Winemaker Notes
Deep amber, golden color. Full of intense ripe fruit aromatics complemented by honey and jasmine. An unctuous, opulent youth feel balanced out by bright acidity.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Lastly, the 2019 Viñas Viejas #3 comes from two single vineyards from vines planted in 1902 and 1908, aged in 600-liter French oak barrels. Its medium-gold hue is followed by a ripe, powerful nose of caramelized orange, apricots, white chocolate, white raisins, and spicy brioche-like nuances. It's beautifully balanced, full-bodied, has bright acidity, and a thrilling finish.
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Vinous
The 2019 Selección Especial Nº3 Viñas Viejas is sourced from Alta Axarquía in Málaga, an area with a long heritage of crafting wines with raisins. Truly a Moscatel nectar, it underwent 20 months of aging in 600-liter barrels on the lees. Amber in hue, the aromas feature dried peach and medlar notes, along with honey, dates and a faintly herbal backdrop. Deeply sweet and intensely refreshing, it offers a high-pitched balance that persists on the palate. This is a tour de force in the realm of sweet wines.
Apart from the classics, we find many regional gems of different styles.
Late harvest wines are probably the easiest to understand. Grapes are picked so late that the sugars build up and residual sugar remains after the fermentation process. Ice wine, a style founded in Germany and there referred to as eiswein, is an extreme late harvest wine, produced from grapes frozen on the vine, and pressed while still frozen, resulting in a higher concentration of sugar. It is becoming a specialty of Canada as well, where it takes on the English name of ice wine.
Vin Santo, literally “holy wine,” is a Tuscan sweet wine made from drying the local white grapes Trebbiano Toscano and Malvasia in the winery and not pressing until somewhere between November and March.
Rutherglen is an historic wine region in northeast Victoria, Australia, famous for its fortified Topaque and Muscat with complex tawny characteristics.
Known for bold reds, crisp whites, easy-drinking rosés, distinctive sparkling, and fortified wines, Spain has embraced international varieties and wine styles while continuing to place primary emphasis on its own native grapes. Though the country’s climate is diverse, it is generally hot and dry. In the center of the country lies a vast, arid plateau known as the Meseta Central, characterized by extremely hot summers and frequent drought.
Rioja is Spain’s best-known region, where earthy, age-worthy Spanish reds are made from Tempranillo and Garnacha (Grenache). Rioja also produces rich, nutty whites from the local Viura grape.
Ribera del Duero is gaining ground for Spanish wines with its single varietal Tempranillo wines, recognized for their concentration of fruit and opulence. Priorat, a sub-region of Catalonia, specializes in bold, full-bodied Spanish red wine blends of Garnacha (Grenache), Cariñena (Carignan), and often Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. Catalonia is also home to Cava, a Spanish sparkling wine made in the traditional method but from indigenous varieties. In the cool, damp northwest Spanish wine region of Galicia, refreshing Spanish white Albariño and Verdejo dominate.
Sherry, Spain’s famous fortified wine, is produced in a wide range of styles from dry to lusciously sweet at the country’s southern tip in Jerez.