djzouke

Do you know where in Spain Mad Dogs & Englishmen comes from? Who's the importer? Red? Wines from Valdepenas are very good. When I'm in NYC I can find some at a place downtown. Madrilenos drink most of it though. Luis Megia alone sells 1600 cases a day! Thanks for another one to look for.

Vserna, Thanks for the interesting origin of the name of the wine. Pope Parker does loom large even in the naming of wines. I'll have to search out Mano a Mano also. Thanks again.

come on! americans are very fetishly affected by wine consumption. most spanish, french, italians, greeks would laugh at the american obsession with alcoholism. i drink until i'm satiated with the meal and beyond for meditation. what is dionysius trying to tell us? it's foolish and victorian.

I haven't tasted it but the owner that I work for hates the name. He has a thing for names & labels. I've heard that it's quite good. "Wrongo Dongo" is supposedly a favorite saying of Jorge Ordonez, purveyor of Spanish wines at Tempranillo Imports. Thanks for the tip.

Many good mentions from brad, thurston, coop. Thank you. Casa del Ermita 2001 is a great wine from the excellent region of Jumilla. I have half a case left in my cellar and 7 more waiting in a wine shop in Westerly, RI. To date in the US, the 2001 crianzas have been slow to appear. I'm keeping my eyes peeled for more from 2001. The Borsao crianza(00 &01) and reserva(98 & 00) are both good value and very good drinking. I've yet to try the Finca Sandoval. I will soon. As many of you have probably noticed, Spain is getting a lot of press lately. Mr. Parker had to include Spain as one of six epoch making predictions on wine. You know what that means. Here's some more that I've known & loved: Sierra Cantabria 1999 crianza Condado de Haza 2001 Artadi Vinas de Gain 2001 (if you can find any) (Artadi also puts out a red from Navarra Artuazi(?) that's goes for about $10) La Granja from Toro (an A. Fernandez wine) @$20 Los LLanos Crianza & Reserva (Valdepenas) Tresantos 2002 (Zamora) Muga Reserva 1998

Las Rocas old vine grenache flew out of the wine shop that I work at. A great value at $10 in upstate NY. I think I could drink Spanish reds & Champagne forever. The 2001 Vina Alarba Pago San Miguel is another ambrosia jewel @ about $17 from Tempranillo Imports in upstate NY. The exclusion of other reds might seem presumptuous to many, but I strongly feel a soul affinity to Spanish red wine. If anyone cares, I have a list of Spanish reds that I have known and loved that I can email you. The price/value ratio here is still quite good with the wide range of regional climates and indigenous varietals despite the Euro-Dollar devaluation. There's a good deal of investment money pouring into regions other than Rioja, Ribera del Duero and Priorato. Thanks for the suggestions of all!

Spanish reds continue to impress my young palate. I used to drink 60% white and 40% red until I encountered my first humble Rioja about 5 five years ago. Actually, I had a 1978 Rioja Grand Reserva in the early 80's and knew not what I was drinking. At $8 or so as I remember. When I started enjoying Spanish reds with food, I've never turned back. The only whites I buy are Champagne or Cremant de Limoux. I still wonder at the suppleness of Tempranillo. The variety is truly astounding. Decanter had a good feature on it a month or so a go. Long live the reds of Spain! Rioja, Jumilla, Navarra, La Mancha, Valdepenas, Ribera del Duero, Calatayud, Toro, Yecla, Almansa, Campo de Borja, Utiel-Requena, Cataluna, Castilla Y leon, Cigales and many more.

jean, i tasted some of this vineyard's wines while in sicily in 2000. i'll try to get the owner of the small wine shop i work at part time to get a taste. thanks for the tip. i've heard that mille et une nuits is great, but it comes with a price. keep on tasting, marco

I lucked out on Imperial Guinot when you could still order wine from California into NY. It's a cremant brut from Limoux that has a fine bead and rounded full fruit. I bought a case when I worked retail in upstate NY shipped from NJ. They are now able to ship directly into NY. Contact Dennis Yeast (dennis@pacific-estates.com) for info. Retails for about $14.

David, The only Planetas that I've had were the Segreta Rosso 2000, 2001 and 2002. I haven't found the vintages to differ that much either. The climate's fairly constant during the growing season. I've been there 3 times just prior to harvest and it's always sunny with an occasional t-storm in October. The best Sicilian reds that I've had come from the Vittoria-Avola area south of Syracuse or Mazara del Vallo. Cusamanno (Benuara?) makes a great Nero d'Avola/Syrah blend for about $15.