Torres Wine Dinner with Cristina Torres

At Lysses House Hotel, Fareham, Hampshire

We were lucky enough to have Cristina Torres, niece of Miguel Torres and daughter of Marimar Torres, visit and host a Torres Wine Dinner for us at Lysses House Hotel in Fareham, High Street on Wednesday 9th October 2013. A big thank you to Cristina Torres and to Dominic Thranum from John E Fells for helping us to organise the event. To see the full menu and wines served please visit this blog post.

The wines all showed very well on the evening, with my particular favourites being the Marimar Torres Don Miguel Pinot Noir and the Torres Gran Coronas Cabernet Sauvignon – it was interesting to hear Cristina describe this as a “baby” Mas La Plana, I hadn’t thought about it in those terms before, but I suppose it could be. The Torres Cordillera Carignan was very good too, you can read about this at my recent blog post.

It was also interesting to hear that all of the Miguel Torres Chile Wines are not only organic, but biodynamic, since 2010 – although there is no mention of this on any labels! The most popular wine on the evening, in terms of what people ordered was the Torres Santa Digna Estelado Sparkling Rosé, apparently the only sparkling wine made from the Pais grape variety.
Please find a few photographs from the event and some of my brief tasting notes below.

Marimar Torres La Masia Don Miguel Pinot Noir 2008, Russian River

Bright, ripe, red fruit on the nose with key aromas of cherry and strawberry jam. There are also hints of white pepper. The palate is soft and packed with more strawberry and a little vanilla. Good, sweet, round finish. It matched quite well with the pressed duck confit terrine, but not quite as well as the La Masia Don Miguel Chardonnay. Check the current vintage here.

Torres Gran Coronas Cabernet Sauvignon 2008, Penedes

Good dark red / black colour. Lots of dark, smoky blackcurrant fruit on the nose, hints of blackcurrant jam or confit. Quite a dark and brooding wine with a good firm, tannic backbone. Very good. Great for the money too. Check the current vintage here.

Marimar Torres Las Masia Don Miguel Chardonnay 2009, Russian River

Clear, light golden colour. Quite a smokey oak nose with hints of peach and creamy buttery notes. The palate is quite viscous and has good mouthfeel with more rich buttery, perhaps butterscotch notes on the palate. It has good acidity and some nice minerality that means it is not too overpowering on the finish. Check the current vintage here.

Miguel Torres Chile Nectaria Vendimia Tardia, Valle de Curico

100% Riesling. Slightly waxy / polish nose, typical of Riesling but with sweet honeyed, nutty characteristics. Hints of bergamot / Earl Gray – I always get this with Chilean dessert wines, but I think I am on my own! Lots of pineapple on the palate, good acidity and not quite as sweet as I was expecting. Check the current vintage here.