Behind the Cork™ - Beronia Crianza

2017 Beronia Crianza ($7.99 and $14.99)

This week’s Behind the Cork™ features two bottles of Beronia Crianza - the traditional 750 ml bottle and a 375 ml bottle that’s perfect for single serve meet-ups with friends at a distance. In this new era of socializing, the smaller bottle helps you take your own bottle at a manageable size.

This wine is imported by González Byass which is headquartered in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain. It is a family-­owned collection of wineries that was founded in 1835 and spans across Spain’s most important wine producing regions.

This Beronia Crianza, from the Rioja region of Spain, is made from 94% Tempranillo, 5% Garnacha and 1% Mazuelo (a.k.a. Carignan). By Rioja regulations, a Crianza (“kree-ahn-tha”) wine must be aged for a total of two years with at least one year in oak barrels. In the case of this wine, its one year of barrel aging was done in barrels made of American oak staves and French oak ends. It was then bottled and left to rest for three months prior to its release.

This wine is medium ruby in color and has nice aromatics including red fruits (cherry and raspberry), fig, tobacco and wood. On the palate this Beronia Crianza has big red fruit flavors, medium tannin and a really nice lingering finish with a bit of crisp acidity. And, amazingly, I really believe that small addition of Mazuelo enhances the cherry/cranberry/raspberry flavor of this wine.

This Beronia Crianza Rioja is imported by González Byass USA and nicely fits as an affordable and attainable Behind the Cork™ wine of the week! Cheers!

---

Disclosure of Wine Sample Submission: I received these samples at no cost for review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Samples Provided by Donna White Communications

Piedmont: Another Top Wine Region in Italy

We’ve recently been exploring Italian wines (Borolo, Barbaresco, Barbera, Montepulciano, Soave and Super Tuscans), grapes (Sangiovese and Nebbiolo) and regions (Tuscany and Chianti).

So, now let’s take a closer look at another of Italy’s great wine regions - Piedmont (or Piemonte, pronounced pee-ay-MON-tay).

Piedmont is located in the western-most part of northern Italy. With the Swiss Alps to the north and the Mediterranean Sea to the south, it is yet another perfect region for wine. It is the home of more DOCG wines than any other Italian region.

In Piedmont, Nebbiolo is not the region's most widely planted grape, but it is the grape that is most notable. Nebbiolo grapes are prominent in four of Piedmont's DOCGs: Barolo, Barbaresco, Gattinara and Roero.

It is Barbera that is Piedmont's primary grape and the most widely planted. Piedmont's best Barbera wines are from Barbera del Monferrato, Barbera d'Asti and Barbera d'Alba. Barbera is thought to have originated in the hills of central Piemonte, where it has been known since the 13th century.

The third major grape of Piedmont is Dolcetto (Dol-CHET-oh). The top sub-regions of Piedmont for Dolcetto are Dogliani, Dolcetto di Diano d’Alba and Dolcetto di Ovada Superiore. Meaning the "little sweet one," Dolcetto produces dry red wines that are generally made to be enjoyed young. Unfortunately, Nebbiolo and Barbara steal the show in Piedmont and seem to leave these wines a distant third. But, Dolcetto certainly should not be overlooked. 

So, that’s just a very quick overview of Piedmont and its three most notable red wine grapes. Next time we’ll take a look at some of the white wines of Piedmont. Cheers!

Behind the Cork™ - Lyeth Meritage Red Blend

2014 Lyeth Meritage Sonoma Red Blend ($26)

Lyeth (“Leeth”) Estate was created in 1981 by founder Chip Lyeth who was captivated by the Bordeaux style of wine blending to achieve the most intriguing, inspiring wines.

And a Bordeaux blend this one is indeed. This Meritage (rhymes with Heritage) is produced from 41% Petit Verdot, 27% Malbec, 19% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 2% Carnénère and 1% Merlot.

This wine is medium purple in color and has notes of black cherry, plum and violets along with hints of sweet tobacco, some earthiness and oak.

I was expecting a big, bold and tannic wine. But, this 2014 Meritage has had some time to soften with age.

On the palate it’s steady in its profile with soft tannin and, surprisingly, a bigger finish of jammy fruit.

This Lyeth Meritage is part of the Boisset Collection of wines owned by Jean-Charles Boisset. His parents founded the family winery in 1961 and today the family collection includes wineries that share more than 20 centuries of combined winemaking heritage and tradition in some of the world’s most prestigious terroirs, from Burgundy to the South of France, to California’s Napa Valley and Russian River Valley. 

If you are looking for a nice Bordeaux-style red wine, at a very affordable price, be sure to look for Lyeth Sonoma Meritage. Cheers!

Tuscany: One of Italy's Most Famous Wine Regions

Tuscan is located in west-central Italy and includes the cities of Florence, Siena and Pisa. It is also the birthplace of the Italian renaissance. Wine production in Tuscan started before the rise of the Roman Empire and is believed to have begun in the 5th century BC.

Most of Tuscan’s top wine regions produce red wine, but that’s not to say that white wines aren’t produced. But more than 80% of Tuscan wines are red.

While Tuscany is comprised of more than 40 sub-regions, it’s best known for the regions of Chianti (Italy’s first official wine region created in 1716), Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. And, the grape of Tuscan is Sangiovese.

The best examples of Chianti come from the Chianti Classico zone, which was awarded a separate status in 1996. Many of the Chianti Classico wines are marked by the black cockerel (Gallo Nero) logo. However, bottles sold in the US are not always so marked.

Originally, the wines of Chianti were required to use both red and white wine grapes. But today, Chianti Classico wines must simply contain a minimum of 80 percent of the Sangiovese variety. The remainder can be made from native grapes such as Canaiolo or Colorino. There are three levels of Chianti Classico wines - Annata (the most basic wines), Riserva and Gran Selezione. Riserva wines must be aged for 24 months while Gran Selezione must be entirely made from a single estate and aged for 30 months.

Brunello di Montalcino is another of Italy's most famous and prestigious wines. All Brunello di Montalcino wines are made exclusively from 100% Sangiovese that is grown on the slopes around Montalcino which is located just south of Siena. Brunello must be aged for at least four years while the Riserva must be aged for five years. Two of these years must be spent in oak, and the wine must spend a minimum of four months in the bottle prior to being released.

Vino Nobile di Montepulciano is located southeast of Siena in southeastern Tuscany. Wines of this region must be at least 70 percent Sangiovese. Other local varieties can be used for the remaining 30 percent and up to 5% may be white varieties such as Malvasia. The aging period for Vino Nobile di Montepulciano is a minimum of 24 months while the Riserva wines must have a minimum of 36 months of aging with at least 12 months in oak barrels.

Behind the Cork™ - Opolo Vineyards Fusion Red Blend

2014 Opolo Fusion Red Blend ($28)

Several years ago, I was given a bottle of Opolo Reserve Zinfandel and thought it was one of the best bottles I had ever had. I’ve remained a big fan of Opolo and have visited their tasting room during a visit to Paso Robles.

Opolo’s was established in 1995, and has vineyards on both the west and east side of Paso Robles. The coastal influence of the westside vineyards provides for intense and unique flavor profiles. The heat and dryness of the east side vineyards make it an ideal microclimate for growing Bordeaux varietals.

This Opolo Fusion is a Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. It is deep ruby in color with aromas of plum and blackberry. On the palate it’s big and bold with a powerful front of fruity flavors that trails off to an easy finish. Right out of the bottle this 2014 showed its firm tannins but after about an hour in a decanter it settled down nicely.

Be sure to check out all of Opolo’s super wines on their website or stop in and visit their tasting room next time you are in Paso Robles. Cheers!