If anyone has questions about Spanish wines I will try to answer them.

Hey Gerry, thanks for the offer to field the wine questions

I would like to know if you have tried the wine tasting or the tours offered by "A Question of Taste" based in Sevilla?

There website is at www.aqot.com

Thanks,
jer...

I have another question. where can I find/order Vega Sicilia wines in the US? Thank you.

The A Question of Taste Tastings and Tour in Sevilla look like a good bed for beginners interested in sherry and tapas. Price seems fair, though you can do this on your own, but without the commentary of a know-ledgeable tour leader. Sherry bodegas and cava producers are set up to handle drop-in visitors. They have always been the ones easiest to visit. Now, more and more Spanish wineries are establishing tasting room/stores.
The Vintage Spain tours are very professionally and competently run.

Question: "I have another question. where can I find/order Vega Sicilia wines in the US?"

Answer: Vega Sicilia is available in many top wine shops in the US. Depends on where you live.

Gerry,
thanks for the offer.

Where in Madrid can I buy quality reds at a fair price? I have had decent luck at a small grocery store neat Chamartin, but I am looking for a bigger variety now.

thanks!

Gerry,
thanks for the offer.
Where in Madrid can I buy quality reds at a fair price? I have had decent luck at a small grocery store neat Chamartin, but I am looking for a bigger variety now.

jaimemiguel

I don't live in Madrid and do not buy wine there, except in restaurants. Why not shop some of Madrid's better wines shops and compare prices on the wines you like? Try Bodegas Santa Cecilia, Blasco de Garay 72-74 & Bravo Murillo, 50 and El Corte Ingles for openers, then go on to wine shops such as Bodega Pedro, Antonio Molina 5; La Bodega del Alcalde in ABC Serrano; Economato de las Comunidades, Bolivia,34; Santmery, Mendizabal, 27; and then the very upscale Lavinia. Others may be of more help for bargain retail wines in Madrid (just make sure your bargain wines have been stored well). I just don't buy wines at retail in Spain. I taste too many wines in bodegas and, in any case, I can't carry it back to New York.

Gerry,
thanks! I will look up those bodegas when I am in Madrid. I hate to have to ask this, but which Corte Ingles has wine?

Saludos.

Can you tell me anything about Condesa de Leganza Crianza 1998, and Mancha wines in general?

I would like to know about the 1998 Crianza's. I find them, no matter the bodega, absolutely delicious. What exactly is the crianza, where is it from, why dont they make crianza in the US...and...Im I right about 98 crianza's...was it just a good year for them?...if so, why? ..'hicup'

"Crianza" refers to a period of aging; to quote:
"What is the difference between Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva? By law, Crianza must be aged a minimum of one year in oak barrels and at least one year in bottle before release; Reserva must be aged a minimum of three years total between bottle and barrel, at least one year of which must be in barrel; Gran Reserva must be aged a minimum of two years in oak and at least three years in bottle." This is pasted in from an informative site http://www.civusa.com/salesCentral/faqs.html
"cosecha" is the same as "vintage"(it means "harvest" in Spanish) I don't know the exact translation of crianza in wine nomenclature, but "criar" means to grow or raise(like a child?)if memory serves, so a "crianza" would be somewhat improved by aging, like a well-mannered youngster. Gerry can tell you how a "cosecha" is deemed worthy of becoming a "crianza, reserva or gran reserva" based on the initial quality of the young wine.
The "Condesa de Leganza" crianza 1998 I referred to was purchased in the States,from my son's place of employment, a wine merchant called "Martha's Vineyard" in Grand Rapids, MI. The site mentioned above also lists sellers of their line of Spanish wines, I believe. There is a terrific pdf file map of the wine regions of Spain, more complete than many.

"Can you tell me anything about Condesa de Leganza Crianza 1998, and Mancha wines in general?"

Condesa de Leganza Crianza 1998 is a La Mancha wine from Bodegas Leganza, a winery owned by Faustino (the large Rioja producers). It is 100 percent Tempranillo (called Cencibel in La Mancha). It was aged in oak for 6 months, the requirement for crianzas in some regions. La Mancha wines have been making steady improvements in quality for several years now, but few of them so much more than ripe (sometimes overripe fruit) and new oak. I think I have had Condesa de Leganza once and while it was a competently made wine and pleasantly fruity, I found it just ordinary at best. It is not an expensive wine though. Among the better La Mancha wines that I have tried are Allozo (inexpensive), Se�orio de Guadianeja (inexpensive), and El Vinculo (one of the best I have tried from this region (but only labeled Vino de Mesa de Castilla-La Mancha, I believe; from Alejandro Fernandez of Pesquera fame). More La Mancha & Castilla-La Mancha wines are beginnig to get press in Spain. Most of them are California-esque with very ripe fruit, high alcohol 14%+), blends of Tempranillo and such foreign varietals as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah, and, of course, every nuevo eno-rico's new best friend, new oak, French by preference.

The 1998 vintage was rated very good in most red wine regions, including La Rioja, Ribera del Duero (there were some problems in the western Ribera), Navarra, and Penedes, but as with every year, the quality of the wine depends far more on the producer than just on the vintage. I would note the producers whose 98s you like best. It is very important to single out great producers and follow them rather than merely follow vintages. Some of the best bodegas make better wine in such off years as 1997, than other bodegas make in great years.

Hey Gerry, wow! Above and beyond the call of duty

I am not big on wine (wining yes, wine no ) but I can easily see this thread turning into a BIG one.

Saludos and thanks for your expertise
jer...

Well, folks, I meant to get in there and tell Gerry that I'm pretty ordinary myself, so the inexpensive Condesa de Leganza suits me just fine as a table wine. Nobody to try to impress in any case. I usually get a bottle of something "above average" for Christmas from my son---and I drink it right away, rather than cellaring it (Life's too short; just ask Richard )