Gigondas: Ain't talkin' 'bout (only) red
Year 14, No. 08
This is one of those springs that leaves one grasping to really understand it. Admittedly, that is in some ways, the definition of spring as everything comes to life after winter dormancy and goes a bit crazy. This has only been made a bit more crazy by the fact we really didn’t have a winter this year, but instead this amorphous, lengthy fall-spring that only has a slightly-cold dip in the middle that was once known as winter.
We were warm, then we were cold. We were dry, then we were wet.
This spring in Spain is acting somewhat like how spring “used” to be. This is probably much to the chagrin of tourists who arrived hoping for less rain and are coming now to avoid the ever-increasing, often-deadly scorch of summer. But, what we’ve seen to date gives some degree of “good vibes” for the harvest ahead and we’ll see how things play out, all-the-while with the fingers at the ready to click on the air condition.
I’m very happy to be releasing the Gigondas Report in this edition of the newsletter. I’ve enjoyed the wines for years and it was extremely satisfying to finally have the chance to go and carry out a proper tasting of the entire region. Most importantly, it gave a chance to be one of the first to taste the now-official “Gigondas Whites”!
Do you know about “Wine Plus” (*) ? No, it’s not some new online retailer that will “cut out the middleman” nor is it related to “Milk Plus”. It’s the concept that for those working in the media of wine, you’re never just working in the media of wine.
And lastly, it’s been pleasing to release such a steady stream of reports on the site. Given this, it’s important to have a word on scoring (*) for Hudin.com, especially for the “destination scores” which are done in a very different manner than other publications.
I’m in Galicia this week and just to emphasize the weirdness of the weather, there’s a rather large amount of snow on the mountains next to Bierzo’s capital, Ponferrada that arrived… last week. What a spring!
But, I’m very much looking forward to working up new reports for the fantastic Northwestern Spanish regions of Bierzo and Valdeorras, so keep your eyes peeled for those in the near future. Then, it’s off to Moldova for an overview of their wines. Lot’s to come!
Drink well, be well.
-Miquel
(*) Free to read
The Featured Report
Gigondas 2024
Whatever you do, don’t call it “Châteauneuf Junior” as Gigondas, despite having a famous neighbor, makes exceedingly different wines. But the one thing they were missing, was the ability to produce white wines, which, as of 2023 has finally been changed. Here I take a look this and other changes as well as the Tasting Report of over 130 wines rated and reviewed.
And now this
The famed Carignan celebration of “Nit de les Carinyenes” came to pass in Porrera, Priorat. If you don’t know the event, please have a read about what it’s like and what wonderfulness you can taste in the next edition that you definitely don’t want to miss.
There are hallowed vintages that put certain wine regions on the map and then there are those that, despite being just as good, somehow get forgotten. This was the case for 1964 in Rioja, but thankfully, there are wines that still exist and they’re truly amazing.