barcelona

Share

Champagne Festive Night!

by No Comments

We are very delighted that our professional champagne tasting lightened up the festive mood for all winelovers and wine professionals attended!

And as a bonus, we all discovered our favourite bubbles among exquisite wines by Champagne House Gardet (Chigny-les-Roses, Premier Cru).

✅  Blanc de Blancs brut – 100% Chardonnay aged on the lees for 3-4 years, really delicate bubbles and freshness preserved.

✅  Blanc de Noirs brut premier cru – 60% Pinot Noir, 40% Meunier, aged on the lees for 2-3 years. Full bodied and elegant wine.

✅  Brut Reserve 1/3 Chardonnay, 1/3 Pinot Noir, 1/3 Meunier, aged on the lees for 4-6 years, 25% of reserved wines aged 1 year in oak, as a result complex, but not over-oaked champagne.

✅  Brut Rosé: 40% Pinot Noir, 40% Meunier, 10%Chardonnay, 10% red AOC Champagne, aged on the lees for 2-3 years. A classy rose champagne with a lot of freshness and fruits.

Absolute favourites of the evening were Rose and Blanc de Blancs, however experienced wine professionals appreciated Blanc de Noirs and Brut Reserve even more.

Happy Bubbly New Year 2018!

 

Bordeaux wines tasting

by No Comments

The motto of our Bordeaux wines tasting was: “affordable yet excellent reds”.

And we indeed have discovered some Merlot-based Right-bank appellations of a superb value: Côte de Bourg, Blaye and the satellite of St.Emilion – Puisseguin, comparing 2013, 2011 and 2008 Merlot-Cabernet Franc blends!🍷 🍇
No surprise, the 2008 Puisseguin-Saint Emilion proved this vintage to be an exceptional one in Bordeaux being the favourite of the night!

Blind Wine Tasting: 3rd edition

by No Comments

This time we  BLIND tasted 2 wines made of international grape varieties vs another 2  made of local varieties from different countries of the Old World!

Looks like international varieties have won: Sauvignon Blanc from South-Western France and Syrah/Tempranillo blend from DO Manchuela conquered more winelovers hearts than Sardinian Nuragus and Croatina from Piemonte.

But it is always an amazing experience to try new different and local varieties for the first time!

Portuguese wines tasting

by No Comments

Wine tasting of inland Portuguese reds of Beira Interior had a lot of success in Barcelona this fall. It is the less known wine region that has been recently gaining its fans all over the world!

 

Have you heard about mono varietal Rufete wines from Portugal? – If not, no wonder, because it is a local grape variety planted in the wine region of Beiras that would already be extinguished by now if not recovered by some Portuguese producers. One of them is Quinta dos Termos who have been working together with the Portuguese Ministry of Agriculture for this to happen.

In Jancis Robinson’s book “Wine Grapes” this family wine producer is a reference for Rufete variety! This hard to grow, late ripening variety gives extremely aromatic, and nicely structured wines that can age very well, often compared with Pinot Noir.

During our tasting we came to conclusion that 100% Rufete expressed in Reserva Talhão da Serra 2014 is perfect both for summer and as an aperitif, being a delicate and elegant wine.

Other stars of the evening were

✅  A really sui generis portuguese wines blend Colheita Selecionada 2008 🍇: trincadeira+tinta roriz+touriga nacional+rufete which became the wine of yesterday night with 8 votes out of 15! 🍷👏

✅  100% Tinto Cao which is very rare to find as a mono varietal wine! Some strong Tinto Cão apologists found the Escolha 2008 very special!

 

Island wines tasting

by No Comments

Island wines tasting combined one of the most representative wines of 3 islands:  Sardinia, Sicily and Tenerife!

✅  Cannonau di Sardegna DOC by a family winery Audarya has become wine of the evening with 7 voted out of 14! 👏👏👏🍷🍷🍷

No wonder, it is called the king of Sardinian winemaking! Cannonau a.k.a. Grenache is a noble and loved, powerful yet elegant variety.  It is claimed that its homeland is a picturesque Sardinia island and some recent researches actually confirm that it was spread from Sardinia to Aragon and not the other way around.

Cannonau is also associated with longevity of Sardinians who keep minds sharp even in their 90s. Maybe, because Cannonau seems to have the highest levels of polyphenol antioxidants of any wine?
Whatever it is, you will definitely enjoy its intense character!

✅  Second place was taken by Sicily with Mandragola Frappato 100% 2014 by Paolo Cali. This family of wine makers owns 15ha of organic vineyards in Contrada Salme and uses traditional cultivating techniques like hoeing, hand pruning and harvest.

✅  Even so, Listan Blanco by Bodegas Tajinaste from Tenerife has won some winelovers hearts!

 

Croatian wines tasting in Barcelona

by No Comments
Our Exclusive Croatian wines tasting in collaboration with Zigante Truffles gathered a lot of wine and truffle lovers of Barcelona this fall!

The guests could enjoy the selection of truffle appetizers and Istrian wines made of local varieties elaborated by small family producers:

✅  Coronica Malvazija Istarska 2016
✅  Benvenuti Teran 2013
✅  Coronica Gran Teran 2012
✅  CAPO Stellar Sagittarius Sauvignon Blanc 2010

Number 1 choice for the majority was Benvenuti Teran 2013 – just a perfect time to drink it!

Blind Wine Tasting: New World Vs Old World

by No Comments
Our second edition of the Blind tasting challenge in Barcelona was dedicated to the New World vs Old World wines duel!
We have tasted 4 wines from 4 different countries:
✅  Mount Nelson Sauvignon Blanc 2016 (New Zealand)
✅  Beira Interior 100% Fonte Cal Reserva 2014 (Portugal)
✅  Vietti Barbera d’Asti DOCG La Crena 2013 (Italy)
✅  Yalumba Shiraz Viogner 2015 (Australia)
The 2 favourites were New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and Italian Barbera d’Asti, so let’s call it a draw! 🍷 🍷

Burgundy wines tasting

by No Comments

Our Burgundy wines tasting in Barcelona gathered wine lovers from many countries!

All together we enjoyed the exclusive selection of some affordable Pinot Noir wines with an excellent value from Côtes de Nuits and Montagny Prémier Cru Chardonnay! 🍷🍷🍷

 

Blind Wine Tasting Challenge

by No Comments

Highly anticipated in Barcelona, our Blind Tasting Challenge consisted of international wines  from 4 different countries and grapes!

We are proud of our #winelovers who identified correctly the following wines:

✅  wine #1: Vinho Verde Dócil 2016. Absolutely adorable middle+ range 100% Loureiro. Mineral and floral notes really refreshed everybody that hot evening.
✅  wine #2: Riesling trocken 2015 from Keller. Very pleasant and balanced, absolutely everybody liked it!
✅  wine #3: Rare gem and discovery of the tasting – 100% Grignolino di Asti by Alemat. For all the participants it was the first time they tried this variety and the majority instantly fell in love with its jammy red fruits, fresh acidity and soft tannins.
✅  wine #4: Classy, complex and rich Priotat Destí 2014 by Merum Priorati. Grenache based blend of €20+ price range. Overall, the star of the evening identified by the majority.

 

Premium Cavas Tasting

by No Comments

Cava and sea food tapas is a classic combination enjoyed by all the participants  @CrudoBar in Barcelona.

Especially when Premium Vintage Cava is served!

We have tasted:

✅   Pere Ventura Tresor Brut Nature Reserva: lovely blend of Xarel-lo, Macabeo and Parellada.

✅   Pere Ventura Brut Vintage 2012: best hand-picked grapes of Chardonnay and Xarel-lo in a charming blend as a result of a great vintage.

✅  Pere Ventura Brut Rosé Vintage 2012: 100% Pinot Noir that is fruit-forward with a refreshing acidity.

All the wines offered delicate persistent bubbles as a result of the traditional champenoise methode.