AGE

Spanish law sets minimum periods of barrel and bottle ageing for its wines. Much of the character of these wines comes from oak ageing. Oak helps soften the tannins, and gives the wines some vanilla and toast flavors. The ageing periods vary from one region to another, but they all go by the same name. From shortest to longest, they are Crianza, Reserva, and Gran Reserva. Sure, Gran Reserva may sound semantically superlative, but only the best wines weather the longest ageing process. Many Spanish wines are released while young and full of fruit. Here are the minimum ageing periods in Ribera:

Crianza - at least one year in oak.
Reserva - three years, with at least one year in oak
Gran Reserva - five years, with at least two years in oak.

CHEESE!

A wine tasting without cheese is a deficient affair. For the good of our gala , I sat down last night with Nic Norton (Cheese Steward and General Manager at 94 Stewart Restaurant) and was guided through a maze of cultured dairy goodness. Through the lens of Nic's expert palate (and with the help of several glasses of wine) I was able to see my way through and I have selected our fare.

All told I tasted seven different cheeses chosen by Nic as good candidates for pairing with the styles of wine produced in Ribera del Duero and Navarra. In the end there were three that stood out:

L'Ulivo Antica Cascina (semi-firm, sheep)

La Tentazione del Frate (semi-firm, sheep)

Gorgonzola Dolce (blue vein, cow)

You can find more information about these cheeses, including Nic's descriptions in 94 Stewart's cheese menu. Thank you Nic for all your help. We now have Cheese!

The Very First Tasting of Them All

The Regions: Ribera del Duero and Navarra, Spain

The Rules: One bottle per person. We will taste and compare.

Choose your bottle in advance and use comments below to post a prelude about what you chose and why.