Michael Robinson

It is estimated that Italy will produce about 49 million hectolitres of wine this year.

In language that we all understand, this is about 542 million standard 12-bottle cases.

France will follow at 42; Spain 38; USA 23; Australia 13 and China 12.

Spain has the most planted acreage, as their vines are more spread out. A few years ago, during a particularly good year, they actually made the most wine.

I would think that we consume at least ten times as much from the USA, and Italy and France very much outsells Spain.

I would hazard a guess that New Zealand, Australia, Argentina and Chile also outperform Spain here.

Having said all that, I can tell you that our Spanish wines are growing, from a small base, and quite a bit of this is due to our launch of Compania Vinicola del Norte del Espana; let’s just call them Cune.

I first met these folks and tasted their wines from the Rioja region, at the New York Wine experience that I attend each October.

Friends gave me an introduction and suggested that we import the wines. When back in Bermuda I was mulling it over and then when I picked up the December edition of Wine Spectator I immediately stopped mulling and got on the phone. The magazine had just selected the Cune Imperial Gran Reserva as their wine of the year out of over 18,000 blind tasted in 2013.

The classification of these wines is based on the minimum ageing stipulated by the government before they are released. Crianza has to spend at least one year in oak barrels.

Reserva has to reside a year in oak and a year in bottle and Gran Reserva spends a minimum of two years in oak and three additional years in bottle. I very much appreciate the fact that Spanish red wines usually have aged for longer than wines that we purchase from other countries and I also like their use of warm, friendly American oak.

We start with Cune Crianza 2013 that sells for $19.75. It has a bright cherry colour with some violet nuances; the nose of red berries melds with oaky and balsamic notes.

James Suckling gives it a respectable 91/100 and writes of fresh black cherry and blackberry character along with excellent balance and lovely freshness. It is a blend of 85 per cent tempranillo with the rest being garnacha and mazuelo.

Cune Reserva 2011 is a similar blend, but it includes a little graciano. Eighteen months in American oak gives a lovely softness and roundness to the wine and it is velvety and polished. You will detect vanilla and smoke (from the oak) as well as black cherries and spice. The palate is fine, long and complex. $29.60.

Next up we offer Cune Gran Reserva 2009 that rates 94/100 from James Suckling who describes it thus: “This is very ripe with dried fruits and dried flowers. Exuberant aromas. Full body, round and silky, chewy tannins. Bright and exciting. Wonderful fruit. Shows tension and beauty. So gorgeous, decant two hours in advance of serving.” Wine Spectator calls it a “smart buy” and goes on to mention tea, underbrush, tobacco and fresh cherry. Robert Parker even finds black fruits and leather. The winemaker detects red berry fruit, liquorice, toasty oak, supple tannins with balsamic nuances and a long finish. You get all this packed in one bottle for $44.80, and it is a very special-occasion wine indeed.

I suppose you are wondering if we managed to get any of the Cune Imperial Gran Reserva that was chosen as wine of the year in 2013. The answer is, sadly no. This 2004 vintage was snatched up immediately by wine aficionados around the world.

We now stock the 2009, that has been hand-harvested from low-yield vines and only the healthiest and ripest grapes were selected. A long maceration followed (time the juice spent soaking with skins and seeds) to achieve optimum colour and structure. A second fermentation called malolactic, caused by bacteria, refined the wine as it completed its maturation in American and French oak.

The British magazine Decanter had this to say about the 2009: “Always great value, over-delivering on complexity and ageing potential. Refreshing and vigorous with silky tannins, subtle oak and textured blueberry fruit.” Suckling writes of “wonderful fruit, tension and beauty” and Parker finds “classical aromas of American oak along with balsamic notes of incense, cigar ash, old furniture and good, ripe black fruit in the background”. I must say this is the first time I have seen an old furniture reference to describe wine. I happen to think that this is one of the most enjoyable wines that you could possibly buy as it certainly fulfill my requirements for balance and pure “yumminess”. $75.65.

•This column is an advertorial for Burrows Lightbourn Ltd. E-mail mrobinson@bll.bm or 295-0176. Burrows Lightbourn has stores in Hamilton (Front Street East, 295-1554), Paget (Harbour Road, 236-0355) and St George’s (York Street, 297-0409). Visit www.wineonline.bm.