Quevedo and Taylor Fladgate ports; Azelia, Yalumba and Baron de Ley wines; adult-only gummies
by Mary Bailey
It’s a treat to chat with Oscar Quevedo (former investment banker, now with his family’s wine estate) and taste the Ports. The 10yr Tawny explodes with red fruit; the LBV is woody, intense, even fiery—think baked bramble berries. The 40yr smells like brown sugar and orange peel with bright flavours and good acidity. All the ports read a bit dryer than most, without being overly tannic. The Single Barrel Port, only available in Alberta, is mellow and tastes of prunes and dried fruit with great acidity. It’s extremely well-balanced with a long finish. The excellent 1968 Celebration Port is a stunner, rich and mellow with a finish that goes on for days, well worth the $300 price tag.
Oscar Quevedo on the family business: “In the weeks after my grandfather’s death, I kept thinking: ‘What am I doing in Switzerland working for someone else?’ My sister Claudia is the winemaker. My father is the viticulturist. I do the blends and the sales and marketing of the wine. He wants me to do his job too, but he’s only 71.
“We export 94 percent of the wines we make to 32 countries,” says Oscar; “Port is 70 percent of that. Up until Portugal joined the European Union in 1986, all Port had to be shipped from Porto. When my parents built the new winery, they were thinking of export, because the Portuguese market is crowded and focused on inexpensive wines. We started to bottle and ship from the winery in 1994, to Belgium, through Spain by truck.
“The focus is on Portugal now. And it’s exciting to be in the Duero.”
Lorenzo Scavino, is the fourth generation of the Barolo producer Azelia. He feels no pressure. “My father is still the big boss,” he says. “It’s not just a job, we live at the winery, we are never on vacation. If you want to work the way we work, every detail counts. My father is a terrible perfectionist.”
We start with the bright and happy Dolcetto, one of my favourite wines from Azelia, then on to the Langhe Nebbiolo. “Langhe can have 15 percent of other grapes, but ours is 100 per cent Nebbiolo from the younger vines. My father never wants to make Barolo from anything under 45 years,” he says.
It’s delicious, smelling of violets and fig with loads of red fruit.
 The Barolos, Barolo DOCG and four single vineyard wines, (Bricco Fiasco, Margheria, San Rocco and Bricco Voghera), are quintessential Nebbiolo, reflecting their vineyard sites in both Castiglione Falletto and Serralungo d’Alba: soil, aspect, age of vines and careful winemaking. The Barolos are fermented by indigenous yeasts with submerged caps and spend varying times in large casks before bottling. “The most important thing is the quality of the raw material,” says Lorenzo.Lorenzo also puts paid to the idea that you have to wait decades before drinking Barolo.“I like the freshness of the young vintages and the contrast of the vintages is more apparent in younger wines.” |
 Agusti Torello Mata makes great Cava, Spain’s high quality, traditional method, sparkling wine in the heart of the Penedes. New to the shops is the Aliguer Brut, under $25. The wine is made from young Macabeo, Xarel-lo and Parellada, the classic cava grapes and spends 24 months aging. We love its creamy bubbles and fresh flavours. |
Candy is dandy; how much more fun can it be when flavoured with your favourite tipple? These adults-only gummies come in Prosecco and Gin Fizz, all-natural and not too sweet. $6 each.
Jane Ferrari starts the tasting of Yalumba wines with this: “If you are looking for chemical breakdowns, you’ll be gravely disappointed.”
It’s not that Jane doesn’t know, it’s that she chooses to share other, more interesting stories. She knows we would rather hear about football and U2; who settled the Barossa and why; that Viognier is a diva and especially, about Fred Caley Smith, grandson of Yalumba founder Samuel Smith, whose travel account Jane found one day. His name now graces the flagship Cab Shiraz blend (44 of the 66 bottles allocated to Canada were sold in Edmonton). We also find out that Viognier loves lemongrass, ginger, coriander, cilantro and Grenache loves five spice. Then, we get to taste their top-line Viognier (wild ferment, whole cluster, battonage for three months, ML actively discouraged); the heady, juicy Grenache; Menzies Cab (blackcurrant, cedar, menthol, shiitake, refined, not aggressive—love the cooling mint with the voluptuous fruit). The Octavious Shiraz, the 2014 signature Cab Shiraz blend (red fruit, eucalyptus, cedar, white pepper, something like cocoa, juicy with soft tannins) doesn’t disappoint. The tasting ends with the brooding, muscular 2012 Caley—elegant, subtle, meditative. What a ride.
 Jorge Ramos visited Edmonton on a road trip to introduce the Taylor Fladgate 2016 vintage Ports. The declaration is made by each individual house on St Georges Day, April 23. We may think of the declaration as another charming anachronism of the Port business and vintage port may only be two percent of Taylor’s business, but much is riding on the vintage declaration. The vintage Ports are the stalwarts of a Port house in a similar way that vintage Champagne is for Champagne houses. Will the wines prove to be outstanding in 50 years? The master blenders have to decide based on their experience, the harvest and the wine. The average declaration is three times per decade; Taylor declared in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009.Taylor’s Vintage 2016 is a blend of Taylor’s top sites—Vargellas and the two Pinhao Valley estates, Quinta de Terra Feita and Quinta do Junco. (Both of these were hit hard in June’s freak hailstorm.) What’s all the excitement about? The aromas—floral, fresh raspberries, bright notes of green apple followed by fragrant cedar and jasmine, ginger and black currant—are heady and complex. The wine is amazingly balanced—lean, sinewy, yet well-integrated tannins create a delicious backbone for the delicious notes of berry fruit. The wine is elegant, restrained, somewhat mysterious; promising more flavour and complexity down the road. Port lovers rejoice. |
Sergio Soriano, export director for Spanish producer Baron de Ley, was in Alberta recently to introduce their sister company in Rioja, El Coto. Baron de Ley which grows most of its fruit in Rioja Baja (except the Gran Reserva, which is from Rioja Alta) is thought of as a Reserva specialist. El Coto, Rioja’s leader in oak aged reds, is based in Rioja Alavesa. The El Coto style is more fruit forward, perhaps more contemporary and just as delicious. It is the top selling Rioja brand in Spain.
Chardonnay lovers will be over the moon about the Baron de Ley Tres Vinas. Maceration on fine lees and appropriate aging in barrel leads to lots of texture, complexity with excellent wood integration. Dry, with juicy acidity and concentration, this blend of Viura, Malvasia and Garnacha Blanca would be the perfect accompaniment to lobster this summer, about $32.
Siete Vinas Reserva is a blend of all the Rioja grapes (Tempranillo, Graciano, Garnacha Mazuelo, Viura, Malvasia Blanco and Garnacha Blanco). Each wine is vinified separately, then, comes together in the final blend which ages in large oak foudres for 12 months. A savoury wine with olive, herbaceous and red fruit aromas and flavours, it is limited to 1000 bottles.
The Coto de Imaz Gran Reserva 2010 was, to our great dismay, corked. Will be trying this very, very soon.
Last but not least, let’s talk about the 2010 Baron de Ley Reserva. The wine is lovely—with an aromatic richness, elegant, with well-integrated tannins, not astringent, with both soft berry fruit and some background notes of cedar and earth. Amazing value and ready to drink now, $50ish.