SPAIN

Spain has the greatest area of vineyards in the world and its wine industry is as large as that of Italy and France. Only in 2009 though has Spanish wine bottle production started to match that of the other two as a result of improved viniculture. Lower yields in Spanish vineyards still help to produce concentrated and intensely flavoured wines provided quality winemakers are chosen. Despite the area, the range of grapes has been surprisingly small, dominated by Tempranillo reds and Rueda whites. The investment available from the European Union has brought more variety as witnessed by the extraordinary wines from Telmo Rodriguez and the stunning Gewurztraminer from Vinas del Vero.

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Telmo Rodriguez
Described as Spain’s greatest winemaker and an ‘impassioned lover’ of his wines, Telmo learnt his trade in France and became the No.1 at Rioja’s No. 1 winery. He then left to found an enterprise promoting Spain’s lesser known areas and grapes. The results have been spectacular. We list three wines: Basa Blanco shows all that modern Rueda should be and was described as a ‘blast in a glass’ by the Sunday Times in April 2009, the silky smooth and tasty Al Muvedre from Alicante and the MR Moscatel from literally the suburbs of Malaga.

Rioja
For years, wine drinkers looked to Spain for Rioja and virtually nothing else. But Rioja can be said to be an enigma. Nearly every On-Trade wine list retained a Rioja as an Old World wine despite its being traditionally made with a lot of oak content giving hard tannic flavours when young. This means Rioja is not fruit driven as are nearly all its New World competitors, does require food and is usually well above House and Entry level price points. There is also a division between ‘traditional’ and ‘modern’ styles now - the modern being more fruit driven and nicer when young.

We list seven reds from Rioja all of which show the warmth and ripeness of Tempranillo with its combination of wild strawberry and bramble fruit. From Crianza upwards, there is more oak but we have chosen wines we know to be user friendly, attractive examples of Rioja.

For more details contact:

	Sales Director	01924 373328	07801 922478
	Sales Director - Pub Groups	01924 373328	07801 922480
David Robertson	Wine Development Manager	01924 373328	07813 662863
	Wine Key Account Manager	01924 373328	07837 193677
Peter Skuse	Pricing and Sourcing Manager	01924 373328	07801 922461
	Wine Administrator	01924 373328	07842 126966