I love my mother-in-law. Love, respect and value her. Only she, it seems, understands me. We share a decades’ long empathy, and I believe her to be a saint, an absolute saint.
As I mentioned last time, I tried so hard to stay on the January water wagon, to which cheerless charabanc I’d been banished by Mrs Ray, and, as you also know, apart from one tiny blip, I managed to cling on tightly by my very fingernails. But did I get credit for such bravery and stoicism from my ever-loving? Did I get patted on the back for such fortitude? I did not.
Someone having split on me about said tiny blip – oh don’t worry, I know who you are, you unfeeling rotter – Mrs R. insisted that, instead of simply tacking on an extra day in penance, I had to go back and start all over again. A bit rich coming from her, you might say, given that she enjoyed a veritable monsoon in January what with Book Club and Burns Night and all.
Anyway, my sainted mother-in-law felt my pain, saw the unfairness of it all and slipped me £20 to buy a bottle of something tasty with which to console myself and prepare for Wet February. As I say, I love, respect and value her.
I chose a bottle of fine Spanish wine, as it happens, which I matched with great success to Olivia Potts’s fabulous latest recipe of cheese and onion pasties. Yum!
Spain ain’t all about Rioja and Ribera del Duero. There are other treats to be found
Spain was much on my mind, then, when I came to taste this selection from Mr Wheeler, a range of wines new to them from Bodegas Bodem, a family-run company that comprises three wineries across the north-east of the country, all committed
to sustainability and the production of the tastiest vinos. Spain ain’t all about Rioja and Ribera del Duero. There are other treats to be found.
The 2025 Bodega Virgen de la Sierra ‘Albada’ Macabeo (1) from the oldest winery in Calatayud, in the valley of the Rio Ribota, is 100 per cent Macabeo (aka Viura) grown at high altitude, up to 1,100 metres in some cases, far beyond where red grapes such as Garnacha can ripen. These vines are old, old, old, and there’s a fine concentration to this crisp, clean, bone-dry white. It’s almost Sauvignon Blanc-like in its zesty acidity and grassy aromatics and it makes a fine aperitif. £12.95 down from £14.95.
The 2025 Bodega Otto Bestué ‘Alicia’ Chardonnay (2) comes from a family that has been making wine here beside the Rio Cinca in Somontano since 1640. The river brings ice-cold water down from the higher Pyrenees as well as cool winds which give great freshness to the wines. Lorenzo Otto and sons Jorge and Ignacio work hard to make their wines as expressive as possible and this bone-dry almost Chablis-like Chardonnay is aged on the lees for weight and has just a touch of Riesling added to lift the acidity and add complexity. £15.95 down from £17.95.
The 2021 Bodegas Pagos del Moncayo Prados ‘Fusión’ (3) from the Sierra del Moncayo in Campo de Borja is traditionally made (the grapes are trodden by foot) in a winery that’s a model of sustainable winemaking, being powered solely by solar energy (it’s not on the mains), with natural air flow, vinification in open vats and storage in polythene tanks. A blend of Garnacha and Syrah, it’s full of concentrated, dark, juicy fruit with hints of garrigue herbs and spice and a touch of liquorice on the finish. It’s punchy, too, at a bold 15%vol. £14.95 down from £16.95.
Finally, the 2023 Bodega Otto Bestué Finca Santa Sabina Cabernet Sauvignon (4) made from hand-picked, destemmed, cold-macerated, slow-fermented, oak-aged Cabernet. Deep, dark and intense and full of blackberry, blackcurrant and blueberry notes, it’s soft and silky and absolutely ready to go. £17.95 down from £19.95.
The mixed case (5) has three bottles of each wine and delivery, as ever, is free.
Oh, and while I remember, we’ve some spectacular wine tours lined up this year including trips to Alsace, Burgundy, California, Rioja and Tuscany. To find out more visit spectator.com/tastings. Polish your drinking boots and join us!
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