Colin Harkness´ Wine Column

LCG Colin Harkness´ Wine Column Wine a little, You will feel better!

Hola! Welcome to La Costa Golfer’s regular Wine Column! My remit is to keep readers up to date with the Spanish wine scene in general and also, specifically, with the wines from our region, here in South East Spain.

So, I can’t really think of a better place to start than with, not only one of the most outstanding bodegas in our area, but also one of the best wineries in the whole of Spain – Bodegas Enrique Mendoza! (http://www. bodegasmendoza.com/en/) .

The origins of this leading family bodega are of interest. Following local farming tradition, founding father, Enrique Mendoza, decided to give a plot of land to his first born, the current incumbent and Head Winemaker, Pepe Mendoza - to do with as he wished. Having always been interested in grapes and the family wine, Pepe elected to plant vines. Soon, the family had 2,000 litres of wine to keep them going. And, when second son also planted vines, well, there was more than enough to give to friends also!

And, yes, you’ve guessed it, when the 3rd son also planted vines, the 10,000 litres of wine now being produced, forced the family to contemplate a journey into the unknown – commercial winemaking!

They’ve never looked back and little did they know that, very altruistically, they were also paving the way for others in the DO Alicante to follow. Despite the critics of the time (the generation before mine, I hastily point out) pronouncing that good quality wine was not possible in the Alicante region, Enrique and the boys set about proving them wellwrong!

Perhaps those critics of yesteryear didn’t possess a map? Had they access to one, particularly a map of the Wine Denominaciónes de Origen of Spain (DO, sometimes also referred to as DOP), they should have drawn a different conclusion. Whilst Alicante land runs along a large proportion of the coast of SE Spain, and is therefore basically only just above sea level, the geographical area of the zone heads inland a considerable distance, rising significantly as it goes.

Although the Mendoza bodega building is to be found in Alfaz del Pi, but a few metres above sea level, their vineyards are inland in the Villena area, where the altitude approaches 800 metres. Now this is significant – those critics were correct to point out that during the growing season the temperature is way above that which vines prefer in order to produce their best grapes. However, at an altitude of 700m and above, there is a crucial and considerable drop in temperature at night time, giving the vines some respite from the furnace-like heat of the day. This means that the grapes develop perfectly in order for them to make top quality wine.

Speaking of which – let’s have a look at the Bodegas Enrique Mendoza portfolio of wines. Firstly, from what we ‘wine types’ call, ‘entry level’ wines (in other words, the least expensive of the range) all the way through to the top wine(s) that the bodega offers, Mendoza represents excellent value for money! Indeed, when considering their top three wines – the equivalent of these in terms of quality, nay, excellence, made in more famous DOs (the likes of Rioja, Ribera del Duero etc), would be far more expensive,

Places to Visit

Colin Harkness with Pepe Mendoza

Wine a little, You will feel better!

Wine Tourism

probably double the price!

And, secondly, it’s worth pointing out that in the excellent and wholly impartial Guía Proensa, the guide to Spain’s best 500 wines, there are only two DO Alicante bodegas represented, one wine from the other bodega, and an impressive five from Bodegas

Mendoza! Of these, the lowest score is 90, the highest – 96 points!

Over the years I’ve tasted all of the different wines in the Mendoza range and I’ve never been anything other than delighted. There are three which are lauded as the flagship, the very top, wines of the bodega, all of which come in at just about the 20€ mark. The original, much praised Santa Rosa, has been joined by the 100% Monastrell variety, Estrecho, and most recently, by the single vineyard Quebradas.

Another much vaunted red is the Petit Verdot – is there a better wine in Spain made from this very French grape variety? And, it’s not only the red Mendoza wines that fit the bill. Indeed their highest 96 pointer above is the superb white Moscatel Dessert Wine, plus I love both the judiciously oaked, and the unoaked, Chardonnay.

Finally, for this, the first ‘Wine a Little, You Will Feel Better’ article, a mention of Mendoza’s business development during the 21st century, so far. La Crisis, the dreadful recession suffered by us all here in Spain, affected the wine industry too, of course.

Forward thinking wine producers put together plans to hopefully withstand the inevitable loss of sales, particularly in the domestic market.

Some had already dabbled in the concept of

Wine Tourism and found it to be, useful, revenue wise, if not, immediately lucrative. Along with others, Bodegas Enrique Mendoza embraced Enoturismo, making their tour and tasting perhaps the most envied (and copied/adapted) in the area.

I’ve taken groups as small as a dozen and as large as 30+ to the custom designed and built bodega in Alfaz - and I can tell you that it really is excellent. Twenty Euros gives you a tour, in English, if required, taking in: the small vineyard area that surrounds the bodega; the stainless steel fermentation tanks, where the wine making process occurs; the bottling plant; the crianza area, where those wines which to be fermented and/or aged in oak are kept; and finally leading to the tasting veranda!

And what a tasting – a large selection of wines, including at least one of the top wines (and their luscious dessert wine paired with chocolate), all accompanied by an excellent and plentiful selection of cold hams, sausages, cheeses, bread and their own wonderful Extra Virgin Olive Oil!

So, golfers – I give you Bodegas Enrique Mendoza!

Colin Harkness is a National and International Wine Judge, Writer & Broadcaster specialising in Spanish Wines, active in Wine Tourism and living in Alicante Province.