‘El Puno’ Calatayud 2007
We at Regional Wines have enjoyed the Calatayud wines made by Norrel Robertson MW, originally harking from Scotland, now living among the old Garnarcha vines that he sees as some of Spain’s most valuable resource for outstanding and flavoursome wine that offers accessibility and value for the wine lover who wishes to explore the delights of Spain. The Armantes ‘Bush Vine’ Garnarcha and ‘Papa Luna’ have been extremely popular and favourites among our clientele. With ‘El Puno’, Norrel has finally created his flagship and attained the goal he has been steadily working towards.

This was made from hand-picked Garnacha fruit from 70-100 year old vines grown at over 1,000 metres in Calatayud’s finest slate-soiled vineyards. Following careful hand-sorting at the winery, it was fermented to 15.0% alc, aged 16 months in 100% new French oak and bottled unfiltered. Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate says “it offers aromas of slate, toasty oak, leather and black cherry. Dense, layered and full-flavoured, this impressive effort will provide pleasure through 2020.” 91/100 points. Randall Grahm, California’s pioneer of the ‘Rhone Ranger’ movement said at the Worldwide Grenache Symposium recently “Garnacha from Calatayud thoroughly rocked my world today” recognizing the 2007 ‘El Punto’ as one of the undiscovered greats. At $52.50, it is true value.

‘Mancuso’ Valdejalon 2005
Only those who are intimate with the modern wine scene in Spain will have ever obtained or even heard of ‘Mancuso’, the tiny new producer sourcing fruit from the province of Aragon. The fact is that the production is absolutely minuscule and the 96/100 point rating in Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, with the following endorsement meant the wine was quickly snapped up: “It offers a superb bouquet of toasty oak, pencil lead, scorched earth, espresso, black cherry, and blackberry liqueur. Opulent, rich, and complex on the palate, this full-bodied wine has tons of flavour, nicely concealed ripe tannin, and a long, fruit-filled finish. Cellar it for 6-8 years and drink it from 2010 to 2030.”

Made by the dynamic young duo of Jorge Navascues of Aragon and Carlos San Pedro of Rioja, who purchased 8 hectares of 80-100 year old, ungrafted Garnacha that yield less than half a bottle per vine! The fruit was hand-picked and underwent strict selection before a warm fermentation to 14.5% alc and given 24 days on skins before 14 months of maturation in new French Allier oak. Bennett & Deller who are specialist fine and rare Spanish wine importers have managed to obtain a small allocation, of which we offer six bottles on a first-in basis. Retail price is $119.70.

Casa Gran del Siurana ‘Gran Cruor’ Priorat 2006
The wines of Casa Gran del Siurana have been promoted recently in a focus on the region of Priorat. Casa Gran del Siurana is one of the new arrivals in the region, being established in 2000 and now making some of the best value wines, against the norm for Priorat. The vignoble is indeed a unique one, the 1,800 ha sited on the steep ‘crinkle-fold’ hills around the Monstant tributary of the Ebro river. The licorella slate soil is said to contribute to the distinctive terroir and firmly-hewn, long-lived reds.

We stock the ‘GR-174’ 2007 at just over $35.00 and ‘Cruor’ 2005 at $52.50, both blends based on Garnatxa with Carinena or Bordeaux varietals. The flagship ‘Gran Cruor’ is 100% Syrah and a wine that is modeled on the best Cote-Rotie and Hermitage wines of the northern Rhone. In fact the fruit is sourced from the estate-owned La Fredat vineyard which is based on slate-schist soil on terraces, very much as Cote-Rotie! Fermented to 15.0% alc, this was aged 18 months in 100% new French oak. José Peñin, Spain’s most influential wine-writer describes the Casa Gran del Siurana ‘Gran Cruor’ as “one of the kings of Spanish Syrah wines” giving it the highest score ever for this variety. The retail price is $105.00, which is a bargain considering what other Priorat wines sell for…