Jay Miller, from Parker’s The Wine Advocate Tastes Wine in Catalonia
Jay Miller, the timid but very likeable “Nose & Mouth” of Parker’s The Wine Advocate is here in Catalonia, Spain, from 12 – 23 January, 2011 to taste for the first time in situ our wonderful Priorat, Penedes etc., Spainish wines, after 25 years of close collaboration with Robert Parker. He will taste up to 1,300 Spanish wines and cavas and will visit small and large Catalan wineries in the following DO’s: Penedes, Cava, Catalunya, Priorat, Montsant, Terra Alta and Emporda.
On Saturday last Jay Miller started his Spanish wine tour with Cavas Agustí Torelló Mata Winery of Sant Saturni D’Anoia. Then on Sunday he went to Alemany i Corrio Winery (Sot Lefriec wine), one of the most fashionable wineries in Penedes. Everyone reports that Miller listens carefully, asks the price of each product in the US, takes copious notes and never accepts any gifts.
Once back in Baltimore, Jay Miller will continue tasting Spanish and Catalan wines with US distributors from 27 January to 23 March, 2011. Jay Miller considers the Catalan wines of DO Priorat, DO Montsant, DO Penedes DO Emporda etc., to be of excellent quality and to have a fantastic price/quality relationship. He says that, “the success of Spanish wine amongst the American consumers resides in offering very acceptable products between $15 and $25”. He also predicts that Spanish cava has now a historical opportunity in its battle against champagne as in the US champagne is usually never sold below $45 a bottle, whereas you can find great Spanish cava for below $25.
Jay Miller strongly defends the promotion of local grape varieties and gives an example of the DOC Priorat where the local varieties such as Garnacha and Cariñena are giving much better quality than Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah, which do not improve the coupage as much as some people may think.
Why not let us organize a trip for you to visit some of these exceptional vineyards – our Luxury Private Wine Tours can take you to some of Robert Parker´s most highly rated vineyards in history as well as fine lunch and dinner experiences throughout your trip at a variety of authentic Catalan venues. Perfect for the ultimate wine lover!
