What was it? We’d become utterly disenchanted with all but a handful of Spanish wines sent to us by struggling national importers, most were overpriced and overrated. Billions of Common Market euros poured into new Spanish plantings, fancy bodegas with circular tasting rooms and surround sound. What was there to show for it? The funny money paid for fancy labels and (too much) American wood, but none of the expensive trimmings could replace the real deal. So when we heard about a pre-Franco vineyard, tasted the exquisite 2004 Partal — we just had to go see for ourselves.

Our lunch with Pepa was a lesson in 20th century Spanish history viewed through the eyes of a winegrower. Over roasted baby goat paired with the 2004 Partal, Pepa told us about his grandmother, “La Balcona”, a tenant farmer who, in 1940, right after the end of the Spanish Civil War, was given the opportunity by one of the local terratenientes to buy one of the prime vineyard sites in Murcia for next to nothing. She immediately ripped out the wheat and saffron and planted Monastrell bush plants. But Murcia would pay a hefty price for its opposition to Franco during the civil war. Franco cut off state funds to the region, and the young people fled, moving to Barcelona and Madrid. The fields were lying fallow, and the few grape growers selling to the local co-op found their Monastrell wines selling for 10 cents a liter in the retail stores of Madrid!

It took almost 35 years for Franco to pass and for Murcia to begin its comeback. And it took still another 30 years for the roots of La Balcona’s Monastrell to spider underground, searching out water and nutrients, infusing these incredibly healthy bush plants with the explosive red fruit intensity that is found in this brilliant, utterly singular Spanish red wine.

Production of Partal is tiny. Today, most is sold in Murcia. But we weren’t making an 8 hour trek just for a history lesson and some roasted goat. The 15 remaining cases of the 2004 Partal have been earmarked for WineAccess members, a sensational tribute to La Balcona. Not to be missed for the wine, its history, and that old-vine Mourvedre.

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New Zealand has become a real success story for wine. Not all that long ago they were making wine from virtually unknown grapes such as Isabella, which isn’t even a member of the wine grape family. Now their signature grape, Sauvignon Blanc, has stole a lot of France’s thunder. New Zealand’s Sauvignon Blanc wines are prized the world over, and are quite distinctive.

The wine reviewed below comes from the South Island wine region of Marlborough, the country’s most famous wine area; one particularly known for its Sauvignon Blancs. Unusual for New Zealand, this wine is Kosher. It has been flash-pasteurized; the technical word is Mevushal, which means that observant Jews consider it to be Kosher, no matter who serves it. Once upon a time Mevushal meant boiled wine, a process virtually destroying its taste and eliminating its use in pagan rituals. The presently used flash pasteurization process is much more gentle. As you’ll see, the wine reviewed is by no means tasteless.

OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review are purchased at the full retail price.

Wine Reviewed
Goose Bay Sauvignon Blanc K/P 2007 13.0% Alcohol About $ 20.00

Let’s start by quoting the marketing materials.
Tasting Note: Pale yellow colored, the nose shows intense aromas of sweet pea pods and passion fruit. Medium to full-bodied, flavorful tropical fruit and gooseberry flavors with pea pod on the finish, which is zesty. Serving Suggestion: Pan-fried fatty white fish with tropical fruit salsa. And now for my review.

The first sips tasted of pea pods. The wine was a bit unctuous. The initial food pairing involved a sweet and sour commercially barbecued chicken breast accompanied by potatoes roasted in chicken fat and a salad (more of a salsa) consisting of tomatoes, tomato puree, sweet pimento, hot peppers, and vegetable oil. I noted a good balance of crisp acidity and sweetness. The acidity intensified somewhat with the roasted potatoes, doing a good job of cleansing the palate. On the other hand the wine was weak when faced with the salad.

The second pairing involved an omelet. The wine’s acidity was crisp and refreshing but I am getting tired of the pea pod taste and smell. The accompanying grape tomatoes removed the offending taste but there wasn’t all that much flavor left.

The final meal centered around meatless lasagna containing tomatoes, peas, cottage cheese, and sliced olives topped with mozzarella cheese. The wine finally succeeded in shaking off the pea pods and displayed bright acidity but not a lot of fruit. I finished with a light cheesecake with a graham cracker crust. I think it may have been the sugar that brought back the pea pods.

I finished with the cheese pairings. With a Provolone there was something in the background, probably grapefruit. Then I went to an Emmenthaler (Swiss) but even with this high-quality, flavorful (nutty) cheese the familiar, undesired taste came back.

Final verdict. It doesn’t happen often but one taste managed to ruin everything. Actually, I am not at all sure that even without those pea pods I would buy this wine again. There are so many great New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs. But this is hardly one of them. If you want Kosher wine, there are a lot of other choices in all price ranges. Keep posted. I’ll be reviewing more of them.

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