Seleccion Cepas Viejas 2004, Dominio de Tares, Bierzo

Simon Juhl Olesen is a 24 year old Sommelier from Denmark. He currently works in the heart of Copenhagen at the restaurant Le Sommelier. All his gastronomic education is gathered in Spain where he has lived most of his life. The last two years before coming to Denmark he was a teacher and a restaurant chef in a restaurant school “La Fonda” in the South of Spain. He also worked in the 1 star Michelin restaurant Guggenheim in Bilbao. Simon is a three time winner of the Andalusian championship for Sommeliers and among top 10 Spanish Sommeliers. In his free time he enjoys playing golf when the weather allows it. You can contact him on: Simonjolesen@gmail.com

Winery: Dominio de Tares

Vintage: 2004

Appellation: D.O Bierzo

Varietal: Mencia

Oak: 9 month in barrels from the Virginia and Missouri Forrest (American oak)

Average Price: 15 €

Tasting notes: You can enjoy the fine elegance of the Mencia grape. Mencia is also called Negra by the local wine makers. Visually it is an attractive cherry red color, with violet tones around the rim. In the nose it has strong fruity aromas of raspberries and cherries, also a hint of violet, which with the oak forms a hint of liquorice, chocolate, toffee vanilla and spices. In the mouth it is smooth, full bodied and very elegant.

Food Pairing Suggestions: With now many lovely trips to the area of Bierzo, Castilla Leon in the north west of Spain I have never missed out on the traditional pairing of food and wine from this part of Spain. Ergo my suggestion would be young lamb baked in the stove, or maybe a suckling pig with the nice crispy skin.

Winery Notes: Dominio de Tares is quite a new bodega, with all the newest technology, young wine makers and very modern ways of making their wines, but... The grapes are old and very local. To sum up, they take traditional (from the area) and local grapes to make the wines suitable for international market.

Vintage Notes: 2004 was a great year for Spanish wines, not too warm (and warmth can be the worst enemy). '04 is compared to '01 and even '96 which both were greatest years since the mid 80's or even 50's. The 04' vintage can be drunk now, but even better is to save some bottles for some years and you could be very positively surprised.