Ramiro Ibáñez and the turning point.

Blas Ceron is one of my best friends, if not the best. He was also my mentor in all this wine stuff.
But we both always went beyond our passion for wine and that is the real reason for our friendship. What unites us is the "passion" and the world of wine may not be more than a good excuse.

I translate here the last reflection of him. I am not going to "decorate" it with photographs, because it is so intense and profound that I do not want to distract you with anything else.

If you are an expert amateur, you will be able to understand the depth and beauty of what my friend Blas says here... if you are not, I hope that you will at least be able to glimpse the essence... and the essence is what I have already told you: PASSION.

But it is not an adolescent passion and full of hormones, but reflective and from deep knowledge.

We both like Philosophy, History, Sociology, Psychology, Neurosciences... ultimately we are Humanists... passionate humanists.

enjoy!

Ramiro Ibáñez has been a turning point in the history of Sanlúcar and Jerez (Sherry) wine. This is not a joke; I am very serious. I am not referring to the inflection point as a mathematical or sociological concept, but as a wine concept, how a single person manages to change a reality that has been in force for decades, how in barely 10 years has he been able to make all of us great aficionados feel, think, and enjoy those wines of a very different way. Apart from great historical wines, from very old and extraordinary soleras that are the result of time, and from all the very mediocre wines that have abounded in recent decades, there is currently an important group of wineries whose wines breathe vitality, energy, humanity, closeness, pleasure, present…

How does this turning point occur? As it always does, with people who make it possible. The generator(s) of ideas is essential, very rare and emotionally very special people who can generate small ideas that over time become great transformations. Thanks also to the equally essential work of the connectors, those people who believe in these ideas and transmit them to many aficionados, who, in turn, must decide whether to continue comfortably with wines that they were already accustomed to, or start a search path towards new one’s ideas and emotions. It's like a fire, it starts, it spreads quickly, but we don't know when it ends.

Sometimes ideas are so simple and so powerful that, with the right connectors, they become true successes, and only then can we speak of a turning point (yes, there are very, very brilliant ideas or wines that reach 100 times 100 Parker points but fail to be a turning point).

How I like the relationship between Ramiro Ibáñez and Willy Pérez. I am aware that in liking and in loving there are always many degrees, difficult to explain and quantify, but I admit that I feel absolute personal and professional admiration for both. Between them it is not just about a great friendship, what is important, is that on an intellectual level they complement each other, and together they achieve what any individual human mind would be unable to achieve. The ideas can be apparently simple, a return to tradition extolling the value of the land as the source of quality and character, but the discourse always must be very powerful. And in the speech the Ramiro-Willy tandem is essential, very possibly separately neither would have achieved the turning point of Jerez and Sanlúcar. At this point, analyzing other issues seems secondary, Sanlúcar and Jerez are very different, just as we can think that Ramiro and Willy are, but behind the appearance is the essence, and there the differences are minimal. Ramiro and Willy's relationship reminds me of the relationship I have had with Alberto Redrado over the last 25 years, they in the preparation and we in the marketing, with the same energy and passion, it being fair to recognize that they have generated that magical point of inflection of Sherry Wines, I congratulate you!

So far, we have only talked about theory, and I, as you know, love practice. I prefer practice, drink a wine, and then calmly see if we reach any conclusion or not. We often hear chefs and winemakers speak very well, and when we taste their food or their wines we are paralyzed, because sometimes handling words is easier than cooking pasta or making a sparkling wine. But of course, when we talk about someone who has been the turning point of current sherries, his wines are simply impressive, which does not mean that everyone enjoys it at first glance. He makes 8 wines in three ranges, and each one is a marvelous balance between tradition and innovation, between hedonism and pleasure.

Today I want to talk about Carrascal Las Vegas 2019 from the Ube range, a unique wine from a unique vineyard. It is the wine that I drank on Christmas Eve 2022. I pass on my appreciation that I conveyed to Ramiro. At 7:06 p.m. I wrote, “Good night and happy holidays. At home I am the only one who drinks wine, and for this reason I only drink a bottle, calm, without haste, until the last and minuscule step. Tonight, I really wanted this bottle, and I will enjoy it thinking of Sanlúcar and especially of you. A big hug". At 11:50 p.m. I already talked about the wine: “I have already finished the entire bottle, I wanted to leave two fingers for tomorrow, to see how it evolved, but I have not been able to. I have decided that the next day I should open a magnum to be more relaxed. I have drunk the entire bottle with amazing ease and pleasure. It is something extraordinary, how you can transmit so much complexity, saltiness, and flavor in such an elegant, fine, delicate and beautiful way. A wine that seems to fly, that jumps from neuron to neuron to. That is Sanlúcar, Jerez is something different. I had never felt this sensation. At the first moment I thought of you, in the vineyard, in the landscape, in the sea... I was very satisfied. Then I remembered, for the first time in 15/16 years, a Comte de Vogue Musigny 91 Magnum, how it slowly and infinitely surpassed an impressive Trapet Chambertin 90 Magnum. I perfectly remember those 2/3 hours with both wines in the glasses, how forceful lightness prevailed with great class over powerful intensity. Today Carrascal Las Vegas 2019 could have done the same with the best Jerez wines. It has impressed me. Later, with a little more time and less temperature, the wine reminded me of the great wines of the world: Montrachet, Kirchentuck, Clos St. Hune..., I felt that it started at its height, but ended up surpassing all of them. It moved me. Finally, the wine spoke of many more things, of our life, of happiness, an emotional state infinitely superior to pleasure. It makes me understand why I have dedicated so much of my life in the last 30 years to wine. I sincerely thank you that a bottle of wine can make me so happy. Thank you so much".

Agostado is the wine that should represent Jerez in a supposed interplanetary tasting. Gold for sure, there is no other option. Only comparable to Willy Pérez's Palma Cortado. Perruno, king grape and a bit of palomino, a prodigy of diversity and innovation, of the courage to dare to elaborate what no one dares. Vines over 100 years old that simultaneously convey inexhaustible youth and infinite complexity (how difficult it is to combine both) in each glass. In each sip you drink Trebujena, the Guadalquivir, Doñana and the Atlantic Ocean. A wine had never been made in Jerez that at 2/3 years old transmitted everything that this one transmits, sensations of which there were no records, since they are their own, in a completely decaffeinated version, and often without energy, of wines much older. The first contact is sensual, like no other Jerez wine has ever been, it catches you from the purity of the soil and the complexity of the grape, and you enter a new emotional stage for the first time in your life. It is the Jerez wine that best unites, indissolubly, the past, the present and the future. It is possibly the most surprising Jerez wine of the last 50/60 years.

Pandorga PX is a jewel that should never disappear, it should be protected, not by Heritage, but by all those sommeliers who enjoy wines with character. The worst thing about wine is its price, due to its quality and comparing it with its wines of a similar size (German TBA, Eszencia de Tokaj, Yquem…) it should be around €250/400 and since it only costs €27.85… pseudo-experts pay no attention to it. I am convinced that it is by far the least profitable wine from the Ramiro winery, you just must think about its microscopic yields to understand it. But what is the wine like? One of those few wines that surpasses man in longevity, and that each sip, however small, entails a mental cataclysm of challenging and intense emotions that have no end, surpassing in most cases the intellectual capacity of the person who drinks it. Great experts and dear friends, what an injustice you commit when you drink hundreds of Champagnes and hundreds of Burgundy every year and sadly you don't even know this wine. And acidity junkies, when you get over the disease it's time to start with great wines of a universal character. I love that it makes us consider that mental debate between pleasure and hedonism and realize that we should not choose, its vicious part is as surprising as its intellectual part is attractive. It is one of the only wines in the world whose finish is measured by minutes instead of seconds. It is one of those few wines that always remains intact in our memory.

Blas Ceron.

OJUEL, between the old rockers and the young sommeliers

 

This is the reason why he is my best friend, my teacher, and my mentor.

 

The reason is twofold: deep knowledge and passion ... when those two things come together ... my friend appears ... and I appear (humbly).

 

I translate the last reflection of him, deep, intelligent, and passionate, as always. It is to read slowly, that is, at the real pace of things, not what we are used to today, gobbling up trash incessantly and with maximum speed and haste. No, it is the opposite, after each sentence, after each paragraph, there is a depth to reflect for a whole day.

 

He is talking about a winery that produces only 12,000 bottles, and whose prices range from Canadian $ 10 to $ 30 per bottle ... yet it seems he is talking about Romanée-Conti.

 

That is what I want to do in Okanagan ... that's why Okanagan is calling me intensely. That is what I know how to do and what I am passionate about doing.

 

I love this man.

 

I love wine world... the authentic wine world. It is a way of life itself.

 

 

OJUEL, between the old rockers and the young sommeliers

We like wine so much that sometimes we are not able to focus correctly on the wine objective.

In this tidal wave of continuous wine news and a pandemic-emotional crisis It is difficult to stop for a few minutes and think with a little calm. A few months ago, I read the comment of a good friend, and an excellent professional, in which he said about a good Rioja wine, probably from the 60-70s, that "the old rockers never die”, and I understood perfectly what he meant, but I am totally in disagreement.

Because old rockers like Mick Jagger or Bruce Springsteen keep fully operational, defending, as they have always done, their music, and are worthy of praise. However, all these wineries that for decades made wines extraordinary well done, died placidly and consciously from the 70's in the hands of the industrialization and economic profitability. Many of these wineries can say one or a thousand times that they have returned to tradition, to do what they had always done, but with a little historical memory and critical spirit, it is clear it is only the attempt to return to the elite and fashion through social networks and image. But there is nothing else, it's impossible, I don't know it can be in mass and ringing, they are incompatible business concepts.

Luckily for all of us, coinciding with the qualitative decline and the absolute industrialization of many classic wineries, emerged little by little, between 1980 and 2000, a group of wineries that today are the absolute reference in the region. It was one more group numerous, but during the last 20 years quite a few have diminished, at the same time incorporated some.

Artadi, Pujanza and Abel Mendoza, in addition to extraordinary friends, are for us the top 3 of Rioja today. From its origin, and without interruption until today, they live by and to transmit in each wine all the character and quality of their vineyards, being faithful to their work and ideals throughout their lives, not yielding one iota before the attractive mercantile and media swings. They are to be commended, but above all I believe that they should be the reference for all young winegrowers who are starting with their projects. No wine region in the world is really great if there is no renovation, if there is no emerging values ​​that arrive with new ideas and that, after having traveled many other regions and countries, return or settle with the sole objective of developing the best wines.

This symbiosis, between those who are and those who arrive, is called friendship, respect, and healthy competition, and sadly does not occur in many other Spanish regions. Men and women who will magnify Rioja from other perspectives, going back to the origins, work the forgotten vineyards, to try to conquer the world. They are a new very powerful generation, which will be a fundamental part of the history of La Rioja in the coming decades.

We are speaking, among others of Carlos López Lacalle, Diego Magaña, Roberto Olivan, Sandra Bravo, Miguel Martínez, Eduardo Eguren, Javier Sanpedro, Bárbara Palacios, Jose Gil….

Today I want to tell you about Ojuel and Miguel Martínez. And I imagine that for several reasons. Logically it should not be just because Miguel is a good example for all those small and young winegrowers who have recently started their projects, and who in a few years will be a fundamental part of the new times in La Rioja. Not even because Miguel has as wine references to Roberto Olivan, from Tentenublo, and Abel Mendoza, who I think a great success for a fruitful evolution from now on. Not for the high scores obtained in 2019 with Tim Atkin, including Revelation Winery and Best Sweet Wine. Everyone these reasons, which are important, are not decisive for me, and possibly I need something else, finding the character of the producer and the vineyards.

Miguel is a young, shy and sensitive man. You just have to be a little observant and spend a few minutes with him. He transmits humility and a desire to work and make wines with character. Nothing to do with many other winemakers who from the first second believe the kings of mambo and that they make the best wines in the world, and in reality they are simply unbearable.

Born in Sojuela (hence Ojuel), Miguel's parents were they went to live in Logroño, and in the summer in which he finished his studies, Miguel decided work on a project to recover the rural environment, rebuilding the semi-ruined wells of snow that were in the surroundings of Sojuela. There he understood that he wanted to dedicate himself to cultivate the vineyards, many of them already abandoned, that he had seen so many times since he was a boy.

There was a tradition of making wine in Sojuela, but since the 80-90s it was barely produced enough for people to survive, and the only option was to go to the city. He had a great challenge ahead of him, a small project that which was born exclusively because passionate about it, relegating other issues to the background (industry analysis, competition, viability…).

Since 2010, when at the age of 25 he decided to make his first Supurao, and in 2013, that he first made three barrels of red wine, has always had the support of his mother, Mila, who takes care of the administration. Today in Ojuel, his winery, Miguel Martínez produces a total of 12,000 bottles among 15 different wines.

If Laguardia or San Vicente de la Sonsierra are to the North of the region, and Sierra Cantabria separates them from the Basque Country, Sojuela is only 40-50 km away, but to the South, in the Sierra de Moncalvillo, and the Iberian System separates it from the Meseta (Plateau).

We have been for more than 20 years working with different wineries, which are in different towns at the foot of Sierra Cantabria, undoubtedly the area of ​​greatest prestige and quality, but we did not know the aspect opposite. In Sojuela there is a higher altitude, the climate is colder, and in terms of varieties, although there is a little tempranillo, the majority is maturana, mazuelo and garnacha. We want to highlight their Maturana Tinta wines, because they are made with clones de Maturana authentic or real, today despised by the D.O., which is the same variety that the merenzao in Galicia, the bastard in Portugal, or the trousseau in the Jura, which produces wines of little color, delicate, fine, and aromatic, and that in old vineyards, with clones practically disappeared, they produce wines of great character and quality.

It was introduced in Spain through the Camino de Santiago, and it has been cultivated for many centuries. However, the DO. In 2009 authorized the Maturana variety, but not the authentic one, but another variety, which has nothing to do with it, since it is related to cabernet franc and cabernet sauvignon, which produces wines of excessive color, tannin and pyrazines, but with very little finesse, and that he called Maturana de Navarrete, whose origin is in 17 vines that a farmer brought in the early 2000s, from an indeterminate place and lineage from France.

Sadly the D.O. in 2009 he preferred to defend powerful and concentrated wines to fine and elegant ones, loading more than a century of history. A real botch as Víctor de la Serna already denounced at ELMundoVino in 2013.

All the vineyards are in the surroundings of Sojuela, and they tend to be bottled by separated to show the character of the different plots, although sometimes some are they intermingle, or even different wines can be made from the same plot. his agriculture is organic, using many preparations based on nettles, lavender and valerian, pruning and bottling according to the lunar and biodynamic calendar, with a very low footprint of carbon…, and, in short, without obsessions, the environment and the winemaking and aging process with minimal intervention.

All their wines have in common its labels, where some of the many species of butterflies are represented, of the area, where more than 70% of the species live and 50% of all the butterflies from Spain.

Marketing 12,000 bottles of 15 different wines is not easy, we have chosen to distribute in Murcia six wines, very different from each other, each one has its own story, and it is interesting to meet it.

Fuente León 2019 is one of the three white wines from Oxuel, made with 90% of white tempranillo and 10% white garnacha, from the La Tejera vineyard, 0.45 hectares at 800 meters high, planted in 2003 in a ferrous red clay soil. Leon Fountain is a fountain in the middle of Cañada Real Galiana, where sheep in transhumance stopped to drink before to begin the ascent towards the highlands of Soria. It is a fresh and clean wine, full of aromatic nuances, with hints of the fruits and flowers that mark this route of shepherds. Although we think that the white tempranillo does not reach the finesse and balance of the viura, perhaps more immediate, showing a more citric, greenish, jungle, minty, tropical, with nuances of grapefruit, spearmint ..., a very attractive wine in which the malolactic fermentation and has remained 6 months in stainless steel, stirring the lees twice a week, to find the right balance.

Granícula 2018 is a 100% Tempranillo made for the first time in 2018 as result of the complicated weather conditions, since during the summer there were several storms, and even, just before the start of the harvest, a great hailstorm, responsible for that in the same cluster there were rotten grains and healthy grains. Faced with this situation and taking as reference the extraordinary Grano a Grano elaborated by Abel Mendoza for more than 10 years, the grapes were selected using only those grains healthy, avoiding undesirable oxidation that would have adversely affected the quality of the final wine. A very slow and expensive task, essential to obtain a great wine in Sojuela in 2018. The vineyard is located 650 meters on a fresh, pebbled soil. The wine, which is aged for 6 months in barrels, is elegant, fine, and fresh. The production total is 500 bottles.

Salvaje 2 Maturana 2019. In Ojuel three Salvaje wines are made, of three varieties different (Garnacha, Maturana, and Tempranillo), and all of them have in common that, in addition to its organic viticulture, no type of additive or sulfur is added. Is what could be a good natural wine, but the terminology is sometimes so confusing that a a term as clear and powerful as Wild. At the foot of Cerro Cerrosojon there are several vineyards from different periods and varieties. One of those vines, of 0.6 hectares, was planted in the 40s, on a soil sandy, very fresh, and in addition to Maturana there are 11 other varieties, a real gem of the diversity. Some Maturana strains are chosen, which are harvested a little before the rest, to maintain freshness and acidity, and prevent the alcohol content from rising further. After six months in barrel, bottled in the spring of 2020, the wine has great character, a lot of energy, so much that it defines the wine much better than the individual analysis of its different parameters. A young wine of extraordinary quality, is it so difficult for us to understand that the quality of any wine is closely related to the quality of the grape?

Cerro Sojon 2016 is made with 60% Maturana and 40% mazuelo, from different and very small vineyards planted in glass between 1925 and 2005, of sand and song rolled, and relatively acidic. It is a wine with a marked Atlantic character, intense and deep, scented with plant species typical of Cerrosojon (scrubland, rockrose, resin, tulip, violet) A powerful and very mineral wine (notes of flint), tannic, even rustic, but refreshing by acidity. A great wine that evolves very well in the bottle, and undoubtedly we surprises. Only 1220 bottles of the extraordinary 2016 vintage are made.

La Espina 2016, 90% red garnacha and 10% white garnacha, is a tribute to the viticulture of the past. The vineyard, of 0.2 hectares at 700 meters of altitude, planted in 1930, on pebble ground and sand slabs, without access road, totally surrounded by holm oaks, holm oaks, thyme, lavender, sloe ..., a mountain landskype that today would not have meaning neither plant nor work. Once again, a very special, floral, balanced and refreshing wine, with very fine tannins, with notes of red cherry, citrus and pomegranates. And once again long journey, with very good evolution in the bottle (for this, the barrel aging was extended until January 18), but always maintaining that magical part, that difficult balance between the forcefulness and subtlety.

Supurao 2016 is a unique wine, which goes back in time to bring us closer to the aroma and the taste of the most artisan and delicate wine of the Riojan wine culture. It is the wine of winegrowers, which they kept for their own consumption and their celebrations. Sadly, this came It was disappearing over the years, drastically from the 70's with the industrialization of wineries, because it was simply unthinkable a wine whose final yield was only 18% while the usual in dry wines is 60-70%. After the harvest, the grape bunches (Tempranillo, Garnacha and Viura) were hung on the hangers, scaffold-like structures, with vertical and horizontal slats, in the chambers, rooms on the upper floors that were used to store food. After 3-4 months, well into winter, the partially dried bunches that have suppurating and concentrating the sugars, they are introduced into a vertical press, where obtains a very dense and aromatic juice, which ferments spontaneously in a very slow, stopping on its own, and leaving a significant amount of sugar in the wine finished. It is a naturally sweet wine. Its color is cherry red with a tile rim. Very subtle and complex nose, full of nuances to red and black fruits, flowers and wild herbs. On the palate it is liquorous and unctuous, but very balanced and pleasant, with rejuvenated notes of raisins, cherries, sour cherries ... Simply exquisite and unforgettable.

And finally, before proposing our offer, a brief reflection addressed to the esteemed young sommeliers. A good sommelier, regardless of biological age, must be emotionally young, that is, especially willing to pay attention and value, forgetting about prejudices, all those emerging projects that they still don't know about. And, of course we understand, how could it be otherwise, that every sommelier works and defends the wines that he deems appropriate.

However, my comment was a little further, to the commitment that all wine professionals must have, regardless of our individual tastes, to know and transmit, each according to his possibilities, the work and the wines of the new generations of winegrowers, who undoubtedly magnify the Spanish wine scene. And do not think that my approach is so innovative, it is simply what all wine professionals have been doing in France for the past 30-40 years where the little vignerons are so well known and respected like a great Bordeaux or Champagne cellar.

But this does not happen in Spain, unfortunately, and it is the explanation that I sell in my distributor 10 times more than a port or a basic sauternes than a Supurao. And this we have to change. I think it's good to talk now, you have to take action. I would like that know the Oxuel wines, how Miguel Martínez interprets the vineyards, the landscapes and the history of his town. They are not the best wines in the world, nor does he claim it, but they enrich our vision of La Rioja, Maturana, Supurao ..., besides being extremely pleasant to drink, they have great character and individuality. That is why we propose the six wines that we have chosen to distribute in Murcia.

What is knowledge? (English and Spanish)

 

I have been observing and learning for a while what this whole world created around “professional training” in the world of wine is about.

Entities like WSET, Somguild and others. Endless academies and courses on wine of all kinds. A real luck. When I started in this wine business there was hardly anything and nowadays the resources are vast. We could add the huge number of youtubers, themed television channels, magazines, influencers, opinion makers, wine-writers ... It is good news ... however ...

I've also been getting to know and learning about the "New World" for some time, a true stranger to me until now, although, paradoxically, the wine that lit the flame, the one that awakened this passion in me, the first "great bottle" that left me perplexed, it was a Ridge Montebello 97 Cabernet.

The other day I saw the documentary film SOMM1 and it made me think. I didn't like it at all, nothing, zero. Not so some of its sequels that I have liked a lot. It made me think about what knowledge is. Knowing which are the last six appellations in Romania and which grapes allow… is that knowledge?

As for the “New World”, there are two things, among many others, but there are two things that I really like a lot: one is freedom and the second is that they cannot stand arrogance. So I will try my best not to sound arrogant, because assertiveness is often confused with arrogance and they are different things.

I recently saw a magnificent webinar where Elaine Chukan interviewed Rajat Parr and he spent around an hour defending Syrah as an "infusion", in the purest Rhone North style, closer to the Pinot Noir concept than to the mature Cabernet concept. How he was progressing in implausible locations so far, just three miles from the Pacific coast, in northern California ... and it seemed very good to me although I cannot avoid critical thinking and suspect, only suspect, as one in a thousand possibilities , which is located in those areas because it cannot do it in others (how ill-thought I am sometimes!)… although that does not matter, besides being just a speculation. What matters is that he was a little arrogant and Elaine, after letting him speak for an hour, made it very clear at the end, very very clear and direct. Applause, Elaine.

In another extraordinary webinar, Elaine interviews Harlan's Cory Empting. It was wonderful to hear how they interpret that "terroir", without naming that word for more than an hour. Pure philosophy, serious and deep. Several interconnected generations in the search to "understand an area, a vineyard, a terroir" ... that is Chave, for 17 generations. That is the world of first division wine, NBA, SuperBall ...

In that webinar I saw how Elaine conveyed deep and genuine RESPECT. Respect never comes from "fear", but from admiration. Not so other times, with other supposed wine prescribers, some from British Columbia, that I see them “bow” when they are in front of a winery “with a lot of money”… and that, my friends… I don't like it. I don't like power games, or "vested interests" in this world of wine.

The wonderful Carole Meredith, with her lapidary phrases like: can there be a business with more nonsense than this ?, or this other: people new to the world of wine, somehow, they think they have to know everything about this matter before they can even enjoy wine, before they can even talk about wine… and that's a shame.

That woman is sorely missed ... and people like Harlan's, like Paul Draper, Chave and many others. Serious people.

Today there are a legion of people who know perfectly which are the last six approved appellations in Romania and, however, they do not have any criteria in this world of wine.

People who go in the direction set by trends and do not stop to think that, after a few years where over-maturity and over-elaboration in the winery were rewarded, now we go to the “crispy” world, as if that were the panacea world of all evils, forgetting that, in the South Rhone, for example, the wines are nice, round, sunny, overripe and delicious, without being anything “crisp” and in a totally natural way.

Today there is a legion of people who know by heart the best "scores" of the wines of the last ten vintages and fervently follow the latest "trends" in everything related to wine, but do not know that the latest " Revolution ”in Jerez, is recovering the ways of making wine from the 18th century.

I adore the “freedom” of the “New World”, although paradoxically that freedom is conspicuous by its absence in the marketing of wine… a legacy of “Prohibition” and, before that, of the collection of taxes.

I love the way the New World looks at itself in the mirror of the Old World, with respect and a certain “inferiority complex”, referring every ten minutes to the famous "Judgment of Paris of 76".

The day that I am interested in Romania, I will first collect critical information, then I will travel to Romania to visit a critical selection of producers, then I will taste fifty or one hundred wines from that selection and after that, without being at all interested in the " policy of those last six approved appellations ”, I will be able to define my“ own criteria ”about Romania and its wines, its philosophy, its essence and style, always provisionally and always without arrogance, but with passion and hunger for true“ knowledge ”... and I will try to understand those wines, those philosophies, those people and their concerns… I will try, above all, to ENJOY.

The same woman who denounces the fact that there is so much nonsense in the world of wine, also says how absurd and idiotic all that can result from the "blind tasting" ... not because it is not a healthy, enriching and interesting exercise on the world of wine , but by "how" they are used, especially in all those "training courses", as a competitive tool for "male alfha", as a feeder of "egos", when their vital function is the opposite, to keep the ego at bay.

Besides being one more learning instrument, partial, biased, not relevant, not important, but fun. She says that wine is all about its history, its location and all that information is necessary to have a complete experience ... which has nothing to do with tasting "suggested" by a label. Do not make the things a mess.

All my respect to Master Sommeliers, Master of Wine and everything else. What I do not respect is seeing a movie where they taste like machine guns, with a supposed "technique" that does not serve to understand absolutely anything and only the feathers are exhibited, like peacocks and where the trip is not enjoyed, but rather a destination.

I don't hear any of those “human machine guns” talk about which was that first big bottle that lit the flame in them, like Jancis Robinson did, naming a Vogue Amorouses 59, for example. I don't really see any "flame" in them, either on or off ... as I did not see in Rajar "passion" either, but an eagerness to prove that everyone in Napa had been "wrong" with Syrah, for the mere fact of that he had sprained an ankle riding on steep slopes in the Rhone (I don't remember if he or his partner Jordan Mackay… in their magnificent book Sommelier's Atlas of Taste say so, which I recommend).

Wine is culture, it is history, it is humanism ... and all that is much bigger than us, as individuals ... and these so-called "courses, thematic channels and titles", instead of promoting knowledge, are promoting the ego, exaltation of the "individual", but not the love of wine and all that it represents.

Mixing all that has been said so far with the Canadian character and climate change, it gives me great hopes for the future of this beautiful country, Canada, in the short and medium term, in the world of wine. I am sure that great and wonderful things await us, greater and more wonderful still than those that are already being done here today.

 

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¿qué es el conocimiento?

Llevo un tiempo observando y aprendiendo de qué va todo este mundo creado en torno a la “formación profesional” en el mundo del vino.

Entidades como WSET, Somguild y otras. Un sinfín de academias y cursos sobre el vino de todo tipo. Una verdadera suerte. Cuando yo empecé en esto del vino no existía apenas nada y hoy en día los recursos son muchísimos. Podríamos sumar la ingente cantidad de youtubers, los canales televisivos tematizados, revistas, influencers, creadores de opinión, wine-writers…Es una buena noticia… sin embargo…

También llevo un tiempo conociendo y aprendiendo sobre el “Nuevo Mundo”, un auténtico desconocido para mí hasta ahora, aunque, paradógicamente, el vino que encendió la llama, el que despertó en mí esta pasión, la primera “gran botella” que me dejó perplejo, fue un Ridge Montebello 97 Cabernet.

El otro día vi la película-documental SOMM1 y me hizo pensar. No me gustó en absoluto, nada, cero. No así alguna de sus secuelas que sí me han gustado bastante. Me hizo pensar sobre qué es el conocimiento. ¿Saber cuales son las últimas seis apelaciones en Rumanía y qué uvas permiten… es eso tener conocimiento?

En cuanto al “Nuevo Mundo”, hay dos cosas, entre otras muchas, pero hay dos cosas que realmente me gustan mucho: una es la libertad y la segunda es que no soportan la arrogancia. Así que me esforzaré en no parecer arrogante, porque muchas veces la asertividad se confunde con arrogancia y son cosas distintas.

Hace poco vi un magnífico webinar donde Elaine Chukan entrevistaba a Rajat Parr y este último estuvo en torno a una hora defendiendo la Syrah como una “infusión”, al más puro estilo Ródano Norte, más próxima al concepto Pinot Noir que al concepto Cabernet maduro y cómo él estaba progresando en emplazamientos inverosímiles hasta el momento, a solo tres millas de la costa del Pacífico, en el norte de California… y me pareció muy bien aunque no puedo evitar el pensamiento crítico y sospechar, solo sospechar, como una entre mil posibilidades, que se emplaza en esas zonas porque no puede hacerlo en otras (qué malpensado soy a veces!)… aunque eso no importa, además de ser solo una especulación. Lo que importa es que fue un poquito arrogante y Elaine, tras dejarlo hablar durante una hora, se lo dijo muy claro al final, muy muy claro y directo. Aplausos, Elaine.

En otro extraordinario webinar, Elaine entrevista a Cory Empting de Harlan. Fue maravilloso escuchar cómo interpretan ellos eso del “terroir”, sin nombrar durante más de una hora ni una sola vez esa palabra. Pura filosofía, de la seria y profunda. Varias generaciones interconectadas en la búsqueda de “entender una zona, un viñedo, un terroir”… eso es Chave, durante 17 generaciones. Eso es el mundo del vino de primera división, NBA, SuperBall…

En esa webinar vi cómo Elaine transmitía profundo y genuino RESPETO. El respeto nunca proviene del “miedo”, sino de la admiración. No así otras veces, con otros supuestos prescriptores del vino, algunos de British Columbia, que los veo hacer “reverencias” cuando están delante de una bodega “con mucho dinero”… y eso, amigos míos… no me gusta. No me gustan los juegos de poder, ni los “intereses creados” en este mundo del vino.

La maravillosa Carole Meredith, con sus frases lapidarias tipo: ¿puede haber un negocio con más tonterías que éste?, o esta otra: la gente nueva en el mundo del vino, de alguna forma, creen que tienen que saberlo todo acerca de este asunto antes siquiera de poder disfrutar del vino, antes incluso de poder hablar sobre vino… y es una lástima.

Esa mujer hace mucha falta… y gente como la de Harlan, como Paul Draper, Chave y otros tantos. Gente SERIA.

Hoy en día hay una legión de gente que conoce a la perfección cuales son las últimas seis apelaciones aprobadas en Rumanía y, sin embargo, no tienen ningún criterio en esto del vino. Gente que va en la dirección que marcan las tendencias y no se paran a pensar que, tras unos años donde se premiaba la sobre-madurez y la sobre-elaboración en bodega, ahora pasamos al mundo “crispy”, como si eso fuera la panacea mundial de todos los males, olvidando que, en el Ródano Sur, por ejemplo, los vinos son amables, redondos, soleados, sobremaduros y riquísimos, sin ser nada “crispys” y de forma totalmente natural.

Hoy en día hay una legión de gente que se sabe de memoria las mejores “puntuaciones” de los vinos de las últimas diez añadas y siguen con fervor las últimas “tendencias” en todo lo relacionado con el vino, pero no saben que la última “revolución” en Jerez, está siendo recuperar las formas de hacer el vino del siglo XVIII.

Adoro la “libertad” del “Nuevo Mundo”, aunque paradogicamente esa libertad brille por su ausencia en la comercialización del vino… una herencia de la “Prohibición” y, antes de eso, de la recaudación de impuestos.

Me encanta la forma que tiene el Nuevo Mundo de mirarse en el espejo del Viejo Mundo, con respeto y cierto “complejo de inferioridad”, haciendo referencia cada diez minutos al famoso “Juicio de París del 76”.

El día que yo me interese por Rumanía, recopilaré en primer lugar información crítica, después viajaré a Rumanía a visitar una selección crítica de elaboradores, después cataré cincuenta o cien vinos fruto de esa selección y después de eso, sin interesarme en absoluto por la “política de esas seis últimas apelaciones aprobadas”, podré definir mi “criterio propio” sobre Rumanía y sus vinos, su filosofía, su esencia y estilo, siempre de forma provisional y siempre sin arrogancia, sino con pasión y hambre de verdadero “conocimiento”… e intentaré entender esos vinos, esas filosofías, esas personas y sus preocupaciones… intentaré, por encima de todo, DISFRUTAR.

La misma mujer que denuncia el que hayan tantas tonterías en el mundo del vino, dice también lo absurdo e idiota que puede resultar todo eso de la “cata ciega”… no porque no sea un ejercicio sano, enriquecedor e interesante sobre el mundo del vino, sino por “cómo” se utilizan, especialmente en todos esos “cursos de formación”, como herramienta competitiva de “machos alfha”, como alimentador de “egos”, cuando su función vital es la contraria, mantener el ego a raya. Además de ser un instrumento más de aprendizaje, parcial, sesgado, no relevante, no importante, sino divertido. Ella dice que el vino es todo acerca de su historia, de su emplazamiento y toda esa información es necesaria para tener una experiencia completa… lo que no tiene nada que ver con catar “sugestionado” por una etiqueta. No saquemos las cosas de quicio.

Todo mi respeto hacia los Master Sommeliers, Master of Wine y todo lo demás. Lo que no respeto es ver una película donde catan como ametralladoras, con una supuesta “técnica” que no sirve para entender absolutamente nada y solo se exhiben las plumas, como los pavos reales y donde no se disfruta del viaje, sino que se busca un destino.

No escucho a ninguna de esas “ametralladoras humanas” hablar de cual fue esa primera gran botella que encendió en ellos la llama, como hizo Jancis Robinson nombrando un Amorouses 59 de Vogue, por ejemplo. Realmente no veo en ellos ninguna “llama”, ni encendida ni apagada… como no vi en Rajar “pasión” tampoco, sino un ansia de demostrar que todo el mundo en Napa se había “equivocado” con la Syrah, por el mero hecho de que él se hubiese torcido un tobillo cabalgando sobre escarpadas laderas en el Ródano (no recuerdo si él o su compañero Jordan Mackay… en su magnífico libro Sommelier’s Atlas of Taste lo dicen, libro que recomiendo).

El vino es cultura, es historia, es humanismo… y todo eso es mucho más grande que nosotros, como individuos… y estos supuestos “cursos, canales temáticos y títulos”, en lugar de promover el conocimiento, están promoviendo el ego, la exaltación del “individuo”, pero no el amor por el vino y todo lo que representa.

Mezclando todo lo dicho hasta aquí con el carácter canadiense y el cambio climático, hace que albergue grandes esperanzas en el futuro de este precioso país, Canadá, a corto y medio plazo, en el mundo del vino. Estoy seguro de que nos esperan grandes y maravillosas cosas, más grandes y más maravillosas todavía de las que ya, a día de hoy, se están haciendo aquí.