Wine & Spirits - April 2018 - 74

29th ANNUAL RESTAURANT POLL

SPAIN
The excitement we hear from sommeliers about Spain shows in the country's share of the most popular wines. Up until 2014, that share had
hovered around four percent, jumping to 7.5 percent in 2015, 10.2
percent in 2016 and settling back to 6.9 percent this year, with the
volatility of a classic old Rioja. This year, in fact, it's a classic Rioja
producer, R. López de Heredia, that not only tops the list of most
popular Spanish wines, but the Restaurant Top 50 as well. It's joined
here by other high-end Riojas, along with edgy hipster favorites, like
Txakolina from Ameztoi and Canary Islands rosé.
Rioja has name recognition, and Spain, in general, has affordable pricing on its side, but the most-mentioned sales driver in our
interviews with sommeliers was food pairing. "If we have a carte
blanche tasting opportunity, we lean heavily on Rioja," says Jin Ahn
at Noreetuh in NYC. "It satisfies many palates. Everything else rotates,
with a space for lighter body and heavier body; the Rioja is right in
the middle."
Albariño from Rías Baixas is also getting its share of attention, even
at a French restaurant like NYC's Racines, where Arnaud Tronche
calls out Albamar when asked what wines outside of France sell well
on his list. At Liholiho Yacht Club in San Francisco, Ryan Jasielum
credits his strong albariño sales to the wine's affinity with the poke.
"The tanginess, acidity and salinity really balances out the fattiness
of the tuna and hits on the brininess of the nori cracker," he says, citing Do Ferreiro as his best seller. And with the intricate spices woven
into the food at Indian Accent in NYC, Daniel Beedle often leans on
aged white Rioja. "We have a lot of savory, umami characteristics in
the food," he explains. "You put it together [with R. López de Heredia
Gravonia 2007] and it's umami-mania."
Sommeliers are simply more interested in Spain than they've been

Bottling

"

People recognize Rioja as quality, knowing it
has a little bit of age and elegance to it. It has
that great balance of quality for the price.
-Stella Hernandez, Lolita, Portland, Maine
A lot of our clientele likes Rioja. They'll
look through the list and say, 'This is an
amazing Portuguese list, but we'll stick
with Rioja.' [R. López de Heredia and
Remelluri Reserva] are very different, but
both well known; a lot of times people
will see the name and just say, 'Oh, I'm going to have that.'
The López de Heredia especially: They see that it's a 2004 and
$124-they see it as a bargain. -Irene Justiniani, Aldea, NYC

ARGENTINA

MOST POPULAR SPANISH WINES
Rank Brand

in the past. "I never really gave Spain a lot of my mind," says Daniel
Bjugstand at NYC's Pasquale Jones. "I thought Spain was just making
big, extracted, oxidative, oaky styles of wine. While you can certainly
find those, younger producers are challenging that idea. They're
making some of the most exciting wines. They can have a really great
soul-a Mediterranean appeal for people who are used to drinking
Italian wines. They're elegant, they're thoughtful and they're true to
where they come from."

Avg. Price

"The market for malbec has kind of leveled itself out," says JP Taylor, Jr.
of Beast + Bottle in Denver. "It's not as hot as it was even three or
four years ago." The poll numbers reflect that, with Argentine wines
placing fifth in terms of popularity for imported wines on our poll
respondents' lists. Yet Taylor and others have no problem selling
malbec. "The demand never decreases," says Alessandro Piliego at
Ristorante Morini, an Italian spot on NYC's Upper East Side. For him,
"It's always a hot wine."

2 Remelluri

Rioja Reserva Viña Tondonia
Rioja Crianza Viña Cubillo
Rioja Reserva
Rioja Lindes de Remelluri

$90
$66
$82
$69

3 La Rioja Alta

Rioja Reserva Ardanza

$76

4 La Antigua

Rioja Reserva Clasico

$56

5 Ameztoi

Getariako Txakolina Hondarribi Zuri

$48

6 Do Ferreiro

Rías Baixas Albariño

$59

7 Los Bermejos

Lanzarote Listan Negro Rosé

$57

8 Ostatu

Rioja

$42

9 Fento Wines

Ribeira Sacra Xabre

$50

10 Can Feixes

Penedès Negre Selecció

$48

11 Cillar De Silos

Ribera del Duero Crianza

$38

12 Señorío De P.Peciña

Rioja Reserva

$69

13 Bernabeleva

Madrid Navaherreros

$48

2 Achaval Ferrer

14 Francesca Vincent

Priorat

$60

3 Ruca Malen

15 Muga

Rioja Reserva Seleccion Especial

74

APRIL 2018

1 R. López de Heredia

WINE & SPIRITS

$102

"

We try to get malbec from around the world to
show different aspects of it: The Noemia is from
Patagonia, which is really high altitude, and the
climate is a lot more moderate than Mendoza.
-JP Taylor, Jr., Beast + Bottle, Denver
MOST POPULAR ARGENTINE WINES
Rank Brand

1 Catena

4 Familia Zuccardi

Bottling
Vista Flores Malbec
Mendoza Alamos Merlot
Mendoza Malbec
Mendoza Malbec
Lujan de Cuyo Quimera
Mendoza Malbec
Mendoza Kinien Malbec
Mendoza Malbec
Mendoza Q Malbec

Avg. Price
$40
$37
$48
$66
$78
$44
$75
$42
$45



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - April 2018

Contents
Wine & Spirits - April 2018 - Cover1
Wine & Spirits - April 2018 - Cover2
Wine & Spirits - April 2018 - 1
Wine & Spirits - April 2018 - 2
Wine & Spirits - April 2018 - 3
Wine & Spirits - April 2018 - 4
Wine & Spirits - April 2018 - Contents
Wine & Spirits - April 2018 - 6
Wine & Spirits - April 2018 - 7
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Wine & Spirits - April 2018 - Cover3
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