Joe Breen WINEThe great names of Spanish wine are being challenged by dynamic young makers
When we arrived in Colmenar de Oreja the other morning, the village looked sleepy and dusty, but at Bodega Jesús Diaz e Hijos the wheels were already turning as a creaking mechanical belt lifted crates of local Malvar grapes into a primitive crusher. It was the middle of the harvest, and this little winery, about 60km south of Madrid, was busy getting the grapes in.
The bodega's red, white, rosé and sparkling wines fall into the Denominación de Origin Vinos de Madrid, an appellation that is little known outside Spain - indeed, little recognised beyond the capital and its surrounds, where most of its wines are sold. Appellations such as this are waking up and challenging the hegemony of great names such as Rioja, Ribera del Duero and Navarra. The people behind the push are invariably young and dynamic, mindful of, but not controlled by, tradition.
Bodega Jesús Diaz e Hijos is a former convent with ancient cellars and walls covered with dusty bottles. Consuelo Diaz, a pint-sized woman with an inviting smile, served us a breakfast of fresh must, or grape juice, drawn from the berries we had seen being delivered on the way in. It was delicious, as were the bodega's wines. Its Malvar-based whites were fresh and flavourful; its Tempranillo-dominated reds ranged from fruity easy-drinkers to more serious crianzas, aged in oak. It was an auspicious start to a week of tasting the new Spain, courtesy of the Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade.
If the family-run bodega was quaintly impressive, the modern, corporate Vinos Jeromín and Bodega Tagonius were more sophisticated, as were their wines, the best of which were Tempranillo-dominated bruisers. Jeromín's best were the three flavours of the Grego label: a roble (or fairly young oaked wine), a crianza and a Garnacha, or Grenache. Tagonius's eponymous star was a heavyweight wine in a heavyweight bottle.
There are more than 3,000 winegrowers in the Madrid appellation, and some are keen to export. At their best they make good wines, not particularly distinctive but good value. Unfortunately, you may have to fly Madrid to check them out, as few are available here. There are, I'm sure, worse reasons for going there.
jbreen@irish-times.ie