Sparkling to Sherry: Spanish Wines for the Holidays

Celebrating with friends and family is what I love best about the holidays. To enhance these celebrations, I think of wines, in this case Spanish wines, that are special and pair well with holiday menus from seafood to lamb, beef to wild game, as well as plates of Iberian jamón or goat´s-milk cheeses. Here’s my selected (short) list of recommend wines available in the US, although not all in all states. Most are available in Canada as well.

I included two sherries which have become favorites of mine. If you’re not already a fan of the dry sherries from southern Spain I hope you will try some over the holidays and into 2020.

Sparkling Wine

Gramona III Lustros Finca Font de Jui Corpinnat

Corpinnat was created by a group of elite Cava producers who were formerly within the D.O. Cava. Their goal is to maintain a high standard of quality for sparkling wine made in the Penedès region. Gramona is known for their organic, biodynamic cavas. III Lustros, a single-plot Brut Nature, comes from the 55-acre Finca Font de Jui plot, and is made using the traditional cava blend of Xarello and Macabeo grapes. This wine spends at least 84 months ageing on the lees, and contains no added sugar. If you are looking for a dry, organic bubbly for the holidays, this is it.

White Wine

Bodegas A Coroa 200 Cestos D.O. Valdeorras

The white grape Godello is getting a lot of attention for producing fresh, mineral aromatic wines in northwest Spain, and the D.O. Valdeorras region has the vineyards to produce superlative examples. This top wine from Valdeorras producer A Coroa comes from a tiny three-acre terraced vineyard with granite soils. The name 200 Cestos (baskets) refers to the tiny yield of the plot with vines reaching 70 years old. Barrel-fermentation followed by six months in oak complement the fruity, floral, and mineral notes that characterize this wine.

Sherry

Bodegas Lustau Almacenista Cayetano del Pino Palo Cortado D.O. Jerez-Xérès-Sherry

Sherry monolith Bodegas Lustau bottles a unique series of wines sourced from small sherry makers called almacenistas–producers that age sherry and sell it to larger bodegas. This wine is sourced from Bodegas Cayetano del Pino, a specialist in the elusive Palo Cortado style. Palo Cortado ages first under a veil of yeast (flor) as a fino sherry. When this fino develops atypically it is fortified to continue ageing oxidatively and labelled Palo Cortado. The result is a lively long-aged dry sherry related to amontillado and oloroso but with a mysterious added dimension. This old Palo Cortado has an average age of 20 years, but retains plenty of freshness. Pair it with some jamón ibérico, cured cheeses, or dried fruits and nuts.

Díez-Mérito Fino Imperial Amontillado D.O. Jerez-Xérès-Sherry

Don’t be fooled by the name: this is anything but a fino. Fino Imperial, the premier amontillado from venerable sherry house Díez-Mérito, is one of the best sherries in the world. It carries the V.O.R.S. certification, meaning it has a verified average age of at least 30 years. Even within the prestigious V.O.R.S. category, Fino Imperial stands alone. Decades of oxidation yield a smooth, fresh, even juicy wine with lively acidity and a nose like a great whisky. It can be paired with food, but for me this is the definition of a fireside sherry.

Red Wine

Venus La Universal Venus D.O. Montsant

Sara Pérez and René Barbier IV are the children of two of the founders of modern Priorat winemaking, Josep Lluis Pérez and René Barbier III. Together Sara and René make the gloriously subtle and complex wines at Venus La Universal winery in Montsant, Priorat’s less famous sister region. Sara and René have prioritized sustainability in their winemaking, farming organically, minimizing waste, and encouraging biodiversity in the vineyard. They even plow with a four-wheeler to save fuel! Venus is their flagship red. Cariñena, Garnacha, and a bit of Syrah age in large oak vats and foudres to maintain the wine’s character. A great example of what Montsant is capable of in the hands of talented winemakers.

La Rioja Alta Viña Ardanza Reserva D.O.C. Rioja

La Rioja Alta, famed for its chart-topping Reservas and Gran Reservas, is one of Rioja’s legendary traditional wineries. Their wines age for years first in seasoned American oak barrels and then in bottle. Viña Ardanza Reserva is no exception, spending 30 to 36 months in barrel and over four years in bottle before release. The result is a classic Rioja that is ready to drink today but can age longer in the cellar. Viña Ardanza differs from other Riojas: its blend of 80% Tempranillo and 20% Garnacha results in welcome fruit and spicy notes. See if you can find the 2010, considered such a good vintage that it was released as Selección Especial with an eye-catching blue label.

Mas Doix 1902 Centenary Carignan D.O.C. Priorat

To splurge on a Priorat, or enjoy one for a very special celebration, I can’t think of a better choice than this gem from Mas Doix. Mas Doix winery, founded in the late 1990s to take advantage of the Doix family’s vineyards, owns some of the oldest vines in the Priorat. 1902 in the wine’s name refers to the year that this wine’s Cariñena vines were planted. In the Priorat Cariñena is frequently blended with Garnacha. With this wine, revered winery Mas Doix places a Cariñena among the great wines of the world. A collectible wine that can evolve for years, but one that needs no taming.