Wine of the week: 2011 Spanish Quarter Red

Spanish Quarter Red has been a wine I have been very interested in, blending together a new comer to Spain Cabernet Sauvignon and the widely known Spanish grape Tempranillo this wine is well worth checking out. I found it at the store for just under $10 and online for cheaper than that. A STEAL!!! That is nice thing about Spanish wines right now, you can find really good ones for cheap do to their economy! Good thing for us wine lovers. The color is deep Ruby almost Purple with a medium+ nose with aromas of floral, mineral, oak, sweet spice and black fruits. On the palate after it has opened up a medium-dry sweetness, medium acidity and tannin with good flavor intensity and with a balanced long finish. Anyone wanting to try a different wine without breaking the bank to do so this is wine to do it with. Pair with soft artisan cheese, bbq'd meats, heavy cream or tomato based pasta dishes with chicken or shrimp.

Pasanu the Spanish powerhouse

Pasanau Ceps Nous 2008 Priorat Red Wine is the purple people eater of Spanish Red wine. Priorat region is located in North East Spain just below Barcelona along the coastal region of the Balearic Sea. Consisting of 70% Grenacha or Grenache here as it pours into your glass all you see is a deep purple color as if you were looking into liquid obsidian. Beautiful color with a heavy nose and flavor to match this Spanish heavyweight. Blackberry, plum, spicecake fill your palate and take over your mouth with a long dry finish that leaves you wanting more and more. Blended with Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Mazuelo this wine is big, powerful and would go perfectly with a grilled steak.

Priorat has become one of the most popular regions in Spain creating big wines that sell for 4 or 5 times the amount of Rioja. Creating more and more cult style wines it is very hard for everyday drinkers or even collectors to resist what is going on. Mostly consisting of Grenache based wines the next big grape varietal to blended with is Cariena, Carignan in France, this rustic grape adds depth and structure, where it lacks both in other parts of the world. Soil, weather, and appellation due play big roles in this. Other great wines to check out from Priorat are: Nita 2010, Cellar Pasanau Ceps Nous 2010 and La Perla Noster 2007.  

Special Thanks to Alex McClelland who showed me this awesome wine! Thanks buddy hope all is well!

Predictions 2014

Every year, new trends pop up and every year they change, grow, evolve or die. 2013 personally I saw red blends, old world wines, example Chateauneuf Du Pape, Spanish Rioja, Rhone and Bordeaux make huge jumps in world popularity. Rioja was ranked 2013 Wine Spectators #1 wine, 2014 will be no different, new popularity of different wines will start to show, another number 1 will be crowned and craft beers and spirits, farm to table, locally sourced ingredients, the expansion of the mind will start to happen and curiosity will take over. Questioning the ideology that the best wines can only come from certain regions will be put to the test. New American wines gaining ground, becoming more accessible will take place all over the country, with states like the Virginia's, New York, Texas and Idaho leading the way, producing smaller unknown grape varietals and thrusting them forward into the masses. Larger names such as Duckhorn and the Jackson family known for their ever popular "Kendall Jackson" wines are setting up stakes in other states like Washington and Oregon according to different sources. We will see the growth of sustainable, organic, bio-dynamic, microbial farming practices with production already taking place that will be another thing people will look towards while looking over wine lists in restaurants. Is it locally sourced? Will be the question you ask your server when asking about the veg on the dish. In London instead of the 2 meat and veg it will be reversed, 2 veg and meat will be the new popular way of thinking, Eastern Europe like Solvania and Bulgaria will modernize wine production creating great affordable wines, with Spain doing the same do to a crumbling economy.  The prediction of Chardonnay being the varietal come back made by the Washington Post was interesting to me considering Chardonnay is the most widely drank grape in the U.S. so to see what will happen is something to watch out for. According to WP American, New Zealand and Australian vintners say they have the right clones and the right vines. Don't count South America though, Argentina, Chile and even Brazil will come with some heat this year, with that being said I think a Chateauneuf De Pape will be the #1 wine for 2014, we will just have to wait and see.