.  As Kurt Loder used to say alongside Tabitha Soren every week, do try to catch it.

2.) Bottle of red, bottle of white, from Dali-Land - Last spring, my fiance and I spent a lovely afternoon in Cadaques, a picturesque and justly famous town right on the Mediterranean Sea.  On the way there, you drive through some fairly steep, granitic vineyard land planted to indigenous varieties such as garnacha, cariñena and macabeo.  With non-wine related tourism on our minds (ok, I wanted to do wine stuff but the fiance threatened to smack me on the head with an empty cava bottle if we did any more wine stuff) we bypassed the vineyards, opting instead to walk the town and then visit Salvador Dali's former house in Port Lligat.  A shame, but I'm attempting to make up for it by offering these terrific, Catalan government "integrated farming" certified wines.  Simple, fun, Mediterranean in a bottle deliciousness.

2010 La Vinyeta "Heus" Blanc Empordá - $14.99

http://www.klwines.com/detail.asp?sku=1088808

2010 La Vinyeta "Heus" Negre Empordá - $14.99

http://www.klwines.com/detail.asp?sku=1088809

3.)  Jerez en Rama or, Sherry (unfiltered)

Just a quick teaser for the Sherry fanatics.  Within the next 6 weeks or so, we will have not one, but two "en rama" (unfiltered) bottlings, drawn from the cask specifically for us in April, when the layer of flor is at its thickest.  There is nothing closer to enjoying these wine in situ than drinking good quality, en rama fino or manzanilla.  Coming soon....

Along the Sherry tip - you Sherry fanatics will be sure not to miss the Javier Hidalgo Sherry Tasting Friday 4/20 in RWC. For only $5, you will be able to taste the Hidalgo Pastrana Manzanilla Pasada Sanlucar de Barrameda ($26.99), the "Napoleon" Amontillado SdB ($17.99) the Oloroso "Faraon" SdB ($18.99), and the Wellington Palo Cortado VORS ($79.99). Sweet deal, if you ask me.

Un saludo,

Joe Manekin

Spanish, Portuguese, Latin American Wine Buyer

K&L Wine Merchants

Ph: 877.559.4637 ext. 2748

joemanekin@klwines.com

Spanish & Portuguese News 2/23/12: Taste the Wine of Bodegas Y Viñedos Ponce

By: Joe Manekin

K&L Spanish & Portuguese Wine Buyer

Good afternoon, everyone,

Just two things to mention this week:

Our Friday tasting in Redwood City will feature some of the most exciting wines in Spain, those of Bodegas y Viñedos Ponce.  Working primarily with organically farmed, old vine Bobal in the D.O. of Manchuela (a few hours SE of Madrid), Ponce has quickly built up a reputation in Spain as being one of the most talented and serious vignerons in the entire country.  Here are some other producers that his bottlings occasionally remind me of:  Jean Foillard, Chateau Pradeaux, and Domaine Gramenon.  OK, now that we got your attention, get over to Redwood City tomorrow at 5pm. 

Tasting lineup and details: http://www.klwines.com/local_events.asp#4

If you can't make it, then you still really need to try these wines.  Read more, here.

As for wines of the week, my thoughts this week are why not keep it simple?  Just one wine ought to do it.  What a wine, though! If you're a fan of Riojas from Lopez de Heredia, Peciña, La Rioja Alta, Riojanas, etc, then I'm nearly certain you will love it.

1999 Viña Valoria Gran Reserva Rioja - $34.99

http://www.klwines.com/detail.asp?sku=1086703

Saludos,

Joe

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Joe Manekin

Spanish, Portuguese, Latin American Wine Buyer

K&L Wine Merchants

Ph: 877.559.4637 ext. 2748

joemanekin@klwines.com