Fira del Vi 2011

The Fira del Vi (and yes, this is catalan) is the annual wine festival held in Falset, Priorat after semana santa end of April, beginning May. There are many activities during this festival which ranges from research talks to wine tastings, wine tastings and then some. All the towns in and around D.O Priorat and Montsant have things to do during this week of festivities. You have the Carinyenas of Porrera and the Nit de Garnatxas in Capçanes. Gots to love it! Saturday and Sunday are when the wineries man their stalls at the Castell del Vi (The Wine Castle- niiiice). Everybody from Mas Martinet Viticultors, Assesoraments, Cims de Porrera, Les Cousins and Venus "La Universal" (which is all the different projects and collaborations of the Pérez family) was helping with the preparation and giving tastings on this crazy weekend (29 April - 1 May). This little wine fly too.

I've been looking forward to the festivities and was unimpressed when a flu bug fancied me and interfered less than a week before the festival. Due to this bug and perhaps also due the soccer (or shall is say football) match between barcelona and madrid - the first leg of the UEFA semi-finals (i might have yelled at the referee or the players at times), i had a superbly unsexy and husky voice (at time no voice) for the duration of the festival.

If trying to give a tasting with this voice is funny then trying to give tastings in castellano and catalan with this voice is hilarious. On Saturday if the visitors came up and spoke catalan to me I just returned a blank stare, apologised for not speaking catalan very well and then beamed up at Adria, Marc and Albert so that they would help the people. This worked most of the time. Sometimes though, you'd get the very friendly man that ignores the fact that you can't really speak catalan and then keep chatting, asking questions about the wines and making jokes. I laughed appropriately, on interval, I think. Not so sure.

Coincidentally Grenache and Carignan have super powers and by Sunday my voice along with my confidence made a comeback. Bliss.

If you have read anything else on this blog, I'm confident that you have left your great expectations of normality behind and will know that along with my random thoughts and pictures, tasting notes or descriptions of wines, will not be traditional, not politically correct and subjective to a fault. I'm thinking of my friends when I write this, and hope it's as honest, easy-going and billik as they are.

Here's a quick review of the four reds that we served at our table. When tasting all four I'd suggest you start with the Dido 2009, then L'Inconscient 2008, followed by Martinet Bru 2007 and finishing off with Solanes 2006. I'm explaining it according to photo below, left to right.

Solanes, L'inconscient, Martinet Bru, Dido

1. SOLANES, CIMS DE PORRERA. 2006.

It's the "second wine" of Cims de Porrera (created and run by Josép Lluis Pérez (the father and founder), Adrià Pérez (the son) and Marc Pérez (the cousin)). Perhaps one day I'll go into the history of it all. It remains to be seen. For now, I'll get back to the wines.

Solanes is a crianza (about 12-14 months in barrel) and then spends another one year in the bottle, made up mainly of Carignan (Carinyena, Carineña) and in a lesser percentage of Grenache noir (Garnatxa, Garnacha). All the grapes come form vines used in the Porrera area and the wine is elaborated in the old Cooperative of Porrera. For me most of the "classic" red wines from the Priorat area are intense, with ripe blackberries, mulberries, sometimes raisins, with fresh and dried herbs and spices and a deep mineral undertone. And when I say mineral i mean the smell of soil after it rained and the freshness of the forest floor when you breathe in the air and the feeling and smell of river rocks. And the Solanes is like that. The one visitor at the stall said: Now this is Priorat in a glass for you. I need more time to know if that statement is completely true but i like to think so. It's elegant yet powerful. 

13€ sur place.

2. L'INCONSCIENT, LES COUSINS. 2008.

This wine is the the younger, lighter brother of Sagesse. These two wines, l'Inconscient and Sagesse, are made by, yes you guessed it, the two cousins, Marc and Adria. It's a new project that they started a few years ago and they make the wine at the Cims de Porrera cellar. The labels were designed by an artist in Barcelona. I might remember his name and might even write about it later.

I feel that this wine is the "funky rebel" of the four! It's a easy-drinking wine that is as fun as the label. It's also a crianza like the others with aorund 15 months in barrel. It makes me think of ripe cherries in colour and is fruity (a mix of red and black fruits) and smooth (the tannins being well integrated). I'm already seeing my friends and I opening a few of these babies in Southern Africa, around a fire in the bosveld, at the harbour staring out over Stellenbosch, in Cape Town looking out over the sea or in the middle of the Nambo desert with nothing around us for kilometres. 

9€ sur place

3. DIDO, LA UNIVERSAL. 2009.

This is the youngest of the four and also top contender for the Southern African adventures planned post-October. It's flowery and (red) fruity and delicious. Also very well balanced. It's a "half-crianza" (if that's even a term) and spent about 6 months in barrels. The backbone of this wine is Garnaxta with some Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot added for good measure. Many people wanted to taste the white Dido (Garnatxa and Macabeu) but we stuck with our reds for the weekend. Dido is the lighter partner in the project Venus "La Universal" created and run by Sara Pérez and René Barbier. It's proudly made in the D.O. Montsant.

12€ sur place.

4. MARTINET BRU, MAS MARTINET VITICULTORS. 2007.

This is a Garnaxta and Syrah blend with the grapes coming from the parcel, Mas Torrent. When looking at the wines from Ms Martinet, you would notice that each wine is made solely from one parcel. (These wines will be discussed in a later stage during my stay here). It's a crianza with about 12-15 months in barrel. It's and intense pomegranate-pip, ruby red, and full round en bouche. It reminds me of ripe cherries, strawberries and plums. This is the first year with the new label and new style. The "previous" Martinet Bru was a blend with several varieties and on two separate occasions I've heard people say that they have been underwhelmed by the "old style" prefer the new style with only Garnaxta and Syrah. You might recognise the old label with the big palm on the label. I will do a tasting of the two together and then try and explain the differences on all levels.

15€ sur place.

I wanted to tell you more about some of the wines I tasted there but it's past my lunch time, and I'm smelling all the food that the spanish mamas are cooking and i seriously need to do the same for myself now. I leave you with my love for quotes and all things word-y.

CONNOISSEUR, n. A specialist who knows everything about something and nothing about anything else. An old wine-bibber having been smashed in a railway collision, some wine was poured on his lips to revive him. "Pauillac, 1873," he murmured and died. Ambrose Bierce, American author, (1842-1914) in The Devil's Dictionary