Spanish Wines @ Bubble Brothers

Last night took us to Spain via the Marina, HQ of Bubble Brothers. Billy, managing director, Julian, Valerie & Chris offered a great selection of Spanish wines that was not only mouthwatering but inspiring as well. Julian, as always, was a fountain of information, knowledge & little stories. The numbers of tasters had actually doubled from the last wine tasting in the Aga shop. Bubble Brothers also had some special offers for us - 7 bottles of Champagne for the price of 6, Tamaral for €15.90 instead of €22.90 (six bottles are now nicely stuck away in my cupboard). With no further delay, below are the wines in the order we tasted them - again, the comments are mine and mine only and are not meant to be taken too seriously (was told more time than once that my tastebuds need an overhaul):

Mas Codina Cava, €21.00
A dry, crisp Catalan Cava with lovely bubbles that last and last with a light pale colour. A lovely alternative to Champagne for the fraction of the price - no one will notice unless you tell them. Will keep that one in mind.


Cuatro Rayas Sauvignon, €13.90
Probably the best white in the world???? Not sure, but then I am not the biggest fan of Sauvignon Blanc to begin with (too many bad one out there). Bouquet was quite perfumery for my liking with notes of vanilla and even a bit of pomegranate but the taste was completely different to what you expected after smelling it. Didn't stay on the palate for very long. For me - not the best. Won a Gold Medal.....hmmmmmm

Agro de Bazan Albarino, €17.50
From this vineyard I had already tried Rosado Mas de Bazan and Fish & Co (also an Albarino grape) and although I wasn't blown away, it was lovely wine nevertheless. Labelling for all the wines of Agro de Bazan is creative - this one being my favourite. Anyhow, the wine smelled sweet at first but when I stuck my nose in a second time, it had mellowed a lot. Fresh, dry and smooth with acidity that didn't disturb. Medium to long finish.



Mas Codina Rosat, €12.50
Dark colour, rich bouquet and a lovely dry finish. A blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot, a perfect marriage that reminds me of summer with strawberry jelly and ice cream.



Cosecheros Tinto, Vine de Mesa, €9.95
Slight smokey bouquet, 100% Trempanillo with deep rich flavours but still light enough to be enjoyable on its own. Although I like Trempanillo, this wasn't one of my favourites - saying that, I wouldn't be too disappointed either if I get it as a gift (hint hint hint :-)



Edulis Rioja semicrianza, DOCa Rioja, €14.50
A great price for a very good wine. Dirty red colour, dry rich body with a smooth finish. Liked it a lot. Next time it is 'Me-Time' I will have this wine on the list.


Carramimbre Roble, DO Ribero del Duero, €15.90
Again, a great price for a very good wine. A Trempanillo with some Cabernet and Tinta del Pais thrown into for good measure. Lovely ruby colour, rich body but needs a lot longer to breathe than a normal Tempranillo. I think it has more to give than what we tasted last night.

Bodega Tamaral Crianza, €15.90 Special offer from €22.90
I had this wine on Austin's recommendation and loved it. I had it with lovely semi soft cheeses and homemade breads and it went perfectly with it. An explosion of taste in your mouth with a deep rich flavour and a long finish. This was a bargain I couldn't pass.


Otero Crianza, Vino de Calidad de los Valles de Benavente, €17.90
Almost black in colour, the smell doesn't give away the rich body of the wine. 14.5% makes this a wine to be taken serious. I liked it a lot - not sure if this is an easy wine to drink tho when you have guests.



Acustic, DO Montsant, €21.50
I wrote about this wine already some time ago on the blog and I don't have anything to add. The wine is hardly intervened with so you have the full flavour of the grape and nothing else. Loved it back then, love it now.


Verastegui PX, €10.95
This wine has an intense amber colour, honey tones that I can imagine goes well with blue cheese. Julian reckons it will go well with liver pate as well - and since I will be making my first ever liver pate I might actually offer this wine in case the pate turns out to be a disaster. The wine would make up for it :-) As far as dessert wines go, this is a bargain. The wine was served in special glasses......we were all begging for them but they are not on sale....hope they change that soon.

A great night, with great wines, lovely company and we were still in the 'winey' mood, so Wendy, Linda and myself decided to pay El Vino a visit where we bumped into Kevin & Paul and continued discussions about wines we had and loved.....a late night that sent me home with a silly smile on my face.

Next wine tasting will be in September - again in the Aga Shop. More about it later.