Wednesday 12 February 2014

A family favourite from Castilla y Leon


A man with a suitcase after my heart

I have to admit here that I paid little attention to the Spanish reds before I dated Emilio (otherwise also known as the Great Champion of wines from the Denominacion de Origen (DO) of Ribera del Duero). Sure, I enjoyed a glass of chilled white Spanish wine from the DO of Rias Baixas (which uses mostly Albarino grape) but typically preferred a Bordeaux or Barolo when it came to reds, thinking that most Spanish wines were lacking body and balance. How wrong I was! Emilio kept showing up in Hong Kong (where I was then living) with a suitcase full of remarkable treasures and I soon realised that there were numerous full bodied, well rounded, deliciously fruity and earthy vino tinto waiting to be indulged!

On that note (and fast forward by a few years), let me share with you, one of our family's trusted go-to blended red wine: Abadia Retuerta Seleccion Especial. It is full bodied, rounded and has a yummy taste of plums and berries.  The 2010 bottle, which we enjoyed just last week with Emilio's parents in Zaragoza contained the best of Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot (some other years include Syrah).

The bodega that makes the wine, Abadia Retuerta, is located in the North-ish of Spain, in a village called Sardon de Duero, which is about 185km from Madrid, to the west of Ribera del Duero and in the region of Castilla y Leon. The bottles are not labelled 'DO of Ribera del Duero' despite being also situated by the River Duero but they really do not need to nor is at a disadvantage given their already strong brand.

Do all the roads lead to Basel? Curiously, Novartis, the Swiss company which is headquartered here in Basel, owns the bodega and we have found out that it is almost more cost effective to buy the wine from their supermarket here than in Spain (the 2010 bottle is currently retailing at about 18 Euros, transport included). Having said that, this does not mean that we would not be paying a visit to the bodega - indeed it seems like a must do (after the kids have been handed over to the doting grampies and Emilio persuaded to get out of his pajamas/parent's home). We need to sample all their other selections and at the same time check out their historical grounds and the restoration of their 12th century monastery into a lush 5 star hotel and restaurant.

2 comments:

  1. Yay!! Finally able to comment... Thanks to the LotB (Leader of the Blog)

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  2. This wine is for me a real classic... Easy to get in Switzerland, excellent quality price relation and very consistent year after year!!

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