Join us this Friday, June 10th any time between 4 and 7 p.m. for a free wine tasting featuring a delicious batch of Spanish wines from importer Jorge Ordonez. If you are not familiar with where Table Wine is located, click here for directions. Jorge Ordonez is one of the pioneering importers of Spanish wines — as Wine Enthusiast said, “He’s given American wine lovers a chance to discover all of Spain—from Rioja to Rías Baixas—as opposed to only the couple of regions and half-dozen or so Spanish wineries that were available when Ordoñez arrived in the US.”
These days, Jorge not only continues to import some of the top names in Spanish wine, he also owns or has an ownership stake in about two-thirds of the wines he brings in. This allows him to provide his input into how the wines are made, marketed, and sold. It seems to be working as his wines continue to garner great scores in all of the major trade journals and sales are better than ever! Come taste what we’re talking about this Friday. Richard McKinney of Tryon Distributing will be in the house pouring and talking about the wines. He knows them very well as he spent about two weeks travelling with Jorge last year throughout Spain.
All of the featured tasting wines are on sale the day of the tasting: take 10% off if you mix any 3, 15% off if you mix any 6, or 20% off if you mix any 12.
The Wines
1. 2014 Avancia Godello “Cuvée de O” (Valdeorras, Spain) – How can you not like a wine made by a guy named Nacho?! All jokes aside, Nacho Alvarez crafts exquisite white wines based on Godello, one of Spain’s most important indigenous white grapes. From old vineyards planted in 1975, all of the grapes are hand harvested and fermentation takes place in large format, neutral French Oak casks, and malolactic is blocked to preserve freshness and acidity. Vinous Media (Antonio Galloni) gave it 91 points and Wine Spectator awarded it 90 points and said this “white has heft and cut, with good intensity to the pear, blanched almond, ginger and mineral flavors. Balanced and focused, this leaves a clean, savory finish. Drink now through 2018.”
2. 2013 Tarima Hill Monastrell “Old Vines” (Jumilla, Spain) – This perennial extreme value is in top form for this vintage. 100% old-vine Monastrell (aka Mourvedre) from a vineyard planted in 1935, the wine saw 20 months aging in new and used French oak. Vinous Media (Antonio Galloni) liked this one too and gave it 91 points, saying “an exotically perfumed bouquet displays scents of fresh black and blue fruits, licorice, vanilla and peppery spices.”
3. 2014 Bodegas Ordonez Triton Tinta de Toro (Toro, Spain) – Jorge Ordonez was one of the founding partners of Numanthia, the highly rated red that put the Toro region on the map. When the Eguren family decided to sell Numanthia, they cut Jorge out of the deal. Big mistake! Jorge’s response was to start his own winery in the region and to surpass the quality of Numanthia and sell his wines for a fraction of the price. That’s what you’ve got here! Composed of old vine, low yielding Tempranillo fermented in stainless and aged for 6 months in French oak, fame wine critic Robert Parker called it a “beautiful and a great value from Ordoñez. It is a dense ruby/purple with a sweet kiss of crème de cassis, roasted meats, steak tartare, and a touch of licorice and underbrush.”
4. 2013 Bodegas Ordonez Vatan (Toro, Spain) – This is the “big brother” to Ordonez’s Triton and it easily equals or surpasses the quality found in some of Numanthia’s top wines while selling for half the price. Composed entirely of Tempranillo from the estate’s oldest vines (most planted in 1943, but some in 1910), the wine is fermented in stainless steel and then moved to 100% new French oak for 22 months of aging. The resulting wine scored 93 points with Robert Parker who described it like this: “The palate is full-bodied with glossy tannins; it is juicy, chewy and nicely balanced within its XXL size. The velvety tannins make it approachable now, but it should develop more complexity in bottle, and for sure it should have a long life ahead.”