Tag Archives: Tempranillo wines

beverages, Chicago food and drink, Spanish wines, Spanish wines

Spain’s Castillo y León vineyards present fine wines

The winemakers of Castilla y León came calling on Chicagoland trade and media members recently. And  some of their vintages were so lovely! After an informative master class and tasting, the Blackstone Hotel hosted 25 tables of beautiful wines – whites, rosés, and reds in multiples of pure single grape wines and lovely blends that thrilled taste buds and made mouths water. I’ll just focus on two whose wines were among the highest among my quick rankings.

Camino Pardo, Director General of NexusFrontaura

Ms. Camino Pardo, both knowledgeable and beautiful, presented a few of her wines. She is the Director General of a project created as a partnership of two wineries, Frontaura in Toro and Nexus in Pesquera de Duero. The project focuses on the production and trading of high-quality wines with the prestigious Appellations of Origin Ribera del Duero, and Toro.

Both these wineries grow the grape varieties known for each area – Tempranillo, Tinta de Toro, and Tempranillo, Tinta Fina. And just wait until you taste these elegant, sensual wines. They are made with care to showcase their terroir and to display the kind of subtle harmony that makes tasting them remain a lingering memory.
Vineyards of NexusFrontaura

Case in point, I still recall my first taste that day of Nexus One, D.O. Ribera del Duero, 2021, Red (100% Tempranillo). The color, deep and inviting. I immediately ranked it 5 stars. The wine has not yet been priced for retail,  but I promise you, this one is worth watching.

The other two wines she was sampling included Nexus Crianza, D.O. Ribera del Duero, 2019 Red (100% Tempranillo). SRP-$39.90. And Frontaura Crianza D.O. Toro 2018 Red (Tempranillo 100%). Lovely specimens, both. Look for more of their wines on the international market under the registered trademarks Dominio de Valdelacasa, Frontaura, and Aponte. And if you visit, you can stay in their fine Nexus hotel to maximize your time there. Visit their online home at bodegasnexusfrontaura.com. You’ll feel their passion for honoring nature in their work.

And then there were the wines being sampled by Dominio del Bienamado (I looked up the translation: “domain of the beloved”). Their one white and two red wines all got 5 stars from me, both in the master class and at the general tasting. Think old vines, growing Malvasia Castellana, Verdejo, Tinta de Toro (Tempranillo), and Garnacha grapes, in beautiful vineyards surrounded by Santa Ana pine forests. I want to go, right now! They have a website dominiodelbienamado.com but it seems you can’t get into it unless you have a password or if you are a vendor and sign up with your email. But you can seek information from David Pastor Rodriguez at this email: info@dominiodelbienamado.com.

The three wines Dominio del Bienamado were sampling at this event were all stunners, none of which yet have a retail price:

Caray Billon, D.O Toro, 2022 White (100% Verdejo) – 5 stars
Caray VS, D.O. Toro, 2021 Red (100% Tempranillo) – 5 stars
Lucas Pastor, D.O. Toro, 2022 Red (100% Tempranillo) – 5 stars
The many other vineyards represented included these (among others):
The charming vintage typewriter that Blackstone Hotel guests are invited to use to send notes to loved one.
The host venue was the Michigan Avenue landmark Blackstone Hotel. During the tasting their catering folks provided a small sampling of iconic Spanish tastes like Jamón ibérico (thinly sliced aged ham) .  Delicious with the wines. And you can just sit and enjoy the beauty of the hotel lobby anytime!
beverages, red wine, Spanish wines, wine

Fernández Family El Vinculo wines are all about quality

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Some Italian, South American and Spanish wine makers of old focused their attention on producing the most possible wine to sell – because the citizens of their countries loved wine and consumed it in large quantities as part of their everyday routines. These days, many of those same wineries have gone completely over to focusing on  high quality fine wines. The El Vinculo estate winery in Spain is one such vineyard.

The Fernández family is passionate about creating a legacy that reclaims the quality inherent in the heritage of D.O. LaMancha, despite the years during which quantity goals overshadowed quality. They make wines that call upon your highest spirit to appreciate them in full. Founding father Alejandro makes sure all the wines he produces at El Vinculo – ever since the estate began in 1999 – are unique in quality and class. He leases from selected growers of grape varieties that are indigenous to the terroirs of La Mancha. Below are brief descriptions of a few examples of wines produced to his rigorous standards.

2014 El Vinculo Alejairen
2014 El Vinculo Alejairen

El Vinculo Alejairen 2015 DO La Mancha. Made with 100% Airen and the only white wine made by the Fernandez family. This golden white wine has the subtleties and layers of flavor we ususally associate with a culinary masterpiece – yes, it’s so rich and full that it tastes almost like food. Look for rich, unctuous flavors of ripe apricot, brioche honeycomb, creme brulee and soft white flower notes in both the nose and the palate.

El Vinculo 2013 Crianza D.O. LaMancha. 100% Tempranillo. This uniquely intense wine boasts savory notes of spice and smoke along with plum and violet in the nose. Be aware of rich notes of ripe plums, toasted wood, fresh tobacco, barbeque spice and vanilla liquor – earthy and complex, with well-defined tannins and a persistent finish. Potent flavors and good acidity yield to cool sensations on the tongue.

2015 Condado de Haza Crianza
2015 Condado de Haza Crianza

Condado de Haza 2015 Crianza, D.O. Ribera del Duero. 100% estate-owned Tempranillo. Enjoy the intense balsamic and ripe fruit aromas as they morph into undertones of sweet spice that develop from the wine’s extended aging in neutral American oak. It is fresh but also fleshy, with round tannins and beautiful balance that lead to a very long finish.The weather this vintage produced superb quality in the grapes.

2014 Tinto Pesquera Crianza
2014 Tinto Pesquera Crianza

Tinto Pesquera 2014 Crianza, D.O. Ribera del Duero. 100% estate-owned Tempranillo. Burgundy in color with a soft fuchsia rim, this soft, elegant wine offers aromas of red fruit, candied apples, vanilla and nutmeg. It’s silky on the mid-palate with its well-rounded tannins and satisfies the most demanding palates with its long velvety finish. Enjoy it now, or lay it down to for up to several years.