Navarra Times Summer

01 THE NAVARRA TIMES

Producers, commentators and winelovers alike were treated to aselection of some of the best winesof Navarra on Wednesday the 18thof April in Bar Pepito, Kings Cross aspart of the campaign to bringNavarran wines to a wider UKaudience. Just over thirty wines

were showcased by Inurrieta,Bodegas Chivite, Bodegas Malón deEchaide, Bodega de Sarria, BodegasPago De Larrainzar (GeorgesBarbier of London), Bodega MarcoReal and Compania VitivinicolaTandem (Hallgarten Druitt.)For many, the event was a chanceto get familiar with the differingtastes of the region and experiencethe variety of wines on offer. Manyguests expressed their fascination at

the range of flavours and texturesand in explanation Carlos Biurrunof Bodegas Nekeas explained thatone of the main reasons for thetrue diversity of the region is thelocation of the vineyards. He said:"There is no singular taste toNavarra. The north is mountainous

like Switzerland, the centre greenlike Central Europe and the southis like a desert.” Still, many guests found that theirdefinition of Navarran wines waschallenged. Sipswooshspit ownerand blog writer Paola Tich notedthat: “…they weren’t all made fromGarnacha and Tempranillo. Therewere some smooth operators-alongside some big beasties madefrom, or including, so-called

international grapes; Cabernet,Merlot and Syrah. There were alsosome white wines in with therosados-from crisp to super sweet.”One thing that stood out amongstthe wealth of positive commentaryfrom our visitors was the realconnection between Navarranwines and the food they areintended to be served with. AnneKrebiehal, freelance wine writer and

consultant for Harpers Wine andSpirits trade review reported thatalthough “Mostly known for its lively,easy-drinking rosado wines, Navarrahas lots more to offer than thesebrightly pink summer wines and theparticular focus of the tasting wasshowing Navarra wines to go withfood.” She also noted that thetannic backbone of Calendas(Ochoa’s wine), Rosado from

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PAGE 3NEWS FROMPRODUCERS

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PAGE 8PRODUCERSDIRECTORYDetails of producersand who to contact inthe UK

A round-up of eventsand news direct fromNavarra

A TASTe Of NAvArrAfOr LONDON

One thing that stood out amongst the wealth of positive commentary from ourvisitors was the real connection between

Navarran wines and the food they areintended to be served with.

Simply visit iTunes and search DO Navarra

Download the

Wines of Navarra

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THE NAVARRA TIMES

Win a trip to Navarra

A wide variety of producers from Navarra

brought a taste of northern Spain to London

and showcased new producers, new wines,

and some known favourites

Issue 04 • Summer 2012

Alex Hunt MW meets with Navarran producer Marco Real

Navarra Summer Times 2012_Layout 1 01/08/2012 16:31 Page 1

Bodegas Ochoa marked it out as afood wine with many options ofaccompaniment, while Tandem’ssoon to be released Inmacula Viurawas described as "Marked bynatural acidity and freshness,textured and long; it is anotherserious food wine."Value for money was another welldiscussed subject amongst ourguests. Wine Blogger, Tom Lewisnoted that the range of affordablewines was too large to simplycategorize by price when selecting

his favourites for his review of theevent: "The standard and value-formoney was all good here, I thought;with so many receiving ticks, I havestarred the "best in class" wines."Anne Krebiehal also praised theregions quality versus the value formoney we receive in the UK:

“Navarra’s moderate and in somecases marginal climate afford all ofthese wines a refreshing, naturalacidity while a long wine-makinghistory lends authenticity andexpertise. Amazingly, Navarra stilloperates in the shadow of Spain’smore Parker-worthy regions- but

for the time being this means greatvalue for money for us.”Several of the wines were praisedby guests for their originality.Señorio de Sarría’s No 7 Gracianowas described as "Unusual butdelicious""...in all it's clove scentedglory with notes of smoky meat anda smooth, rounded body," InmaculaViura was praised as a“low-intervention wine, bordering onnatural, feels rounded and creamywith big Natural Wine mouthfeel,”whilst Pago de Larrainzar 2006 wasdescribed as having “real power –the producers aren’t wrong whenthey say it has a “strongpersonality”. But it also has fragrant,juicy black cherries mixed withleather, cedar, almonds When somefood was served, I tried this withsome charcoal grilled steak. Goodmatch.” All in all it seemed thateveryone found something to theirtaste that they wanted to talk about;demonstrating the potential ofNavarran wines to reach a wideaudience across the UK with theiroriginality and unique tastes.The small intimate atmosphere ofPepito proved to be a perfectsetting for the tasting and, as ever, itwas a joy to see so many familiarfaces and so many new ones. Eventhough some of our guests were ona tight schedule, popping in to seeus when they got a spare moment,everyone seemed to be getting intothe Spanish spirit and tryingsomething new. Overall wereceived some very positivefeedback from those who attendedabout the future of Navarran winesin the UK and hope to hear evenmore at future events across thecountry.www.navarrawine.com

THE NAVARRA TIMES

Wines of Navarra newsletter is published by Bespoke Drinks Media Ltd. on behalf of Wines of Navarra

Bespoke Drinks Media LimitedFirst Floor, 2 The Brook, SouthwaterHorsham RH13 9UYTel: 01403 733756 Email: [email protected] Website: www.bespokedrinksmedia.comEdited by Charlotte HeyEmail: [email protected]

Contributors• Charlotte Hey• Angeline Bayly• Pilar García-Granero

Designed by Lucy EriksonCopyright Bespoke Drinks Media Ltd 2012. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be copied, photocopied orreproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, inany way or means, either by recording or otherwise,without permission of the publishers in writing.


The standard and value-for money was allgood here, I thought; with so many receivingticks, I have starred the "best in class" wines.

Richard Bigg, owner, Camino bars meets with Beatrix Ochoa from Bodegas Ochoa



Welcome

THE NAVARRA TIMES

Summer is here and our thoughtsturn to beaches and sun and a chilledglass of Navarra Rosado.The 2011 vintage is drinkingparticularly well at the moment andeven though we know you are nothaving the best of summers in theUK, we are sure that a glass of oneof our Rosados will help you toforget the rain.This year has been full ofpromotional activities for Navarra in

all of our key markets; the UKcontinuing to be a priority for ourexporters. The tasting we held in theSpring proved a great success – ourmain focus being to talk directly tobuyers in the off and on-trade so thatwe can help improve the distributionof the region’s wines. Later this yearwe will be taking a group of buyersout to Navarra for a three day tripand there are still a couple of placesso if you would like to join us please

contact the Wines of Navarra officefor more information. We are alsodelighted to announce that we willbe participating in the Wine GangTasting in Bath at the end of the year.This tasting gives us a great chance toget more Navarra wine in the glassesof wine interested individuals.We are currently preparing for thevintage and the signs so far are thatwe are going to have a good cropand some great quality fruit. We will

have to wait and see what the restof the summer and the early autumnbring in terms of weather but ourgrowers and winemakers will beworking hard over the next coupleof months to ensure the bestpossible results.

Wishing you all good summer.Feliz Verano.Pilar García-Granero

GREAT RECEPTION FORNAVARRA AT VINOFESTLast month saw the first editionof VINOFEST in San Sebastian.Thousands of consumers visitedthe Navarran food and wineextravaganza which ran for tendays in the middle of June.Seventeen wineries from theregion took part in the eventwhere the visitors were able tosample some great winesalongside some delicious typicaldishes from the region in theform of Pintxo (small, bite-sizedishes). Consumers were alsoable to enjoy live music whilst

they got into the gastronomicgroove.This event follows on from theNavarra Wine festivals that wereo popular last year in the regionitself and is part of the ConsejoRegulador’s objective to get ayounger generation of consumersinterested in Navarran wines.

For more informationwww.vinofestnavarra.com

MEDAL WINS FOR CHIVITEThe new team at Chivite aredelighted with the results theirnew launch wines have received inthe Decanter Wine Awards andthe International Wine Challengethis year. The Finca de VillatuertaSyrah 2010 and Tinto 2008 walked

away with Silver medals in bothcompetitions. In addition the newlook Gran Feudo range hadsuccess in the Challenge and theSommelier Awards wining aBroze for the Rosado and asilver for the 2011 Gran FeudoEdición Chardonnay 2011.Julián Chivite, president of thecompany, said, “We have beenworking hard to make the mostof the fabulous quality we haveat Finca Arinzano, our estate inthe north of Navarra. Finca deVillatuerta is a wine that ismade for enjoyment and easydrinking and the medals provethat our hard work is starting topay off.”

NEW LAUNCH FOR OCHOABodegas Ochoa has just launched‘Calendas’, a new generation ofwines for the company. The aim ofthe range is to create a easy-drinking, accessible wines that noton adhere to the foundingprinciples of the winery but alsoare respectful of the environment.The name comes from the wordfor the first day of the lunar yearaccording to the Roman calendar,the calends of March, just whenthe Bodegas Ochoa vineyard inTraibuenas springs into life afterthe winter. The ‘Calendas’ rangeconsists of a white, a rosé and tworeds. Three of these, the white, therosé and one of the reds,represent an image change for theOchoa brand in relation to the

young wines already madeby Bodegas Ochoa with theCalendas Roble is a newwine that now joins thisnew range.Commenting on thenew wines, AdrianaOchoa, winemaker said,“The wines are modernin style and aimed at ayounger generation, theCalendas Blanco usesMuscat to bring aroma,freshness and livelinessto the Viura andstructure of theChardonnay. The rosé is

made from red grapes using thesaignée method and in the redswe use Tempranillo and Garnachato make a great young wine. TheCalendas Roble has a little Syrahadded to the blend to help withthe oak ageing and give it anintense fruity character.”

FRAILE DEFENDSINTERNATIONAL VARIETIESJosé María Fraile, one of thefounders from Tandem wasinterviewed by the journalistDenise Medrano at the NavarraWines Tasting earlier this year inLondon and defended the use ofthe so called international grapevarieties in Navarra – an aspect ofviticulture that is often questionedby press and trade outside ofSpain. Fraile gave perspective to thisconundrum commenting that

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THE NAVARRA TIMES

“People are going mad overindigenous grapes, but Cabernetand Merlot were planted herebefore phylloxera. They are in theirnatural place given the stronghistorical links between the regionand France that has been inexistence long before thedisastrous consequences ofphylloxera hit Spain’s neighbour.Following their discussion writingin her blog, Medrano observedthat “Tandem is certainly adding itsown stamp to the classic Bordeauxblend with its Macula 2004, a 60-40 split between Cabernet andMerlot. But, for me, there was onestyle that stood out (from thetasting) – those intense, structuredand distinctive Navarra red blends.Let’s hope they’re enough forNavarra to attract new consumersand step out of Rioja’s shadow.”

NEW LOOK BODEGA DESARRÍASeñorio de Sarría�s team has beenhard at work launching the newvintage for its old vine Rosadowithin the Viñedo Nº 5 range withcompletely reworked packagingbring the wine into line with thenew Señorio de Sarria corporateimage. A fruity rosé made from100% garnacha is is harvested byhand in “nº5” block in the winery’sown estate vineyards, near PuenteLa Reina. After a rigorous grapeselection from the 50 year old bush vines, the must isextracted by the traditionalvat bleeding method. This wine has receivedinternational acclaimincluding Best Rosé of theYear and bronze medalsin the International

Wine Challenge 2012and at the ChallengeInternational du Vin 2012.But it is not just theChardonnays that are

achieving success internationally,the Moscatel a Petit Grains andthe Chardonnay 2011 which haswon Silver medals in the UK’sSommelier Wine awards and inthe international wine contest,Best Chardonnay du Monde.Only eight Spanish wines havebeen awarded with a silver medalin this important internationalcontest. During the contest 908wines coming from 43 differentcountries all over the world havebeen tasted and after four days oftasting and analysis, the juryselected the best wines.

BODEGA INURRIETA´SINTERNATIONAL SUCCESSMedal season is upon us andBodegas Innurieta is no exceptionwhen it comes to picking up gongshaving had a great run of medalhaving won a raft of golds, silversand bronzes in competitions fromthe “Challenge International duVin” to the Navarra SommeliersCompetition to the ConcoursMondial de Bruxelles.The wines from the range thathave been the most successful arethe Innurieta Sur, Mediodia andOrchidea winning silvers and goldsin the Concours Mondial,Challenge International du Vin, the International WineChalenge and the Navarra

Sommelier Competition.This raft of awards is testamentto the hard work and effor t putinto the wines at BodegasInnurieta which has increased itscache of medal tenfold in the past12 months.

MALON DE ECHAIDE WINSIt�s been a great year for thewinesmaker at Bodegas Malón deEchaide whose wines havetriumphed in “Le challengeinternational du vin” in France. TheViña Parot 2003 Reserva receiveda gold medal and a silver for theSeñorio de Cascante 2003 GranReserva in the competition.Apart from gaining internationalrecognition for their wines thewinereies benchmark brandMalon de Echaide has had acomplete makeover with newlook packaging bringing the brandinto line with market demands. Inaddition, making the most of theopportunity that the rebrandpresents, two new wines have been added to the range; theMalon de Echaide Blanco is now a100% Chardonnay and thewinemaker has created a newwine, the “Vendimia Seleccionada”proving that the winery isinvesting time and effor t inproducing the best possiblequality.

News for more information on

Wines of Navarra in the UK

please contact us.

Tel: 01403 733756 or email:

[email protected]

Navarra

Take a trip to Navarra: See page 5 for details

Jay Miller


W W W . W I N E S O F N A V A R R A . C O . U K

NAvArrA TrIP 2011Navarra is an exciting wine regionwith plenty to offer. It epitomisesthe diversity Spain has to offer interms of quality and value. As partof the UK’s 2012 promotionalcampaign, Wines of Navarra isoffering two independent winemerchants the opportunity to visitNavarra this September, as part ofa wider trade buying trip.Many people do not realise the

sheer variety of the winesproduced in the region, due to itssub regions, micro-climates,differing grape varieties and winemaking styles. The trip will allowyou to become familiar with thedifferent tastes of the region andbe able to talk more knowledgablyabout the region as a whole; notjust a handful of producers orstyles. You will also be able to giveyour feedback to the winemakersthemselves and see severaldifferent winemaking processesfirst-hand.

Philippe Loiseau, restaurant

manager, of Yauatcha

[before] I visited Navarra I couldn’t imagine

how rich that regionis, in history,

traditional food, andwine production.

Three days in Navarrawas something I

couldn’t forget. Mytop visit was Ochoa,

with Adriana, thedaughter, making herown wines which we

tasted from the barrel.These new

generations ofwinemakers are

bringing an air ofchange to the region.

And they can always count on me

to visit again.

each year Wines of Navarra hosts a UK trade and buyers trip to Navarra, find out how you could be

joining them this September

If you would like to apply for a place on the next trip, and can make 30 September –

3 October from London Heathrow (inclusive) please email: [email protected]

explaining what benefit your company would get from joining us.

Winners will be contacted with full details by august 17th, 2012.


One of the main focuses of theNavarra generic campaign hasalways been to get people out to theregion because, as Jordi Vidal, generalmanager at the CRDO Navarra,points out, “Until people come toNavarra they cannot fully appreciatethe diversity and range Navarra hasto offer – from its sub-regions to itsmicro-climates, its variety of winemaking styles to the vast number ofgrape varieties cultivated.”He continues, “We firmly believethat by investing in bringing buyers,press and opinion formers toNavarra we are able to give them aninsight into what we are about andhopefully create an opportunity forthem to speak more knowledgeablyabout the region and its wines.”Last autumn saw the largest trip ofbuyers visiting the region in the lastfew years as members of the UKtrade, from the on and off-trade,visited the region for three days ofwinery tours and tastings. The group arrived into Pamplona

THE NAVARRA TIMES

ON TOUr IN NAvArrA

The people who visited Navarrawere: • Emma Harrison, Store Manager and buyer, The Sampler

• Paul Walker, Bars Manager, Rockcliffe Hall

• Gustavo MedinaAssistant Manager, Tate Catering

• Terry Wiseman, Hotel Purchasing Manager, Saga Shipping Co

• Andrea Briccarello, Head Sommelier, Galvin Restaurants

• Richard Bigg, Managing Director, Cantaloupe Group

• John Hodges, Owner, The Vineyard at Dorking

• Stephen Arnold, Manager, Ex Cellar

WHO’S WHO


each year the CrDO Navarra invites buyers out to the region to get closer to the winemakers

and the vines. This year one of the largest groups of buyers visited Navarra to find out more


late on a Sunday evening to a tapassupper in one of the city’s great barsand then bustled off to bed early inpreparation for an early start thefollowing morning. Monday morning was taken up byand introduction to the region in theConsejo Regulador, situated towards

the centre of the region in Olite. TheConsejo’s President, Pilar GarciaGranero, gave the assembled groupan introduction to the region, itsorigins and the developments thathave taken place in recent years. Thegroup was particularly interested bythe changes to the regulationsensuring higher quality standards in production and vinification, whichentails rigorous tastings just aftervintage and prior to release on themarket.

Following the presentation in theConsejo the group was takenaround the region for the next twodays to visit the wineries which arefocused on exporting to the UKmarket. “Our aim with this kind ofactivity,” commented Vidal, “is tomake sure that our guests canexperience the different sizes andstyles of wineries around Navarra.We have small, boutique bodegaswith limited production and largeoperations that are eithercooperatives or privately owned –the point being that whatever styleof wine you are looking for I

am sure that Navarra has somethingto fill the gap.”Another important part of thesevisits is to make sure that the buyersget a broad vision of the quality ofthe culture and cuisine in Navarraand so in the evenings the groupvisited restaurants that representedthese aspects well. The secondevening was spent in a Michelinstarred restaurant in Enekorri, inorder to give guests a chance tosample the best of what Pamplona

has to offer and the third eveningwas spent in a local Asador on theoutskirts of the city where the groupgot a feel for a more traditional styleof dining enjoying deliciously grilledsteaks and local vegetables such asPimientos al Piquillo, fresh whiteasparagus and chistorra (a spice smallpaprika sausage similar to chorizo).All the guests were impressed withthe range of wines available and theconsistent quality of these wines.They noted that there are someoutstanding wines available but thatthere are also some good entry levelwines too.

The region should continueeducating consumers and shouldconsider linking in with other areas, such as culture and food toachieve this. Navarra has a strongidentity within Spain, which needs tobe accentuated with the UK gatekeepers and as a result theconsumer, the Consejo believesthat these types of trips are key to furthering the education and promoting interest in theregion’s wines.


THE NAVARRA TIMES

This year will see another trade trip being organized to the region towardsthe end of Spetember/early October and whilst places are filling up fastthere is still a possibility for you to join the trip if you are interested. Youneed to be a bona fide member of the wine trade who currently holds abuying position for wines in either an on- or off-trade retail environment.For more information contact [email protected].

2012 BACK TO NAVARRA

I was extremelyimpressed by Pilar at

the Consejo, whatenergy, vision,

bravery anddetermination…!

Richard Bigg, Cantaloupe Group

We will be happy tocontinue stockingwines of Navarra

Gustavo Medina ramirez,

Tate Group

Great food & wines,wonderful varietyfrom both…plus

wines to suit almostany occasion.”

Stephen Arnold, Manager,

ex Cellar

I will seriously lookat these wines for ourall inclusive cruising

trips...”Terry Wiseman, Saga Shipping

Company Ltd


PRODUCERS DIRECTORY: Details of producers and who to contact in the UK

Bodega InurrietaUK importer : C & D Wines LtdContact: Felix BenitoTel: 020 8778 1711 Email: [email protected]

Bodegas OchoaUK importer : PLB GroupContact: Lisa MarrTel: 01342 336534Email: [email protected]

Bodega de SarríaUK importer : BoutinotContact: Christina CavenderTel: 0161 908 1300 Email: [email protected]

Bodegas ChiviteUK importer : 10 InternationalContact: Jo ThompsonTel: 01372 454 910 Email: [email protected]

Bodegas y Viñedos NekeasUK Importer : seeking UK importerContact: Carlos BiurrunTel: 0034 948 350296Email: [email protected]

Compañia Vitivinícola TandemUK importer : Hallgarten DruittContact: Andrew ParkerTel: 01582 406433Email:[email protected]

Domaines LupierUK Importer : seeking UK importerContact: Elisa UcarTel: 0034 639 622111Email: [email protected]

Ntr. Sra. del RomeroUK importer : Morgenrot ChevaliersContact: Simon SmithTel: 0845 070 4310Email: [email protected]

Viña AliagaUK importer : seeking UK importerContact: Carlos AliagaTel: +34 948 40 13 21Email: [email protected]

Bodegas Pago de LarrainzarUK importer : Georges Barbier ofLondonContact: Georges BarbierTel: 020 8852 5801Email: [email protected]

Bodega Marco RealUK importer : Clink WinesContact: Catherine MonaghanTel: 07500 933848Email: [email protected]

w w w . w i n e s o f n a v a r r a . c o . u k


News & Politics

Navarra Times Summer