Spain In the 21st Century

WINE ESPECTATOR - Good vintages and talented vintners bring Spain into a new era of quality.

Spanish winemakers have enjoyed a fine run of vintages to open the 21st century, and wine drinkers are reaping the bounty. Overall quality in the country is up, prices seem to have stabilized, and the range of flavors and styles continues to expand. In other words, this is a great time to explore these distinctive wines.

Spain’s many wine regions differ widely in topography and climate, and so generalizing about vintage character is risky. Nevertheless, it can be said that every vintage since 2000 has been very good to outstanding for red wines. Even 2002, the weakest vintage of this century so far, produced many fine wines, especially in Priorat. And despite scorching heat in 2003, both Priorat and Ribera del Duero excelled. The 2001 vintage is strong across most of the country, and early indications are that 2004 and 2005 will also prove successful. (For a complete vintage chart of Spain’s major regions, see page 114.)

Since our last report on the country (”Spain on Track,” Dec. 15, 2005), I have blind-tasted more than 725 Spanish wines in our New York office. Nearly 15 percent of them scored outstanding (90 points or higher on the Wine Spectator 100-point scale) and more than 40 percent scored very good (85 to 89 points). At the highest level, five wines earned classic ratings (95 points or higher), all of them reds from established regions. Most are also familiar names: the 2003 bottlings of the Numanthia and the Termanthia from Numanthia-Termes, the producer that largely put Toro on the wine map; the 2004 Laurel Priorat; and the Bodegas Hnos. Sastre Pesus and the Bodegas Emilio Moro Malleolus de Sanchomartin, both from 2003, testifying to the success of that vintage in Ribera del Duero.

Though Rioja didn’t deliver any classic wines in this report, I reviewed more than a dozen outstanding reds from Spain’s traditional leader. The best is the Bodegas LAN Edición Limitada 2003 (94 points, $45). This ripe, powerful red has been remarkably consistent … read more