It's marvelous when you gel with someone almost immediately as I did with Victoria Benavides. She came here earlier with local rep Lisa of Elite wines. She called before and asked if she could come by. That was considerate as we are frequently quite busy here at the store. I don't like people to have to wait around to see us here at the wine store. I especially don't like wine makers and owners to sit or stand around long.
It's a beautiful day here at Cleveland Park Wines and Spirits and I had no idea how much I would enjoy this encounter with Victoria which just morphed and morphed - growing into a really nice shared tasting-wine experience. We tried Victoria's wines of course.
Let me retract, we tried both Victoria's wines. That's to say that the two white Verdejos are made by her colleague also named Victoria. Confusing? It is but then that's life and the wine business. From another spin it's also intriguing. The two Victorias are not related, they just made wine together at one point; now they don't.
I tried the two white Verdejos and said how much more I enjoyed the less expensive version that we have sold case after case of over the years. The more expensive is bigger and thicker, lusher, more serene, more like the still sparkling water and light of a night lagoon with the moon's reflection. I said it was more like you feel after sex : the less expensive one was more like you feel when you want sex. I mean no disrespect here. These are more reflective observations using descriptions and images to convey the styles of the two wines, both made with the lovely Verdejo grape. Both were a treat. But considering also the heat of the day I would much rather drink the less expensive bottle and use my mind to imagine the sex even if it stayed only in my head. I told Victoria this . She smiled. She immediately replied in French that the mind was an important place and so was the imagination. I then translated for Lisa so that she could be in on this bit of playful mischief of ours that I instigated!
I tried Victoria's red Vinas Elias Toro, the more complex/evolved and earthier, pithier more tar leather and tobacco Crianza Toro and finished with the mighty Gran 2004 Toro. They are made from the Tinto de Toro which is one of the many clones of the Tempranillo. I liked them all but especially the last two.
Lisa told Victoria that I could speak French and she was relieved because she can be more expressive in French. That was evident from the get-go. I translated some for Lisa. She begins her French classes in a week's time she tells us. That will be so helpful Lisa in understanding the complexities/subtleties of the language , what is being said and it's particular bent of the moment.
I did not like the alcohol and extra warmth of the Vinas Elias. It was so pleasing and full and broad and actually quite BIG on the palate. It was a bit TOO much of all that for me and I was left with the strength of the alcohol in the back ranges of my taste buds. It will be a big hit I think for a lot of the American public. It's good , just not my personal style. Anyway, that's what makes life interesting.
I liked the Crianza and the Gran. I immediately liked all the extra flavorings of the Crianza from start to finish. Lovely, stimulating, intriguing! I liked it repeatedly as I re-tasted it several times during all this animated conversation in French and English. After all, here I was surrounded on both sides by two lovely ladies. Not bad.
The Gran I immediately felt the power and weight and intensity and said to Victoria that I thought it needed another 3-5 years of bottle age. I asked Victoria her opinion. She seemed to think it was quite drinkable now and said some people liked it now while others like myself preferred to wait. I then got from Victoria that the two were like horses , one domesticated, one wild. She was referring here to the Vinas Elias and the Crianza : the Vinas Elias was the wild horse and the Crainza was the domesticated one. I reversed the two and said that was how I saw the two, opposite to her definition. Anyway, then I heard her refer to these three wines as her sons : no daughters, all sons. I translated this for Lisa. I liked it. I don't quite see though why one of the three cannot be a daughter to her? I don't have an answer for that. Oh weel, on our next visit.
We had a great , warm , special visit the three of us. I gave Lisa and Victoria some of today's writing - my poems - and Victoria some of my old black-and-white wine label drawings. I did them in 1985 as possible wine labels : some actually became labels. Anyway, Lisa asked before we left about the reds : which was the one before sex and which one the one after ? I didn't answer then. Thinking about it now I see the Vinas Elias as the one after sex and the Crianza the one before. Tempting. Cheers! I mean all this in good fun and humor and respect. It was great to meet you Victoria. Merci pour la degustacion et a plus tard! Venez nous vous n'emporta quand. TONY
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