Chronic Negress

When the first day of four tasting sessions of La Rioja New York kicked off at the Astor Center Monday afternoon, the 36-seat room was occupied by about 10 people. The Rioja honchos had arranged for overflow seating in the anteroom to the tasting amphitheater but it wasn’t needed. They even had a closed circuit hookup for the overflow. No need again. The tasting area did fill to capacity by about 5 p.m. but most of the day was fairly quiet. The whole shebang repeats Wednesday for trade and press. If you’re either, both and interested, you can register here.

Anyway, six chefs from Spain ended the festivities with some tapas featuring Serrano ham, red wine “caviar,” cheese-filled potato puffs and good bread and olive oil. They posed for a photo op in the Gallery kitchen before plates of the little dishes were brought out. Before the assembled fell upon the tapas as though they were coming off a hunger strike, there were four separate tastings of wine and olive oil (!). No, the Negress isn’t talking salad dressing but a couple of pours of extra virgin olive oil in wine glasses for us to sniff and dunk bread. The oils –Rihuelo Puesole Extra Virgin from the Arbequina variety of olive, and the Almazara Extra Virgin Organic — were light and flavorful and smelled a bit of fresh tomatos.

Preceding the oils in the tasting was a hodgepodge of wines that didn’t fit into the previous three groups. The Rioja isn’t known for its whites and the Leza Garcia 2006 isn’t going to change that. A 100 percent Viura barrel fermented wine, it’s fruity and pretty nondescript. Vina Gravonia from R. Lopez de Heredia is aged for four years and fined with egg whites, which is pretty unusual for white wine anywhere. it had more structure than the Garcia but wasn’t overwhelming. Another oddity in the batch was Bodegas Riojanas Vina Albina Semi Dulce 2005. A blend of 90 percent Viura and 10 percent Malvasia de Rioja, this off-dry was comparable to a Kabinett Riesling with more honey on the palate. Rounding out the Island of Misfit Wines tasting was a pair of organically produced Tempranillo-heavy reds. The Navarrsotillo Noemus 2007 tasted like a sweet, frisky puppy; all big feet and ungainly motion. It might grow up to be something special but right now it’s a little too odd and sweet to do much of anything. The Navarrsotillo Magister Bibendi Reserva 2003 was decidedly more mature and showed some aging potential with loosening tannins and fruity structure.

There were 25 more wines poured in three earlier tastings. The standouts were Bodegas Riojanas Monte Real Gran Reserva 1998, a beautifully structured blend of Tempranillo, Mazuelo and Graciano with dark fruit and touch of licorice. The Bodegas Riojana Vina Albina Reserva 2001 needed time to open up in the glass, but once it did, it presented some reserved tannins with hints of plum and bacon.

The tasting leader was Juan Bautista Chavarri, the official winemaker of the La Rioja Government Winery. He didn’t pass judgment on any of the wines, but did suggest that a winemaker who could make a decent wine from the 2003 vintage deserved high praise indeed (because of the fatal heat that summer, a lot of 2003 European wines are like grape juice after a killing spree — hot, disheveled and disoriented. If you like that sort of thing, well, it’s the sort of thing you like).

Anyway, tomorrow it’s off to the International Wine Centre to learn all about tasting. No scents allowed. If you have to ask why, you are not ready for the class.