Coming Soon

Those of you who know me well will be aware of my love for all things Spanish. This passion for their food and wine is shared with an old  colleague, Steve Day, who has one of the best palates I have come across during my time in the wine trade. Steve’s aim has always been to find a great Rioja house that made a statement of quality that would make Spanish wine aficionados sit up and take note. Not an easy task, bearing in mind how popular and well distributed the greater wines of this region are.

In Bodegas Martinez Lacuesta he has found a jewel in the Spanish crown. Established in Haro in 1895, Bodegas Martinez Lacuesta is one of the most respected names in the region with a colourful history inexorably linked with the foundations of the local wine laws. Its wines ave been exported to North and South America for over 100 years. As to why they are not better known on our shores remains a mystery to me. As soon as I tasted the first couple of wines in the range I new these were for you; full of class, beautifully made expressions of the local grapes and terroir,and with that elegance through the range that excites.

We are lucky enough to be allowed to promote these wines and after allowing one customer to sample the merest dreg left behind in the bottle by Steve, my first order was secured, a case of one of their top wine “Ventilla 71″ ( named after the street the original Bodega was built on) a real bargain at £19.99 bottle. It shows a cherry garnet rim, sweet spices, creamy oak, ripe full fruit expression, powerful, fleshy, spicy with beautifully balanced round tannins. I know that we can not all reach the top of the tree, but the other less expensive wines in the range will not dissapoint. Why not pop in and try them for yourself, like I need an excuse to open some?