Learn about The Wines of Bierzo Spain. - Episode #608

Learn about The Wines of Bierzo Spain. Episode #608 Gary: Hello everybody and welcome to Wine Library TV, I am your host, Gary Vaynerchuk. And this my friends is the Thunder Show a.k.a the internet’s most passionate wine program and today we are talking about a very fascinating part of the world located north west part of Spain. It’s a D.O. in Spain known as Bierzo. You gotta Bierzo. The real way to do is the Bierzo. But you know, a lot of people here in the US say it’s Bierzo. But it’s Bierzo. They all have this little like sticker you could just zoom in right there. This very fascinating D.O. in the Northwest of Spain, Bierzo is a rim of the hook. You know how Spain has that hook right there. It’s producing some really fascinating wines. And specifically from the grape of Mencia which is a very interesting grape varietal that was really kind of pissed on as like a peasant. Up to like the late 1970’s, people start really feeling it, and we really started seeing it in the 1990’s in a little bit of a love fest with the grape varietal here especially in the Bierzo area. And there’s really some interesting wines coming out of this area. I’m really excited about doing the show on this specific area of the world and these extreme wines will represent that show here for you today. That being said, I also want to announce a very major contest. As many of you have already pre-bought the vainiac Cab. Mott, link that up! You know that little vaniac kitten want cab little we have on the side, just link that up. We’re now having the label contest so one of you vayniacs out there, creative ones, will design the label for the vaniac cab of all the thousands of vayniacs out there. That are going to get this wine will receive. So we have a little video for you explaining it plus a little bit of a link so Mott, link that up as well. Scroll that underneath the video and click that but here’s the video explaining the vaniac cab contests. Stew: Vayniacs! Greetings! Happy New Year! Still from Crush pad, I’m here with Jenny Doll, our head designer here at the winery and everyone’s been really excited about the vaniac label contest. I get so many e-mails about this. We’re ready to go. So the wine even though it’s not going to get bottled for oh, another 8 months or so, we want to get the wine label rolling. So we’ve chosen a really cool label for you. We want something really stately an elegant and although Jenny works with a lot of designs, this is a special one that we’re kind of doing right now, a new label face that we’re using and it’s called CP011. Jenny: This is a 5 and a quarter high by 3 and a half inch wide label and we’ll put it on some beautiful bright white felt that’ll print four colors CMYK, for you designers who know what I’m talking about. You can do photography as long as it’s original. You can have to choose just be type. So go nuts! Have Fun! Stew: Are there any things we can’t, can’t do? Jenny: Yes. Stew: Any no-no’s? Jenny: Big no-no’s, no profanity please, no obscenity please. Do not make any claims that the wine has medicinal purposes, and/or superpowers. No superpowers. Use your superpowers solely for creating the label. If it’s not original artwork, stay clear of it. Stew: Jenny, what are some ideas that people could…where could people find inspiration? Jenny: Go to your local liquor store. Stand in front of the shelf and see which labels you like. See what inspire you. Stew: So you’re going to upload your image to vaniac Group on Crush net. If you haven’t bought your wine, and signed up on crush net, you’re going to have to do that first, otherwise, we’ll never going to see your picture. So in uploading the image to crush net and now what’s going to happen is really cool. We’re going to get all those images up there and then Gary V. himself is going to choose a few of his favorites and we’re going to vote on which label is will be gracing the 2007 vaniac cab. Jenny: You’ll also be able to download designer’s specs in the event that everything that I just said went right by you. Once, I get started, Stew, I just can’t stop. Stew: Thanks vayniacs! We’ll talk to you soon. Gary: Bye! Goodluck! Stew: Labels! Jenny: Can’t wait to see your designs! Yey! Gary: Alright. Thank you Crush pad peeps for that video. Hopefully you guys will enter, really looking for the creativity of all the vayner nation out there. Very excited about this process and this product, the cabernet is going to be a lot of fun and we’ll be hitting it up this spring to fool around with a little bit more on some blending. So keep your ear to the ground on a way that you can come to San Fran and join me and little blendy blend together. Now, let’s get focus on the Mencia Grape first and foremost. Thought to be a distant relative to Cabernet Franc for very long time until we did some DNA searching, that’s right Chris and I did some DNA work together and we, but there was some DNA work done and obviously the Meencia Grape was found not to be a relative to Cabernet Franc. There’s about 9, almost 10,000 hectares now planted of Mencia Grape. There’s quite a bit in the Bierzo region and Bierzo is allowing only two red grape varietals consistently which is Grenache and the Mencia Grape. There is something they call the experimental grape group of Cabernet and those wines are not allowed to be in any final blend, any more than 15%. But we’re still seeing just people dabble with that. The real dominant grapes varietal is the Mencia, and let’s get into the first one, the La Mano Mencia. This is the 2006 vintage wine. This was rated 90 points by Jay Miller who was the wine critic for Spanish wines for Robert Parker’s wine advocate and it is 8 US dollars. Now Jay Miller did not give any tasting notes to the 90 points score. But, that’s an awfully big score for an 8-dollar wine. And if this is a homerun, this becomes a huge play for all the vayniacs out there. Like little, see that Mott? It’s a little like, oh no, no it’s a little spot- like. You see, it’s a little. Anyway, a lot of people like to drink these wines in Spain especially in the northwest area just on a very casual porch-like with various cuisines. Did I say it’s got American Oak? Yeah, aged in American Oak for three months, it says good with Asian foods, very interesting. Back labels, fast-signing. Nice colored dark, eight bones, Mencia, La Mano, lets get a sniffy sniff. Coming across a little bit with like a little bit of like cola, like, I mean like a blueberry cola, like a coke came out with like blueberry flavor instead of lemon lime. You know that kind of stuff that I think you can get a little bit that kind of sniffy sniff on the nose. I do get a little bit of like a dried tealeaf component on the nose as well and a little black current, just the hair though. Pepper as well. Let’s give it a whirl. Great tobacco flavor, hits you immediately. And a nice like strawberry wrapped, strawberry and bacon wrapped wiener dog. You know like cut like, like take some strawberries and bacon and wrap them around little wiener, little hotdog. I get a little bit of that kind component. I get like the, I guess where I’m getting is a little bit of a meaningless which could’ve been the hotdog and the bacon, pepper, strawberries. Good medium-bodied wine. Give it one more shot. Good complexity, good richness. Jay Miller did not go insane on this one. I’m in the same range as him. I’m going to go 89 points. This is very fresh, very vibrant. A very good play for 8 bucks, good back instruction, great with food. I’m going to drink this on the next one or two years. I’m going to say this is a big put away wine. But boy, for casual drinking this is a nice little wine. I think it’s very decent. You know 88 plus, 89 points, so you can say I’m leaning a little more than a 90. But some nice flavors I’d love to, Asian food? I don’t know but you know, like lamb. This would be a really nice play if you’re really a lamb player. What’s a lamb player? If you’re a lamb eater and this could be a tremendous little pairing of good little value. Good brightness. I do get a little lime like on the back end. I’m very prone to picking up some flat floral components. I do get a little bit here. This is very solid. I’m very happy with this wine for eight bucks. It’s a tremendous buy. It’s a good start. Let’s move on. The Pilgrimage, 2006, Mencia, from Bierzo, 88 points Jay Miller, twelve US dollars. Let’s see what’s going on here. Let’s give a little bit of a shout out to “Happy birthday Lucinda Holman”, so I hope you enjoyed that birthday shout out. Let’s see what going on here. Let’s give it a sniffy sniff. Tight nose, not much coming through on the nose. Tight nose, really tight. I’m getting a little bit of that, a little bit of a cherry component, but pretty right nose guys. Let’s give is a whirl. Tastes a little bit like liver. Believe it or not, on the entry. Good but, excuse me for a sec, interesting. It, I was going to talk about it with liver and the leather, lot of bacon on this one too. Bacon grease, back in the day when we first came from Eastern Europe, my mom would like, scoop like two-cooked bacon, and like took bread and scoop the pan Mott. I mean, you know, we knew that’s why everybody died at fifty in Russia. All their hearts gone exploded. But you know, I used to do that too, and I remember especially ‘coz that she cooked with onions, I get like a very earthy, grainy, bacony onion kind of play in the beginning but then, the reason why I said excuse me and I came back, just asking Eric about something he’s quoting. I’m in the middle of the show. But I’m just curios, oh awesome, is it going well? Sorry, I’m just …. Anyway, no, not yet, so why should, you know what, get over here. Come over here. Eric, original, Mott is it OK if I say it? I know you guys had a rift that he was the original camera guy. This is a little fun fact for… Mott, I want you to help me give a shout out to our good friend. Mott: Hey Troy, Corbin, what’s up men? Gary: Troy, Eric, Gary… Did he make me upset? Mott: I don’t know. Gary: Troy, so big shout out to Troy and what do you think about all these, you know, 600+ episodes since you were behind the camera for the first one? Hundred, hundred and eighty, you say 180 he says 150. Get them off from camera Mott. Mott, you’d be in my show Jumping Shark. You did 148? Triple Mott’s done some classic. Mott was outside holding that was a classic. I know. Sorry, totally inside track. So let’s get focused on this. This wine’s very interesting. It starts off with, like I said, liver and the onions, and very bacony and which is a real food. And then it really finishes very fruity. So it’s kind of sour sweet play. Instead of sweet and sour, this is sour sweet. And I find it quite fascinating. Twelve bones, I think that’s an interesting experience on its own. Let me give it one more sniffy sniff and taste it. I kind of like this wine. It’s kind of simple. It’s kina basic. It reminds me a little bit of the La Mano in spirit. But at the end of the day, I find it to be in a similar range. I’m going to score this wine 89 points. A little bit from my palate, I can’t get away from being fascinated by this little onion play that this wine brings on the table. And for my palate, that’s a huge coon and that being said, if you hate onions, you might not like this. And again, this doesn’t taste like onion juice. It’s just the subtle new ones that makes me think of it, makes me taste a little bit, that I like so much. Great little wine, both wines. Really showing good, good synergy, good complexity, good flavor profile and right off the back, this reminds me why I’ve been hot of Bierzo, because these wines are really good value plays and so far, both wines did not disappoint me. Now this is the beast of this episode. This comes from the Palacios family which is a major wine producing in Spain. This is the Petalows. This is grape, gorgeous 2006 Petalows from Bierzo, 91 points Jay Miller, 18 US dollars. And this comes from 60 to a hundred-year-old Mencia vines. So, you’re really getting old vines here. Structured, cultured, ooop, that was cool. Did you see that? You know, it’s like wise. These vines are wise. Are you watching American Idol? Mott? Let’s give it a sniffy sniff. Forty percent alcohol content, really dark color, really good nose. I mean this is really bringing some heat, not the heat in the sense that, thunder. Good dark plum flavors on the nose, wrapped around some really like cracked pepper like you know, great pepper component on the nose. Very intense fruit very focused. This is really nice nose. I mean this is really shaping up to be a pretty impressive episode. Mott, as you know, as a lot of times as we’ve done a lot of places that I’ve been happy about, label that yell, it comes to mind all the time. But several other places and the wines don’t perform but these wines are really showing well. This one really has the potential of the nose to be a beast of a whole batch. A little bit of clove coming through. Very interesting nose, I was getting a little tomato juice residue kind of thing going on, maybe B80. Let’s give it a whirl. I get a basily green pepper component right off the top, so a little bit of greenness that I like. vegil, but not too over the top so Cabrenet Franc fans, maybe that’s where Cabernet Franc place coming from really, really texture. Great mouth fills. It just, it feels nice in there. I mean, this wine’s just nice. It belongs in my mouth. Great silkiness, great intense blackberry, mulberry flavors coming through, little creaminess from the oak, very balanced is this wine. Going to give it one more shot. This is a wine a lot of you will like out there. Very polished, very intense, very well made. Actually, Jay Miller underscored this wine. It doesn’t happen everyday. I’m going to go 92 plus pints on this wine. I think this is a spectacular effort that will last for five to seven years. And believe it or not, compare this with pizza with anchovies. I’m telling you, if you’re a pizza eater, that likes to put anchovies on, then you need to go find out, and find this little wine, which maybe a little difficult. It’s from a short production wine but extremely well. It’s imported my Rare Wine Company out in California so I know they get a lot of distribution in California. So, if you’re California ahead, number 1, boo Radars and Forty-Niner’s and Chargers, but yey, you should probably be able to fins this wine under twenty dollars. This is one of the better wines that have crossed our table. A little bit of a wild. A very, very good stuff, good stuff, anchovies, I’m telling you, delicious, good wine. Talked about the label contest, gave the big birthday shout out to Lucinda, so now it is time to ask you the question of the day, which is, “What do you put on the top of your pizza”? You, and a little bit of me, we are changing, guys, go out and find, it is really a serois place, whether they like it or not. See you later.