Global warming, Peter Green and the 5 W's

2006/2007 - a warm, wet winter in Galicia

So, who on earth is Peter Green I hear you ask? Well, Peter Green was my old geography teacher back in the 70's (he was also my tennis coach in the good old days when school children were obliged to participate in real sport, rather than just Playstation virtual sport!) OK, so back to the point....

In our meteorology class one of the nmemonics that Mr Green taught us was the 5 W's - the warm, wet, westerly winds in winter. Obviously, for the UK at least, our winters were always moderated by these warm westerly winds (or the 'North Atlantic drift' as I think they are also known).

In a similar way the climate of Galicia is also influenced enormously by the Atlantic Ocean, and inevitably we share many of the very same weather systems that skim across the Bay of Biscay en route to the UK.

A Galician winter would normally generate at least some frost, albeit always at night and rarely surviving more than a couple of hours of winter sun. This year however, there has hardly been any frost at all, as night time temperatures have rarely dropped below 5 or 6°C (41°F). Days have also been mild, and mostly wet, with average temperatures of around 12-14°C (55°F). Of course we welcome the additional rain after two or three very dry winters, but a little frost is also very useful, helping to kill off some of the more unwelcome insects, and giving the vines a welcome rest bite during the winter months.....

So, is this just another sign of global warming, together with the excellent Balfour Brut (English "Champagne") that I tasted in London last week?

A different way to chill out....

Ahhh....... that´s better!

This week we were in London, not hunting for last minute bargains in the January sales, but attending the annual tasting of one of our biggest importers.

Anyone who has ever attended this type of tasting (or indeed any exhibition that requires you to stand in one place for hours on end) will know exactly how tough this can be. Sore feet, stiff legs, aching back - you get the idea.... And, as the day drags on, different ideas for pain relief start to infiltrate your head - the dream of soaking in a hot bath, or perhaps a full body massage for example.

Well, for at least one of our colleagues at the tasting he simply couldn´t wait to fulfill his particular fantasy, and as soon as the last customer had left he whipped off his shoes and socks and simply waded into one of the ice buckets to soothe his aching feet. Perhaps just as well you can´t smell this blog!

Caught in the act - Angela sneaks a quick snack

2007 Reviews

So let's start with Peñin 2007 and his comment for our Castro Martin 2005 (this is lifted verbatim from the English version of the guide).

"Bright yellow with greenish streaks. Intense nose, green fruit, traces of citrus fruit flesh and fine herbs. Fresh palate, fruity, excellent structure, spicy background, good fruit/acidity balance."

Translating a taste into words must be one of the most difficult things ever, and everyone has (and should have) their own vocabulary for doing this - one man's cat's pee is possibly another man's freshly cut grass! The reason I say this is that I am always puzzled when an expression like fine herbs is used to describe our wine - personally this idea has never entered my head, which all goes to prove that all tasting is subjective and very personal.

As a former wine buyer Mr Peñin's words that please me the most are "excellent structure", as for me structure is probably the single most important factor in finding a good wine - having said that good fruit/acidity balance also helps!

The cupboard is bare....

The rush to bottle more wine!

We have to bottle more wine as a matter of urgency.......

After all this year's Christmas orders and gift packages left the wine cellar we were left with precisely two cases of wine to sell! This is not a joke, or even an exaggeration, it is the truth.

Of course this can be construed as either excellent planning or simply 'cutting it a bit too fine', depending on your point of view. Suffice to say that it is the first time that we have almost 'sold out' over the Christmas period, albeit that not a single order was refused.

January is usually a quiet month and gives us time to gather our thoughts and start our planning for 2007 - obviously the next week or so will be occupied by bottling a couple of tanks, and this will be followed by planning our travels for the coming year (this actually starts with our first London tasting at the end of the month).

Oh, and by the way - a very Happy New Year to you all.

Vintage Guides

The other day I received a gift from my bank in the form of a 2007 pocket diary. As usual the introductory pages are packed with all sorts of information including International holidays, dialling codes, maps and travel tips. This year however, they have added a wine vintage chart (albeit only for French wine regions).

Of course every wine drinker will understand the importance of a vintage and how it can influence quality, but in some cases I think that too little information can be a very dangerous thing. However well intentioned, the level of detail is always going to be very limited, and therefore prone to some misleading generalisations. For example, it is simply impossible to claim that every wine from Bordeaux, Alsace or whatever region, in a given vintage is outstanding, average or even poor. There will always be exceptions........

I understand of course, that such a chart is only intended as a guide, but it is a shame to think that some perfectly good wines might be overlooked just because a tiny chart only gives the vintage two stars. (In a similar way journalists have been known to unwittingly write off an entire vintage at the stroke of a pen).

In addition to this comes what I call "the honesty factor". I recently remarked upon a similar vintage chart compiled for Spanish wines - nearly every wine from every region was classified as good, very good or exceptional (not one poor wine in sight!) I will leave you to draw your own conclusions from this.........

Another installment from the McCarthy's soapbox series

Happy Christmas!

Angela and I wish all our friends and customers a Happy Christmas and a Healthy and Peaceful New Year.

Thank you for your support!

(And don't forget that Albariño is excellent with Turkey)

Restauradores Magazine - December 2006

The best Spanish wines of 2006

Bodega Castro Martin Albariño 2005 - Primary aromas of ripe white fruits, with tropical notes and hints of freshly cut grass. It's attractive and fresh with excellent balance between fruit and citrus acidity.

Courier Mail, Queensland Australia

Reign of Spain
by Ken Gargett
November 13, 2006

"The good news is that in coming years, we will see many more sensational wines from Spain and also many exciting efforts made here from these emerging varieties.

Albarino was so poorly considered that in Jancis Robinson's seminal Vines, Grapes & Wines (1986), it is dismissed in half a line. Now, a rising star, good ones offer much of the character of riesling but, in accordance with the winemaking techniques used, are richer with a more seductive texture and often delightful peachy overtones. Castro Martin 2005 (AU$25) has limey and sea-breeze notes and is in the zippy, leaner mould. Delicious."

(English readers please note that I edited out any mention of cricket!)

What value Gold?

I have to admit that I have mixed views about the true value of wine competitions, not because we don't mind winning the occassional gong, but more because the award system itself is often wide open to abuse. I will explain.....

From experience I believe that it is very often the most obvious, young, full-bodied and over-extracted wines that are put forward to win awards. In the case of white wines this can be the wine that is laced with new oak, or one that perhaps retains a suggestion of residual sugar. Entries with any degree of structure, elegance, complexity or even bottle-age can quite easily be lost or overpowered simply because they are not fully understood, or their true underlying potential is not recognised. Of course these more 'commercial' styles have their place in educating the novice wine consumer, but on the other hand there should always be space for some award winning wines of subtlety and refinement too.

My second concern is that wine competitions have now become very big business – 1,000’s of wines submitted, with each bottle commanding a substantial entry fee, that can, in some cases, result in a generous profit for the organisers. At times, it must be said, there has also been an "over generous" quota of medals and certificates awarded (regardless of overall quality), simply to keep producers satisfied, justify the fee, and promote continued support.

Finally, there is the problem of the 'doctored sample'....... Organisers of wine competitions invite producers to send their samples, and it is only human nature that a cellar would wish to submit their very best bottle. This being the case, some unscrupulous wine makers reserve a special tank or barrel of wine that is used exclusively for this purpose, and has nothing to do with the quality of the wine that ends up in your local wine shop. In this way, not only are the judges duped, but also the poor consumer is being cheated out of his bottle of the genuine award winning wine.

In saying all this I must emphasise that this is not sour grapes (pardon the pun), as we have been lucky enough to win our fair share of awards over the years. I guess that what I am trying to suggest is that medals and certificates can be misleading, and do not necessarily guarantee consistent or even outstanding quality.

I can assure you that an odd gold medal will not make our own wine taste any better than it already does! For us at least a great bottle at a reasonable price means so much more.

Footnote: By coincidence this article from the New Zealand Herald was posted on 2nd December 2006, about 10 days after I made this entry.

Another installment from the McCarthy's soap box series

Thinking of the poor winemaker.........

A thought for the weekend…….

"Sometimes when I reflect back on all the wine I drink I feel shame. Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the vineyards and all of their hopes and dreams. If I didn't drink this wine, they might be out of work and their dreams would be shattered. Then I say to myself, "It is better that I drink this wine and let their dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver."