Category Archives: SPAIN

Eugolio Pomares: Superfluous, Maybe—Super Fluids, Without a Doubt

Posted on April 13, 2017 by intoxreport

I’ve been writing about wine—bulk and otherwise—for the bulk of my life—successfully and otherwise. And yeah, some things do get old. Read a random sampling of wine reviews, starting with Parker’s and trickling down to John Doh! blogger’s, and put … Continue reading →

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Verdejo Viejo: Rueda Gravitas

Posted on March 5, 2017 by intoxreport

In central Spain, Rueda is a white wine buoy bobbing on a vast red sea. How vast? Spain produces a billion gallons of wine a year, and Castilla y Leon—Rueda’s home province—is by far the largest autonomous wine region in … Continue reading →

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Love Among the Rootstock: Castell d’Encus and the Art of the Backstory

Posted on October 5, 2015 by intoxreport

I asked my buddy Elie for winemaker with a decent backstory, and he gave me Castell D’Encus and Mireia Taribó, who turns out to have a back-magnum opus, which is better than a backstory, better than a backrub, and lasts … Continue reading →

Posted in Calatayud, SPAIN | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Alemany i Corrio: Fusion in Collusion

Posted on August 1, 2015 by intoxreport

What do you get when you mix a Frenchman trained in Dijon with a Spaniard from Vilafranca del Penedès? Alemany i Corrio, that’s what—whose Sot Lefriec is dubbed either a garagiste masterpiece or a jewel of the Penedès, depending on … Continue reading →

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Charlotte’s Telaraña

Posted on July 23, 2015 by intoxreport

Any British woman who sends a townful of Spaniards an invitation to a Battle of Trafalgar Anniversary Party is my kinda broad. The fact that October 21 (the date Lord Nelson defeated the Spanish Navy during the Napoleonic Wars) also … Continue reading →

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Spanish Nor’Wester: A Mighty Wine

Posted on July 19, 2015 by intoxreport

Northwest Spain is a treasure trove of venerable varietals, most of which are completely unknown to American consumers and their strange fixation on the familiar. For example, Carrasquín.  One of four grapes native to Asturias, it produces a dark, muscular … Continue reading →

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Date Cristal; Marry Cava

Posted on July 12, 2015 by intoxreport

During our formative years—that callow and malleable era when we still thought Keith Richards was a good guitar player and PETA was a righteous organization and God was actually seated in His heaven—we came to the conclusion that there were … Continue reading →

Posted in Penedès, SPAIN | Tagged | 1 Comment

Artuke Rioja: The Name in Spain Stays Mainly in the Brain

Posted on July 1, 2015 by intoxreport

‘Artuke’ rhymes with Y2K and is pronounced like R2D2’s  brother, both of which are better names than the one sported by the guy who owns Artuke Bodega (Kike Blanco), who is grateful for his own brother Arturo.  Because without the … Continue reading →

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Mona Elisa’s Smile

Posted on April 22, 2015 by intoxreport

Why are infectious smiles called infectious smiles?  I get the semantics; if you are in the presence of someone with a perpetual, ear-to-ear grin you find yourself emulating it with some sort of Zelig-quality compulsion.  But infectious sounds so STD-ish; … Continue reading →

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Syrah, Syrah: A Tale Of Two Pretties

Posted on March 29, 2015 by intoxreport

‘It was the best of tomes, it was the worst of tomes…’ Or something like that. When we were assigned that ponderous boat-anchor in high school, I told Brother Lithgow, “I’m not reading any more until this Dickens schmuck makes … Continue reading →

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