Canforrales Tempranillo Classico 2008 $16.99

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 I feel that you can sense the character of the people who make wine in the wine itself;  the wine becomes their voice.

A good example of this is the Canforrales 2008 Tempranillo Classico.

Last January I had the great fortune of travelling to Spain.  My purpose was to buy wines that exceeded the offerings currently available.  About half way through the trip (that means about 175 wines in) we were in the Rioja. We toured one of most incredible wineries I have seen in my 20 years in the business. Cavern after Cavern of barrels all resting to the sound of soothing music. In the slightly damp air was the wonderful scent of wine.  I was salivating in anticipation of the tasting.

The winery has a long and colourful history.  It was started by a boy of 15 out of the basket on the front of his bike.  He would sneak into various vineyards, taste the grapes ripening on the vines and then at harvest would negotiate to buy certain parcels that he would take home and make into wine.  After the wine was ready he would load some bottles into the basket on the front of his bike and he would literally ‘peddle’ them throughout his village.  I desperately wanted to taste that passion in the wines.

We sat down to the tasting.  My anticipation was high.  I tasted through the first 10 wines, which all let me down. There was no character, no body, no ‘voice’ in the wines.  I asked about the history of the winery again and learned that about 30 years ago the winery changed hands and was re-sold to a Swiss Bank or some Investment company.  I had my answer.

Over dinner that night I met Jose Hildago, the winemaker for a La Mancha based winery called Campo Realles.  He told me stories of how his mother & father ran a small restaurant in his village in La Mancha and how his mother would taste through the wines of the local farmers and decide which were suitable for his father’s food.  She would give Jose a taste and ask his opinion.  From this point on Jose wanted to make wines that his mother would think were good enough for his father’s food.

After hearing this story I yearned to taste his wines, so we arranged to meet and taste the next morning.

Jose has been making wines for over 20 years now and is a very thoughtful and soft spoken man until you ask about the ‘nature’ or ‘voice’ of the Tempranillo grape.  His voice starts to resonate and his hands move in a hundred different directions.

 We tasted through 10 wines and I was so impressed by the 2008 Canforrales Tempranillo that I bought a whole container (1100 cases).  It is lush, deep, wonderfully fruity, earthy and spicy.  All of this is in perfect balance with the body and tannin.  The wine has a voice and it clearly speaks to the passion behind it.

Give it a whirl and I hope that it improves your quality of life… one sip at a time.