Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

It’s that time of day again, during that time of week again! It’s time for the Weekly Publication of the Successful Navigation of Wine Degustation with the Carpe Vinum Newsletter and Tasting Announcement! This week we’re heading to a region steeped in many years rich in History: It’s Spain’s Old Castile! Of course, I’m no History buff, so if you want the History of the region, check Wikipedia. If you want a correct History of the region, read a book, perhaps. If you want information regarding the wines of the region, free and clear of all that boring, old Historic stuff, then by all means, read on!

The region that is considered the Old Castile is situated in the North-Central part of the country. To the west is our old friends Galicia, the region famous for the best white wines of Spain. To the North we’ve got the unique Basque regions, not-so-famous but also have some of the best white wines in Spain. To the East is the all-too-well-known region of Rioja and its next-door neighbor Navarra, the “Jan Brady” to Rioja. To the South we’ve got Madrid, the Spanish capital and gateway to what is generally regarded as “New” Castile, featuring the high-plateau regions of Vinos de Madrid and La Mancha. And to the SouthWest of Old Castile we’ve got Portugal, which is a totally different story, altogether.

So here we are in Old Castile, smack-dab in the middle of North-Central Spain. There are quite a few notable regions that make up the recognized wines of the area, and the natural progression of that should always start with the Ribera del Duero. This is the region that, a few years ago (“a few years” being about 20 years) Alejandro Fernandez proved that the wines from this region really could make a mark on the global wine map. Since then the region has exploded (figuratively) with wineries, and the prices of the best wines of the region have shot through the roof (also figuratively). Still, a constant flow of new producers rather guarantees quite a few wines within the affordable range.

At this point, the second-in-command for the red wines of the region is the region of Toro (and could be considered the “Jan Brady” to Ribera del Duero). The wines of Toro have historically been of questionable quality, but as I’m not much of a History buff, I’ve never seen it that way. There are a few I’ve had that could be considered “quite rustic” . . . by which I mean in a “good and drinkable, yet sturdy” way, not in a “did you get the number off that truck” kind of way. With that in mind, it seems Toro is currently going through greater lengths to improve their wines and shake that Historical reputation more-so than any other of the Spanish regions, And the results are impressive.

The third of the notable regions is Bierzo. It’s always been confusing to me that Bierzo is considered part of Old Castile, considering that on the map it looks like it’s more of a part of the Galicia. Perhaps it’s something on the ground level that I don’t see, like a giant canyon or a ten-foot-high fence or a giant strip-mall, or something. The wines don’t match the wines of Galicia, but yet they don’t really match the Castilian wines either. Most of the wines of Castile, including Toro and Ribera del Duero, are Tempranillo-based, while Bierzo has the Mencia grape. The Mencia is apparently used in red wines in Galicia, but as I’ve never seen a Galician red wine, I’ll jump to the conclusion that they don’t really exist. Which makes the wines of Bierzo even more unique.

And really, those are just three of the certified red-grape-growing regions in the Old Castile. There is also the white wine region of Rueda and the pink wine region of Cigales, neither of which I feel fits into the cold of winter. Outside of those areas the wines are classified as Castile y Leon or one of the numerous Vinos de la Tierra regions. (Technically “table wine”). These wines don’t lack in quality at all. Many can compete with the Ribera del Dueros or the Toros, but the regions just haven’t been upgraded by the wine laws yet.

So here’s a selection from around Old Castile, prominently featuring three wines from of one of my favorites regions in the world, the Ribera del Duero! And, of course that’s including the wine that kicked off the whole revolution, Alejandro Fernandez’s Pesquera! Also, I’d like to apologize to the Castilians for misspelling the name of the region for the last 5 years. It’s not “Castille” with the “double-L” like I had thought, and I just discovered that today with a better spellchecker than the one I had been using. And I’d been wrong all along. Thanks a lot for telling me, guys. I mean, really.

So Friday, November 30th, between 4:30 and 9:00 PM it’s:

Old Castile!!!
Protos 2005 Tinto, Ribera del Duero
Bodegas Leda 2004 Mas de Leda, Castille y Leon
Vinas del Cenit 2004 Venta Mazzaron, Zamora
Liberalia 2005 Tinto Tres, Toro
Dominio de Tares 2005 Mencia Baltos, Bierzo

Right Next to the New Castile!!!
Emilio Moro 2004 Tinto, Ribera del Duero
Alejandro Fernandez 2004 Pesquera, Ribera del Duero

A stellar deal at $10 for the First 5, $6 for the Extra 2 Premium Pours.

Hope to see you here!

Seize the Wine!

Next Friday tasting is Sangiovese!

M