Phil Lo - Rioja Spain wine tour with VINfluence
In October, Goretti and I went on a tour in Spain. We first spent three days in San Sebastian in the Basque country of Spain by ourselves. San Sebastian is known for it being one of the gourmet centres in Spain with the highest number of Michelin-starred restaurants per capita in Spain. It, being in Basque, is also well known for its pintxos (pintxos, pronounced as “pin-chos”, is the Basque interpretation of Spanish tapas). We enjoyed the first night there hopping pintxos bars. San Sebastian is also known for its long beach of white sands. If you go, make sure you research and book the restaurants you wished to eat at online before leaving. We were quite disappointed not being able to have dinner at any of the Michelin-star restaurants. The best we could get was lunch at one of the Michelin-mentioned restaurants, even that we had to make reservation the day before. But it was a very nice experience. Even the non-starred restaurant we had dinner at (recommended by the hotel staff we were staying) was still very nice indeed. After three days we took the train to Bilbao and joined up with the VINfluence group for a seven-day wine tour of Bilbao and Rioja.
VINfluence is a company runs by the husband-and-wife team of Brien and Peggy Perry. Many of you may remember Peggy as the lady who ran Willow Park Wine and Spirit here in Calgary until she retired a couple of years ago. With Peggy’s knowledge and experience in the wine trade, our tour was indeed very enjoyable. We learned a lot about Rioja wines. We visited ten wineries and tasted over 40 wines in the five days in Rioja. Not only were the wine tasting an amazing experience, the food we had during the seven days was also very memorable. We had a cooking demo/dinner at a Michelin-mentioned restaurant one night and lunch at a Michelin one-star restaurant another day with 12 courses and paired with wines at every course. All I can say is, we were very well taken care of by Peggy and Brien.
If you are interested in any of the VinFluence tours, visit their website at vinfluence.com or contact Peggy at peggyperry@icloud.com. In 2024, she is planning another Rioja tour, a Bordeaux tour and a Northern Italy tour. The cost of our Rioja tour was quite reasonable and worked out to about $720 CAD per person per day, including all hotel accommodation, breakfast, lunch, dinners and wine tastings and all transportation in Bilbao and Rioja. You just need to add airfare to the trip yourself.
After the VINfluence tour, Goretti and I left and took a train from Logrono to Seville and spent 3 days each in Seville and Madrid before returning home. The following is a quick summary of some of the wine tastings and food experience to vet your appetite and curiosity. I am not going into my tasting notes of every winery and restaurant, just the more memorable ones.
Day 2, October 14, 2023
Peggy warmed up the group with 3 nice wines in a private tasting/introduction to Rioja wines
White: 2021 Vivanco white Rioja, a blend of Viura, Tempranillo Blanco and Maturana. Pale yellow, almost white colour, nose of green apple, lemon and fruity, good acidity, nice mouthfeel and a nice long finish.
First red: 2020 Beronia Crianza. 100% Tempranillo. Cherry garnet colour. Floral nose with herbal tones, plums, clove and black fruit, pepper and spices. Soft but still firm tannins. Medium finish.
Second red: 2019 Marquis de Riscal Reserva. Dark garnet colour. Supple nose of black fruit, mushrooms and soya sauce. Soft tannins, nice round mouthfeel and a medium long finish.Dinner/cooking demo: Los Fueros, a Michelin-mentioned restaurant.
Day 4, October 16, 2023 Luncch and tasting at contino Winery
First red served at lunch: 2019 Rioja Reserva. 100% Tempranillo. Dark garnet colour. Nose of red and black fruit, blue berry, and vanilla. Firm tannins, good round mouthfeel with a long finish. Very nice.
Second red served at lunch at Contino.: 2015 Seleccion del Enologe. Rioja. A blend of Tempranillo, Garnacha, Graciano, and Marzuelo. Dark garnet colour, almost inky. Very attractive nose of plums, currant, black fruit including blueberry, mushrooms and vanilla. Soft tannins, nice round mouthfeel. Long finish.
Day 5, October 17, 2023 Tasting at Marquis del Riscal
2017 XR Reserva: 95% Tempranillo. Dark garnet colour. Nose of leather, vanilla, blueberry, spices and smoky cedar. Soft tannins. Nice long finish.
2018 Baron de Chirel, Rioja. Blend of 68% Tempranillo. Dark garnet colour. Nose of chocolate, cigar, mushrooms, spices, dusty floral. Soft silky tannins with a nice long finish.
Day 6, October 18, 2023 - Tasting at Marquis de Murrieta
2020 Pazo Barrantes: This is a white with 100% Albarino. This wine totally changes my impression of Spanish whites. However, this wine is not a Rioja. It is from Rias Baixas, an area close to Portugal, in western Spain. Pale yellow, almost white in colour. Very aromatic nose, with lemon, nutty almond, stone fruit, peaches, pears with a hint of apricot in the back. Nice acidity, floral tones on the palate, medium body and a nice finish. The nose did not fade after a good 15 minutes. Very nice.
2018 Marquis de Murrieta Reserva Finca Ygay: Ruby red garnet colour. Nose of spices, red cherry, red berries. Round mouthfeel, floral tones on the palate. Soft tannins, a long well-balanced finish. A very traditional Rioja. The wine still improving when tasted again after 30 minutes.
2015 Marquis de Murrieta Gran Reserva: Red garnet colour. Nose of leather, black and red fruit, cedar, mushrooms, spices and vanilla. Soft and yet still firm tannins. Long finish.
2011 Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especiale Cosecha. Inky dark garnet colour. Nose of black fruit attack. Black cherry, black currant, blueberry, leather, spices, cinnamon, and vanilla. Totally amazing nose. Silky soft tannins, nice acidity, round and well-balanced on the palate. A long, long finish. The wine is still very fresh for its age. It will still age gracefully for many more years in the cellar.
Lunch at Ajo Negro, a Mechlin one-star restaurant. 12- course lunch with wine pairing. We ate from about 2 pm to almost six when we left the restaurant.
Day 7, October 19, 2023
Manzanos Winery. This is almost like a museum as the winery is reputed to have the oldest wine cellar in Rioja. The tasting was also quite nice.
Some but not all of these wines are available in Calgary.
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