Tasting Report: Real Spanish Wines Shine Through

Just about a month ago, I began an amazing seven-day tasting trip through Spain. Although I only tasted about 360 wines, it was an incredibly exciting voyage underlying the tradition and excellence of the country's winemaking culture and renewing my enthusiasm for a country to which I travelled and whose wines I tasted during the 1980s and early 1990s.

Of course, wineries such as Pingus are truly world-class, making reds that compete with the best of the world. This is nothing new to many of us. Yet it was still awe-inspiring to be in the Ribera del Duero and taste a vertical of 10 vintages of the tempranillo-based red. 

My time was characterized by so many epiphanies as well as everyday moments of enjoyment from the typical morning breakfast of toasted bread covered in flavorful garlic and tomato sauce to a hearty piece of meat or dried cod with a glass of young Rioja. Below are a few more of the memories that will stay with me the most. 

It was no less than magical one morning walking through the stony soils of Toro while visiting a number of ancient vineyards featuring low-lying planted without rootstocks. The vineyard manager showed such detail in describing the uniqueness of each vine in the various parcels.

And before long I start to imagine myself roaming once more through the dark and damp cellars of López de Heredia in Haro with it distinctive smells of wine, mould, dust and old wood. I can recall that smell now as clearly as when I first visited the Rioja winery in 1983, just after starting working with The Wine Spectator.

I can still almost taste the refined, delicate, and sweet fruit character of a bottle of 1958 and 1964 Marqués de Riscal that I tasted at the winery. This is what great Rioja tastes like and underlines how old, great Rioja can resemble aged, great Burgundy.

Tasting a firm and steely red from the hillsides surrounding Madrid was equally memorable though. Most were made from garnacha and I loved their vividness along with their bright and drinkable style. There was something so honest and real about them. 

Perhaps more than anything, realness is what strikes me about Spain. I was afraid that I would find too many jammy, high-octane wines that were popular about 10 years ago. But thankfully I didn't. All I can say is that I really don't like those wines. Instead, I found genuine wines that showed the true character of where they were from, whether from terraced vineyards in the best areas of the Rioja or dry vineyards on a mesa in Toro.

Below are all the wines I tasted on the trip including a vertical of Pingus as well as some rare and older vintages of Riojas. I hope to taste the best wines of Spain every year now.

Photo 1: Beautiful vineyards in Rioja. Photo 2: Thousands of old barrels at López de Heredia in Rioja. Photo 3: Bottles of the best wine of Marqués de Murrieta. Photo 4: Bottle of 1958 Marques de Riscal directly from the cellar. Photo 5: Peter Sisseck, owner and winemaker of Pingus.