For me, I always look back to the wine that got me hooked on a certain grape variety or region. Readers of this blog will know that my heart lies with Aussie reds and New Zealand whites, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t enjoy and appreciate wines from different grape varieties and regions. If I was ignorant enough to judge wines based on my personal preference, I wouldn’t be too good at my job.
So it’s always nice to be introduced to something new that also stirs you inside. Something that provokes a bit of passion and gets you thinking, “hold on, I could get to like this”. I’m young yet, so I’ve no doubt my personal preferences will swing from grape to grape and country to country as my palate develops and evolves. This of course doesn’t mean that I’ll look back in twenty years and say that I was wrong about what I liked when I was 24. I’m a fairly adventurous person, so I’ll continue to introduce myself to new wines, or reintroduce myself, for that matter, to any wines that may not have struck me the first time.
I must admit that just over a year ago I was fairly clueless about Spanish wine, particularly that of La Mancha in The Meseta, which is a vast central plateau south of Madrid, responsible for almost half of Spain’s total wine production. La Mancha is the home of the world’s most widely planted white grape variety, Airén, the wine of which is distilled for use in Brandy de Jerez.
Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah are all becoming very popular here, especially after foreign investment due to the sheer potential of the area, much of which remains untapped. The climate is very continental, so vines are planted far apart and grow close to the ground, with the leafy canopy providing protection for the fruit.
My first memorable experience of a La Mancha wine was at a trade wine tasting last year, and it was the Legado Muñoz Garnacha that had me reminiscing. It’s not a complicated wine. It’s easy drinking, and a superb food wine with easily dissect-able aromas and flavours that linger on and on. I’m quite a big fan of American Oak since trying this wine, for its unique vanilla and coffee flavours it imparts into the wine.
It’s a great place to start if you’re looking to branch out into Spanish wine or Garnacha, and even if you’re not, is it going to disappoint you’re experienced and sophisticated palate? I think not.
Click here to view Legado Muñoz Garnacha and Tempranillo
