La Rocas From Spain

From all indications, Spain should be in the same class as France as a leader in the world of wines. It was only recently however that Spain achieved the prominence long denied them.

The almost total destruction of the vineyards of France in the 1860’s by a small bug called Philloxera, resulted in the migration of many French winemakers and grape growers to Spain where they began to make wine by applying their traditional French winemaking techniques to the local fruit. Unfortunately, they failed at it miserably. The indigenous Spanish grapes for some reason did not respond to the hand of the French winemaker.
It took until the 1960’s for the Spanish to adopt the modern techniques of winemaking and doing so dramatically changed the Spanish winemaking and grape growing techniques forever. It did not take long until the Spanish winemakers began to produce very respectable world class, wines from their formally underrated indigenous grapes.

One producer that has carried the production of wines from the traditional grapes of Spain to its apex is La Rocas; translation, The Rocks. Named after the very rocky soil of the Calatayud region in northwestern Spain where the indigenous garnacha grapes, also known as grenache, thrive. The rocky soil there offers excellent drainage and encourages the growth of deep roots which helps to impart additional flavor to the grapes as well as adding a very interesting and enjoyable mineral element to their wines.

2009 La Rocas Garnacha ($14). Springtime ushers in the time for Spanish delicacies such as Tapas and paellabeand the perfect accompaniment for them is a true Spanish wine made from the garnacha of which the 2009 La Rocas Garnacha is a perfect example. The aroma stresses cherries and cranberries, black pepper, menthol, and licorice while the flavors tend toward the typically currant, cherry, and raisin, and This very well made wine also has a long and complex finish. This wine will be a sure hit when served with almost any Spanish fare.

La Roca Red Blend ($14). The winemakers have blended a truly Spanish fruit basket of garnacha, tempranillo and syrah into a really fine wine. Starting with garnacha (what else would you expect from Argentinean winemakers) they created a new wine as indicative of the Spanish character as flamenco dancers and castanets. This new wine is a blend combining garnacha with tempranillo and syrah. The tempranillo is most definitely Spanish while the syrah has found a new homes in the hills of Spain. The combination of these grapes resulted in a delightful, full flavored wine that has a good bit of character. The aroma displays dark red summer fruits, vanilla and spice. The flavor is a kaleidoscope of all of the red fruits you can imagine with cherries and plum being the most obvious. These flavors carry through to the long and intensely fruity finish. The wine is very soft and easy to enjoy and pairs with many of our modern meat and poultry dishes. This variety can prove to be an excellent choice when one tires of the “usual” fare and offers a chance to delve into the world of insightful blending.

La Rocas Garnacha Viñas Viejas ($20). The fruit for the 2009 La Rocas Garnacha Viñas Viejas come from mountain grown vines that are between 60 and 100 years old and both these factors, the age of the vines and the attitude of the vineyard herald a spectacular wine; and it is. This is a wine that has the feel of silk about it and displays a kaleidoscope aroma of cherry raspberry, red currant and cassis and a background of soft oak and a hint of cinnamon, nutmeg and black pepper. The flavor is massive, stressing pomegranates and red currants with dark fruit and cocoa background and, of course, oak all of which carry over to an extraordinary long and complex finish of fruit and spice. We can sum up our review of this wine in one word, WOW!