Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/326040
I n the Aragón province of Spain—northeast of Madrid and almost due west of Barcelona—sits Cariñena, a tiny, rugged, rocky area where winemakers first won awards in the 15th century from King Ferdinand I of Aragón, who issued a royal proclamation placing the wines of Cariñena on his preferred list of food and drink in 1415. Ever since, vintners there have been keeping their heads down and focused on remaining true to their style of making wines from old, gnarly vines of Garnacha. (Ironically, although the region gave its name to the Cariñena, or Carignan grape, it is now Garnacha that is the mainstay grape of the Cariñena D.O.P.) "They ignore the 'let's try all these new things' type of attitude," says Master Sommelier Andrea Robinson, who is a fan of the wines. The results are elegant wines that have a sense a place. Impressive Results When THE TASTING PANEL called on a local expert to help sample some at Boqueria, a tapas bar and restaurant in Manhattan, the results impressed. Our taster, Lisa Carley, a former brand ambassador for Rioja and now Manager of the West Village retailer Uncorked Wine Co., had often found Garnacha-based wines to be "jammy beyond belief" and "pretty mediocre." The variety has a reputa- tion as a grape that takes a long time to mature and produces red wines that are light in color and high in alcohol, but the wines from Cariñena changed that. "What I love about the Garnacha from Cariñena is I'm finding elegance and balance at an amazing value," says Carley, adding, "I think they do a beautiful interpretation of Garnacha." She compared them favorably to those from Priorat and Campo de Borja. The nine wines tasted, produced by three Cariñena coopera- tives—Bodegas Paniza, Bodegas San Valero and Grandes Vinos y Viñedos—topped out at no more than 13.5 percent alcohol, were medium-red in color and provided complexity not usually seen in wines that retail for less than $10 a bottle. "Under-promising and over-delivering in terms of both taste— there is a spicy, savory note that runs through the wines—and in price, they are the value-investor's choice," says Robinson. A significant portion are made from vines that are between 40- and 60-years-old, planted in deeply eroded and stony soil with little organic material and blasted by the cold, dry winds known as el cierzo. Some 1,300 to 2,600 feet above sea level means that the grapes grow on bush vines and hand-harvesting is routine. The region has a continental climate that means cold winters and long, hot dry summers. Old, gnarled Garnacha vines provide the fruit for most Cariñena reds. PHOTO: ICEX/JUAN MANUEL SANZ Cariñena is beginning to get on people's radar." —Chris Tanghe, MS june 2014 / the tasting panel / 73 TP0614_072-101.indd 73 5/23/14 9:37 PM