2020 Wander + Ivy Utiel-Requena Red Wine Blend, Spain, Wine Review

This comes in attractive packaging. A 187ml glass bottle with screw top and plastic stopper. The wine itself is from Spain. Deep ruby in color, mostly clear and bright. The nose is dusty with cherries. Medium bodied. Nice texture. Firm tannins. On the palate, cherries although a bit clipped on the finish. Also some Kirsch notes. This is a fun idea for a "single serving" for $7 or $8. Drink over the next year. A nice wine with pizza or a picnic.

Grade:

Score:

Vintage:

2020

Current Price:

$7.00USD

Top 30 Spanish Whites (and Light Sherries) to Try Before you Quit Drinking

In my previous article, I discussed the Top 20 Spanish Reds to Try Before You Quit Drinking . This time, the focus is on Spanish whites and light Sherries. What a task! I had to expand the list just to fit in more of the awesome white wines of Spain—there really are too many to choose from! As with the red wines of Spain, the quality of the whites is always increasing. There are more styles of wine than ever being produced (oaked Albariños meant to be aged, unfiltered Sherries released “en rama”), and some of Spain’s top winemakers are bringing the focus to indigenous varieties like Godello and Hondarrabi Zuri. Spain is famous for its Sherry, but with the quality level of these wines and their reasonable price tags (the majority of the wines on my list could be enjoyed during a causal lunch), fortified won’t be the only style buzzed about for long.

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Top 20 Spanish Red Wines to Try Before You Quit Drinking

Spain is like the wild, wild west when it comes to wine. Unlike France, where individual plots of land have been set aside for centuries as the best spots for winemaking, producers in Spain are still out searching for new terroirs, new regions and new (old) indigenous grape varieties that have been pushed aside in favor of commercial winemaking. In the 1970s, Spain’s winemaking reputation was for poor-quality bulk wine. Today, regions like Priorat, Montsant and Mallorca are eclipsing the better-known regions of Rioja and Ribera del Duero.

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Rhone Valley & Spanish Rhone-style Wines Tasted at the 2008 Hospice du Rhone Events

The Rhone Report: About Rhone and Rhone-Style Wines and Winemakers is part of an ongoing series. Last month we reported on American Rhone-style wines we tasted at the 16th annual Hospice du Rhone events in Paso Robles, California from May 1 to 3, 2008. We noted that this event was an opportunity to consider Rhone-style wines from a fresh perspective because, unlike most tasting opportunities, these events included Rhone-style wines from the Rhone Valley itself (51 wineries), elsewhere in France (4 wineries) as well as from Spain (4 wineries), Australia (17 wineries), South Africa (6 wineries), Chile (2 wineries), Argentina (1 winery) and the United States. While this was a California-dominated event, and while many of the Rhone Valley’s best producers weren’t represented, there was still sufficient European and other entries to make for interesting comparisons and contrasts.

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2018 Bodegas Arraez Utiel-Requena Vividor, Spain, Valencia, Wine Review

Vintage:

2018

Score:

Grade:

A-

Current Price:

$13.00USD

From the Utiel-Requena region of northwest Spain and made from 100% Bobal grapes. This is an excellent value red. Ruby in color. The nose is tight at first but opens with air to show dust and cherries. On the palate, this has light tannins. Nice cherry fruit. Some black cherry fruit and a bit of earthiness. Slight depth. OK acidity. This should certainly last another five years and it may get better. It works better with food.

Top Spanish Red Wines

Spain has more area under vine cultivation than any other country in the world, according to Wines From Spain. While much of Spain's wine production remains in-country, Spain exports wines to many other nations, including the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States. Russia and Italy are importing more Spanish wines than ever before.

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2020 Wander + Ivy Utiel-Requena Red Wine Blend, Spain, Wine Review

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Rhone Valley & Spanish Rhone-style Wines Tasted at the 2008 Hospice du Rhone Events

2018 Bodegas Arraez Utiel-Requena Vividor, Spain, Valencia, Wine Review

Top Spanish Red Wines