A little background: Bodegas Delcado Zuleta is the oldest family-owned sherry producer in the Jerez region, and is located around the town of Sanluca de Barrameda. Manzanilla is the appellation name for fino sherry made from the Sanluca area. The La Goya is a manzanilla pasada, which means the ageing is for eight years in contrast to the usual 4 or 5. The (white) grape variety used in producing La Goya is palamino.
It was a Friday night and we were feeling all wintery so we lobbed a pot of fennel & potato soup on the stove. In true wintery fashion I pulled out a bottle of La Goya to match, and this is what we saw...
A lovely pale golden straw of pristine clarity. As expected, rancio and nutty characters expressed themselves strongly. There was a slight medicinal quality hovering in the background, perhaps more kindly described as a greenish spearmint. I get a hint of my old favourite descriptor – maritime. And then there’s florals (rose petal, camomile and frangipani), and fruits (apple, pear, poached quince), some toast and marmalade, green peppercorns and capers, varnishy oak, and a dollop of overripe orange rind.
Creamy on the palate with some tarty citrus flavours, nutty and raisiny, some lanolin. Prior to the food, the palate fell away at about the 2/3 mark, but when matched with the fennel soup it bounced back, and the back-end came alive with citrus freshness and sweetness.
This particular La Goya was bottled December 2009 so perhaps needed to be topped a bit earlier than we managed.
Vibe
Yeah, it’s a good drink for the price, and a worthy pour with a soup starter at your dinner parties.
Alcohol: 15%
Value: $18 for 375ml bottle. A fair price for an import of this pedigree.
Tasted: June 2011
Closure: Screwcap
Tech-head
Producer: Bodegas Delcado Zuleta – www.delcadozuleta.com – Established in 1744.
Region: Sanluca de Barrameda, Spain.
Site: No specific site info but Sanluca is a cool and humid seaside village.
Castano is the producer. Monastrell is the variety, but don’t be frightened because you probably know it better as Mourvedre or Mataro. Bodegas Castano is the biggest producer in a region known as Yecla in the south-east of Spain, a little west of Alicante. Monastrell is the major variety in Yecla. Although it can vary between regions and climates, Monastrell has a reputation for colour, tannin and alcohol. Picture painted, on with the notes.
Starting to brown a little around the edges but otherwise a dense purple/black. The nose leads with rich, ripe, sweetish raisiny blackcurrant and a liberal dose of redfruits. There’s a touch of aged leatheriness and some spicy vanillan licorice, a whiff of cardamom/cumin, and on the savoury side some char and tar and black olive. There’s gorgeous red berried ripeness and choc-cherry mocha. The oak is very subtle, savoury and stylish.
The age is showing more obviously on the palate with raisiny coffee choc, molasses, orange rind and raspberry coulis. There’s some satisfying black tea bitterness – tannins probably – I’m not complaining. And some smoky, gamey flavours to promote the savoury elements. But how’s that mouthfeel? Smooth as a baby’s back-end. Supple. Texturally lush. Probably the alcohol – it is 14.5% after all.
The Hecula Monastrell spends 6 months in French oak.
Vibe
Gee I enjoyed this. It’s getting on a bit in life but it’s still a really good brew, especially with good company and a few home-cooked pizzas – casual style. Everyone loved the texture and blend of sweet/savoury. You could call it a quaffer, and it probably qualifies for that at approx $25, but it’s a bit more special than that.
Value: Approx $25 in Australia – very good value for a decent import of this quality.
Tasted: April 2011
Closure: Cork
Tech-head
Producer: Bodegas Castano – www.bodegascastano.com – the largest producer in Yecla, Spain, with 450Ha of vines. A family affair.
Region: Yecla, south-eastern Spain.
Site: The vineyard source for this wine is 750m altitude and include 35 year old bush-vines. A combo of dry sandy stone and limey clay.
Vintage: Exceptional for the most part. Warm, dry conditions – generally rain and disease-free.
