This week’s Sunday Read is a novelty. It is just one review, but this wine review has a couple of things that I want to share. First of all, it is written by Jancis Robinson, who I really like and who in my view is one of the most gifted wine writers out there.
Second, it is one of those many interesting wine stories out there, about a person following her dream, opening a winery in a remote area of Spain. I love those stories.
Third, the wine review is about a wine that I just had Friday night. I really enjoyed the wine a lot, but did not take any notes because it was during Nina’s birthday party which, since our time in Germany, has always had the theme “we provide cheeses and some mustards and you bring a bottle of wine you like”. This year, the invitation encouraged guests to bring obscure varietal wines to help us in our quest to make the Wine Century Club.
And that is the fourth reason why I am sharing this review: This wine catapulted me across the 100 different grape varieties tried threshold to enter the Wine Century Club with its mostly unknown grapes Juan Garcia, Rufete, Bruñal, Tempranillo, Tinta Madrid, Bastardillo Chico, Bastardillo Serrano, Tinta Jeromo, Gajo Arroba and Verdejo Colorado. I will soon mail in my application and then will be a proud member! I will write wrote more about this club in a separate post…
For now, happy Sunday. Enjoy the read and put something nice in your glass.
Jancis Robinson: Almaroja, Pirita 2007 Arribes
2007 Almaroja Pirita
the winegetter 
[…] wondering!) and the most commented on posts (again from most down: About, The Wine Century Club, Sunday Read: Almaroja Pirita 2007 Arribes, Sunday read: Why you should be drinking cheap wine and Trader Joe’s Espiral Vinho […]
[…] you very much for your kind remarks to last Sunday’s post. I was a bit surprised that not that many people seemed to know about the Wine Century Club, […]
I love Spanish wine. Thanks for the great post about this lesser known Spanish wine.
Thanks! Spanish wines do provide some of the most satisfying values. Try some Portuguese wines too if you get the chance!
What are the benefits of joining the wine century club and how expensive is it?
it is free. The benefits – a lot of fun along the way and bragging rights :)
Thanks for hopping in, Anatoli! Frank, I just posted about it today.
Great! I will look into this :)
Congrats on the Century Club!! How exciting! Sounds like a worthwhile endeavor to me :)
Oh, it sure is! Thank you!!
I didn’t know about the Wine Century Club either! Thanks for sharing the link. And thanks for this article, too. With only 1650 bottles in the U.S., I may not get to try this one.
Yeah, I always marvel about these tiny productions and how they end up at a random store. Like when I saw some of the Loch winery wines in Anchorage. That guy has a total production of maybe 15,000 bottles (for all of his wines), and there they were…
Hi Oliver!
I also like Jancis R. and her wine writing a lot. Unsurprisingly, we are on the same page ;-)
Congrats on entering the WCC: I have been meaning to look into it for a while now, but never had the time. You might have given me the motivation to!
Finally, very interesting wine you had and more importantly… Happy Birthday, Nina, from the two of us! :-)
Thank you Stefano! I will pass your greetings on to Nina. It really is a lot of fun trying to enter the WCC. I will try to write a bit more about our journey this week.
Sounds like an intriguing wine, and no cultured yeasts! Jancis rocks. I love her (and Hugh’s) wine atlas. Congratulations on making100! Thanks for the links. I’m checking boxes now.
Thanks so much! The box ticking is great…and the ensuing hunt for more varietals fun.
Actually, a lot of German winemakers use uncultured yeasts these days. The wines tend to stink a bit initially, but retain much more fruitiness.
I agree, Jancis Robinson is a great wine writer. I’ve been a subscriber of her website for quite some time now. Thanks for sharing these tasting notes
Also congrats on the wine century club membership!
Thanks so much, wineking3! I have had a crush on her forever…to be more precise: since I found out she loved Riesling as much as I do. :)
Hearing about such a club is the greatest news I’ve heard today!! I can’t wait to hear more of your experiences :)
I will try to post about it this week! :)
A Happy Belated Birthday greeting to your charming Bride Nina. Congratulations are in order for your attaining the 100 varietal mark to enter into the Century Club. I book marked the site, to look at it, at another time, to see if I have been fortunate enough to have tried enough to enter the association. I know that you have been working toward that goal, and you have achieved it, and I am happy for you. I shall raise a glass and toast you, this evening during dinner.
– John
Thank you so much, John! Yes, we had been working on this “project” since Nina’s birthday last year when I gave her an application sheet and the commitment to make it together. I bet you have crossed that mark as well. If not, it is so much fun getting there. The joy is in the journey for sure. I will pass your greetings along, and will talk with Nina about when we can meet again!
Congratulations on the wine century! This wine definitely carries quite a few varietals which I also don’t have : ) but it doesn’t look like it will be an easy find (wine searcher doesn’t show any availability in US
Thank you, Anatoli. Still far away from your count, but I am getting there…:)
The wine was brought by a friend of ours. Turns out, one (the only?) importer is located in Detroit and she bought it in the local store…sometimes, one just has to be lucky. I would assume that a week in Spain or Italy can bring up to 30 different new grapes into our counts. So many obscure grapes there…
In this case it is definitely what counts is the journey, that is where the most fun is.
Yes, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and all the mediterranean countries, like Greece, Croatia, Serbia will help you to add quite a few grapes and also find some undiscovered jewels along the way.
I will post about another gem we had on the journey just last week: A Ruchè, an Piemontese grape. Very yummy…
I had a bottle of 2009 Montalbera Laccento Ruche di Castagnole Monferrato (still have one more at home) about year and a half ago – absolutely spectacular wine. Was on my 2011 top dozen list.
Nice. Mine was the 2010 Osél Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato…:)
Congrats on the Century! The wine looked very interesting, I have never heard of this varietal but will look for it. Cheers!
Thanks so much! There were so many varietals in it. It definitely made it easy. According to the card that came with it, only 6,500 bottles were produced, and 1,650 made it to the US. Good luck finding it!! :)
There’s a Wine Century Club?!? Oh, I am *ALL* over this!! I can’t wait to download the list and start checking it off. I’ll be spending the day pouring over my CellarTracker recs. Salud!!
Here is the link: http://www.winecentury.com. :)
Happy Sunday!!
(Link corrected!)
Nice post. I didn’t know that there is a Wine Century Club. The link seems to be broken – at least for me.
You’re right. My fault. The link is http://www.winecentury.com.