Telmo Rodriguez Basa 2006
“Wine is a drink that has to give pleasure -you can open a bottle with friends; you don’t need to spend $100 to have fun” Telmo Rodriguez, Gourmet Traveller WINE oct/nov 2005
Wine magazines and consumers give a lot of attention to the concept of ‘value’. Although this word can contain different meanings to different people there seems to be a popular consensus that it refers to the price of wines in relation to their quality. A relatively cheap but high quality wine is usually coined as ’good value’. It is not strange that people look for good buys because it’s simply impossible to drink First Growths or Grand Crus all the time, unless you’re a millionaire of course. I personally think Australians can consider themselves lucky because prices are relatively low while the quality of wine has never been so high due to the high standards of winemaking- and vineyard practices. This has not always been the case in countries like Spain where quality could be downright shocking. Not surprising for a country where the majority of wines was made by cooperativas that relied on grapes grown by farmers for whom quality was not their first priority. How things have changed! This excellent wine from Telmo Rodriguez is not only an example of modern and clean winemaking, it also offers you the experience of indigenous Spanish varieties that truly reflect their regional origins. Basa is a blend of Verdejo (85%), Viura (10%) and Sauvignon Blanc (5%) and is completely fermented in stainless steel tanks. The nose shows clearly defined and intense tropical fruit, pear, melon, citrus and herbal notes. The palate has a lovely round texture with lively fruit, chalky minerality and fresh acid while the slightly phenolic finish adds even more character. This wine really delivers interesting and high quality drinking. The price is just a bonus. 91 points.
Source: The Spanish Aquisition Price: $22 Drink: Now
June 29, 2007 at 5:48 am
I’ve just stubled onto your site, I’m liking what I’m seeing so far. What is it with WA producing very good wine blogs?
I agree, value seems to be a buzzword for winewriters, I find it is very subjective. For many people a wine of this style (white, drink now but high quality) at this price is expensive.
Estate producers are still very rare in many areas of Spain, this is changing tho. One of the great success stories of co-op’s rise to fame over the past 20 years has to be Artadi. They hold some of the highest and oldest vineyards and Rioja, and released that they held the power and are now producing some of the top rated wines in the region.
June 30, 2007 at 7:33 am
Hi Dave,
Thanks for your kind remarks on the blog. It is true that people often are not prepared to spend the same amount of money on white than on red wines. This is indeed because some of the more popular whites have lesser cellaring potential. Why bother, most people drink their wines – white AND red – within a couple of hours after purchase anyway.
I saw Xavier and his little boy today when visiting the aquarium with my daughter. Heard you had a good tasting of his wines in Melbourne last week, I unfortunately missed the one in Perth on monday. I mentioned your remark on Artadi and he totally agreed. And even better for us, he’s thinking of getting some over.
June 29, 2008 at 9:06 pm
[...] flavor and clean at the end. The creator, besides nature, is Telmo Rodríguez. Here is another article on this great [...]