Good, nice and cheap
One of the must-read books in this new year 2015, for all wine lovers, is without any doubt the guide to Los Supervinos 2015 (The Lince Books), prepared by the Valencian winemaker Joan C. Martín.
The book Los supervinos 2015, chosen at the Gourmand Awards as the best wine guide in Spain, has revolutionized the sector with its original approach: it based only on bottles that can be found in supermarkets and with prices that do not exceed 15 euros. It is, perhaps, the only wine guide in which none of the bottles reviewed exceeds the price of the book itself. A whole declaration of principles.
Who said that to drink good wine you have to spend a fortune? Martín illustrates this issue very well by quoting Machado in the introduction to his book: “It is foolish to confuse value and price”.
This book analyzes more than 400 wines purchased in supermarkets and department stores in Spain to then select 134 super wines (below €7.00 ) and 16 megavinos (with a price of less than €15.00). Among the many good wines in this guide. these six are some of the most prominent:
The Beech Tree Young Red . It costs 1.47 euros in Carrefour so, taking into account this low price and the very good quality of this wine, as Martín recalls, “the price is a gift”. The best wine in the guide in relation to quality/price.
Borsao Red Barrel. “Great wine full of balance and power”. A Campo de Borja designation of origin brand that Mercadona sells exclusively for €2.25.
Marqués de Monistrol Cava Brut Rosé. “Rosé cavas are on the rise among consumer preferences,” says Martín. This can be purchased in various supermarkets for the modest price of €2.44.
Torondos Rose. Another great wine from the DO Cigales, an area where a wine is made “so different from those of the Ribera del Duero that if it did not exist, it would have to be invented”. On sale at El Corte Inglés for €2.70.
Marqués of Vizhoja. “The beauty of Galicia in a glass of wine”, according to the author of the guide. A white not attached to any denomination of origin that can be found in El Corte Inglés and Alcampo for €4.19.
Juan de Juanes. The Cooperativa de La Font de la Figuera is a business and winemaking model to follow. Without renouncing its economic and social objectives, it is committed to quality bottled wines, bringing this style of quality and price to supermarkets with the Juan de Juanes brand. This red blend aged in American and French oak barrels is complex and understandable, elegant and balanced… A great wine that we can find on many supermarket shelves for €6.00.
In addition to the reviews of the selected wines in this useful guide, good advice for inexperienced people is also included, as well as interesting data such as that 80% of the wine offer of supermarkets and department stores comes from just six groups: García Carrión, Félix Solís, Pernod Ricard, Torres, Freixenet and Codorníu.
This guide clearly shows the unstoppable improvement, at all levels, of Spanish wines (quality, presentation, diversity, etc.), which globally are unbeatable in value for money compared to wines from other producing countries with great tradition such as France, Italy or the United States.
Reaffirming this idea, the editor of Libros del Lince, Enrique Murillo, admits that “a book like this is only possible in Spain, where you can find quality at a reasonable price, but it would not be viable in other European countries.”
Arias&Ortiz
