North (including Navarra & Txakoli)
With the possible exception of Priorat, these northern and north-eastern regions of Spain are not that well known by most restaurant customers, so you’re firmly in hand-sell territory here – particularly for styles like Txakoli, which are as challenging to drink as they are to pronounce.
So right from the start there were caveats from our tasters here regarding ease of sale and (particularly for Catalonia) pricing.
On the plus side, what we didn’t have, for the most part, were questions over the quality – particularly when it came to the reds. In the early stages there were some wines where ambition didn’t match delivery, but once these had been removed, there were some very good wines here that could fit everywhere from Spanish fine dining to gastropubs – and that went for both reds and whites.
From The Tasting Teams
‘There were some really good northern Spanish reds, with some really good value around the mid-range of about £8 to £11: nice, well-structured wines, with juicy fruit. They really delivered on all fronts in terms of balance, and for the prices they were asking.’ Sam Weatherill, Etch. by Steven Edwards
‘Of all the wines we tasted today I actually think the northern Spanish whites would be the easiest to sell. They’re easy to drink, but at the same time they’re complex and food friendly.’ Luma Monteiro, Wineria
‘Some of the lower-end northern reds really showed well. A pub could make a lot of money selling the cheaper ones by the glass.’ Tim Smith, Winesurfer Consulting