Flaco Tempranillo did receive that 90 point rating from Vinous Media. And since it's on sale in the Bottle Club® for only $6.96, you may want to pick up a case, before we sell though this vintage.
Flaco, made with Spain’s signature Tempranillo grape, means "dude" in English. In the words of The Savvy Lush, Flaco "is the best goof-proof, budget-friendly wine out there." Spain is the largest producer of Tempranillo. These thick-skinned grapes are grown in regions that have hot days followed by cool evenings. This creates a concentrated, yet balanced flavor.” It is produced by Compañía de Vinos del Atlántico in the Demoninación de Origen (DO) of Vinos de Madrid. Flaco shows the complexity of a serious wine for the price of a song! The luscious fruit and soft texture make it a perfect wine for everyday drinking.
Madrid is not only the capital of Spain but also one of the country's most interesting wine growing regions. The outskirts of this great royal city are full of old Tempranillo vines. Most Spaniards do not know that Madrid makes wine, and therefore don't know the incredible values that Madrid showcases at the present time. Madrid is the great unknown.
Produced from organically grown, dry-farmed vineyards. Flaco shows the complexity of twice its price. These vines are tended in diverse micro-climates, allowing for more consistency of ripeness year after year. Yields are very low, resulting in wines that showcase extreme quality for its price point.
TASTING NOTES: Silky and sweet on the palate, offering intense but edge-free raspberry and spicecake flavors. A wine of noteworthy elegance, especially for the money. Finishes sappy, floral and long, with lingering red fruit character and just a hint of tannins. This vibrant, emphatically fruity, pure Tempranillo was raised in a combination of large concrete and stainless steel tanks.
The fresh, pure character of this wine makes this an extremely versatile wine to pair with food. This wine pairs well with white meats like pork and chicken and flaky fish like hake, cod or flounder. This has the fruit and acidity to match with red meats, as well.
Now, reading those notes (provided by the importer), you might think the wine is a fruit bomb. Your blogger shared a bottle of Flaco just last night, and we can assure you that this is a sophisticated wine, with flavors that are more subtle that described above. We paired the Flaco with an Italian dish called "pizzoccheri" (buckwheat pasta, potato, cheese, spinach, Valtellina sausage), and it was a perfect complement.
We've been talking about the great values in Spanish red wines for quite a while now. If you've hesitated, of if you've already tried and enjoyed Spanish reds, this is the next great value for you.
Photo credit: Friederike Paetzold.
His Clos Mogador, which received a 96 from Wine Advocate and should age well for up to another 10 years, was an outstanding example of a fine wine from Spain. The blend has an intense flavor profile of anise, dark fruit, truffle, slate, and espresso. The other wines he shared with us are not going to be available in the U.S. but were of the same high quality and great balance.
This was our day to take in the culture and sights of Madrid. So much to do and so little time. We traveled as a group and decided to check out some of the sites around our hotel. After visiting a few churches to look at the architecture we made our way to the Mercado de San Miguel. This local market is surrounded by numerous restaurants and by this point we were starving so we chose a random one and just relaxed at the outside tables. The best part of Madrid is the endless supply of tapas, mmmmmmmmmm! We chose some great dishes and sat back and watched the world pass by (what a life!). 
MY DAY: We left our hotel early Sunday morning and made our way to Rueda to visit Castelo de Medina. It had been pretty warm all week but the temperature dropped into the fifties and the wind gusts were extraordinarily strong here in Rueda. We made our way to our hotel to drop off our luggage before we started to the winery. One of the owners of the winery met us at the hotel and we all had a quick drink then it was off to the winery. At the winery we were greeted by the technical director (who, like the owner, spoke little to no English) and he ended up being one of the funniest gentleman I have ever met. Throughout the day, he just kept making funny observations and always had a quick joke to tell (all translated for me of course).
We were welcomed by Daniel Martin Cestero, the technical director for the winery (basically, he runs the show). Daniel was passionate and knowledgeable and as he led us on our tour we realized that he is involved in every aspect of the winery. From field to finished bottle, Daniel is monitoring every little detail. Most importantly he loved sharing the information with us! This was his life and he loved the sharing it with us. 
After the tour we returned to the main house (which is attached to the winery) for our meal. There is nothing like home cooking and the meal involved several local dishes. By the time I left the table I didn't think I could eat another morsel for the remainder of the trip. BUT the meal wasn't completely about the food. We tasted the wineries offerings and were very impressed by the value they represent. The Casa del Valle Cabernet Sauvignon is heady and bold and steal for the price. The Syrah was unique and I can't wait to try it again. The higher end offering is the Finca Valdelagua which is an impressive blend of Cab Sauv, Syrah and about 20% Merlot. 
MY DAY: I was uber-excited to visit this winery when I found out about this trip. I love the Reserva and the Graciano is fantastic but now I could put a face (or view) with a name. We arrived at the winery and were greeted by Javier Martinez de Salinas y Manso de Zuniga, technical director for the Bodegas Olarra Group. The winery isn't very large despite the amount of wine it produces but everything is state of the art and every aspect is micro-managed so nothing escapes notice. We visited the winemaking facilities and roamed around the stainless steel tanks and fermenting tanks and then went deeper into the winery to see the barrels and barrel storage areas. This winery was definitely impressive and its unbelievable how much wine that they have on hand at any given time. At one point we came to the room of the Orden de Ondarre. This is a special room dedicated to barrels personally owned by private consumers. For a certain fee, you can choose the wine you want bottled and have it aged for three years here at the winery. If you are interested in this, please let me know and I can provide you with a longer explanation of how it works. Following this part of the tour we went to the bottling line and watched the workers ply their craft. After a brief discussion we made our way back to the vehicles: it was time to see the vineyards. 
A brief walk through the vineyard led us to an ancient church from the twelfth century. The newly restored church was simple in its design but the sheer age of the monument was breathtaking. The winery set up a small tour for us and we found out that we were the first official tour of the church by the group that helped renovate it. A wonderful experience!
MY DAY: I saw pictures of this winery before the trip and I couldn't wait to see the design and architecture. From the outside the winery looks like a simple modern structure but there is much more to this impressive building. I wish I could add more photos to this story because choosing only a few doesn't do it justice but if you ask I can share more of the photos with you.
We tasted around twenty wines and all but two wines were keepers to me. I can't guarantee we will bring all of the wines in but we will have a few more offerings in the near future. The highlight of the tasting was trying some of the new vintages versus the current releases. I love the classic styling of the 2004 vintage in Rioja but 2005 offers more dark fruit flavors and more concentration. If you like the 2004 Ondarre Reserva, the 2005 offers more power and intensity. But I digress... the importance of this tasting was learning about the number of wines Olarra produces while keeping in mind that each bottling and label is distinct in its own right. It's hard to fathom that one operation can create so many different styles while still maintaining a high standard of quality for each.
After a leisurely paced tour we made our way to the adjoining building that would be the site of our next great meal. Two of the winery employees were here readying our meal. Again, simple homemade cooking at its best. We went to the second floor and look down upon a great stove fired by cuttings from the vineyards. Once this stove reach the right temperature and full cage of lamb chops would be cooked upon the embers. The smells rose throughout the hall and stomachs grumbled in anticipation of whats to come. Needless to say, we had eaten a fair share of lamb on this day and there were no complaints from any of us. The entire meal was delicious but our day was at an end. We said our thanks and made our way to the vehicles to start our trek back to the hotel. We needed to relax after this dinner.
We arrived in Logrono and immediately went to the hotel to freshen up. A quick change, a little stretching and I was ready to tackle the world. We met with the International director for the Bodegas Olarra Group and he helped kick our trip in to high gear. We roamed the town and made our way to a secret hot spot: Meson Egues. This is where I had some of the most delicious beef I have ever eaten. The small establishment doesn't open till about 10pm (along with every other restaurant in Spain it seems) but the wait is well worth it. We went to a private back room and as we passed the kitchen I couldn't help but notice the simplicity. Simple grilling over charcoals: no microwaves, no ovens. If I describe the food too much I will leave this writing and leave for Spain on the next flight so I will keep it simple; Fresh cuts of beef from the market, cooked to perfection with a sprinkling of sea salt with plates of white asparagus that was so tender it melted in your mouth and peas so fresh that they literally popped in your mouth when you bit into them. 
It will be very cold in the Northeast this weekend. I am preparing myself by flipping through photos of wine trips I have taken over the past three years and the food, wine, and experiences that they gave me. After ten years of being a wine professional, I can say that this is a great business to work in. I like to tell people, "You'll never be rich, but the perks are sooooo nice." Meeting people, traveling, trade tastings, you get to do some pretty interesting stuff and a lot of it is just part of the job. I have always traveled to visit different wine producing regions as part of my work since I have been doing this, but over the last three years I was lucky enough to visit three countries that I had always wanted to see, Chile and Argentina in South America and Spain.
Like so many of the estates we visited they had an outdoor kitchen complete with a wood fired oven for empanadas. Empanadas are very serious business in Argentina. Some of the examples I had in Mendoza were ethereal. Light pastry filled with beef and onion or shrimp and vegetables, were ridiculously easy to eat. I have yet to find a restaurant here in the tri-state area that comes close.
I fortunately am not shy about any of these foodstuffs and I dug right in.
I'm sure anyone who reads thinks "Wow, I'd really love to be able to do that." Don't be so quick. There was considerable work to be done on this trip also. When we got back down from that hilltop, we had to taste through a flight composed of all the current releases in the Montes portfolio. Man, that was ugly.
We washed it back with a dry Moscatel from Jorge Ordonez. A gorgeous wine made with the regions prominent white grape but in this case fermented dry, it was fantastic with all that fish and shellfish. The real eye opener was the Langostines.
Being composed of snails, which are abundant as is the rabbit that goes into that dish, a wine with a certain gamey quality to it was required. We drank Garnacha from El Nido which paired well with the meal and brought an exotic element all its own.