Thursday, September 4, 2014

Wines of La Vuelta Stage 12: Gonzalo Gonzalo Rioja Gran Cerdo



The stage: Well, that is not an inspiring profile, unless you are a sprinter.  Of course, no Cav at the race, so I admit to being less than excited. Today they have eight laps around Logroño before finishing in what is likely to be a bunch sprint. How do you say, likely to be the dullest day of the race in Spanish? On Cycling News, Vuelta technical director Paco Giner has explained the thinking behind today’s stage. “Everybody needs to relax. It’s good to do that for this time of the year,” he said. “The season is long and there are many difficulties on the route. Sprinters deserve to have such a chance. People like it for the spectacle it delivers. Fiesta is part of La Vuelta.”



That said, they are in Rioja, so today we have a blog post. And there is Matthias Krizek, who with one hundred kilometers to go had a solo lead of 7:25. In the next ten kilometers he lost about a minute of his lead, but it was clear that the bunch was in no hurry to catch him. Seventy-six kilometers to go and the gap had dropped another minute to 5:30. Fifty kilometers to go and it was hovering over three minutes. And so it went. With fifteen kilometers to go, it was under one minute. And then the catch and by ten kilometers to go, they were all together. Time for the sprint trains to assemble. And, well, no surprise really:
Degenkolb, with a crash behind. 



Stage: John Degenkolb



Wine: Gonzalo Gonzalo Rioja Gran Cerdo 2012
$15.99 from Frankly Wines

Christy says: Producer only recently brought into the US. It's Rioja Alavasia, but declassified. Not highly oaked. If you've seen the label with the winged pig on it - this is that

From the importer, Critical Mass Selections:
The Wine Love - La Rioja
http://www.thewinelove.com/en/index.html

Gonzalo Gonzalo and Mar Mota are the two free spirits responsible for bringing us these fantastic wines from La Rioja. Gonzalo Gonzalo comes from a family of wine makers and has seen all aspects of the wine making industry - from the industrial wineries in Spain to the small vignerons throughout Italy and France. Now producing wine in the most natural ways possible, Gonzalo Gonzalo has found his home back in La Rioja. Mar Mota comes from a family of artisan cask makers and studied oenology and chemistry in the University of La Rioja. A firm believer in biodynamic winemaking, Mar Mota teams with Gonzalo to make some of the best natural wine that comes out of spain.

I say: I'm splitting Rioja into two days. First up, something new to me. I'll admit it, I was very curious about this one.  Deep and dark in the glass. Berries, violets, and much lighter than I expected, but with enough earthiness to keep it grounded. An excellent value.

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