Secrets of Spain

Spain has more land devoted to vines (944,000ha) than any other country but it takes an expert to discover quality combined with value.  Its diversity is a real challenge but one secret is to find an importer who is partly producer-owned.  This is the role of North South Wines.

No wine country has evolved and innovated as much as Spain over the last few decades.  The current generation of farmers has rediscovered old vines and with a myriad of local grapes and soils, it is a wine adventurer’s paradise.  Low intervention and sustainable practice are now the watchwords in Spain.

Emily Brighton

Emily Brighton, the youngest female Master of Wine, is our speaker.  Her passion for wine began when reading Law at Bristol University.  She won the Derouet Jameson scholarship for her Wine & Spirit Education Trust Diploma and both the Lallemand Prize and Vintners’ Company Davies Langton Award. Emily passed the Master of Wine exam last year and, with dual-citizenship, became the first Latvian MW.

Emily is Head of Technical at North South Wines, which was established in 2014 and is already selling 18m bottles a year.  It was the first UK wine importer and distributor to achieve B Corp accreditation.

Vallformosa bodega

Vallformosa Organic Cava Brut Reserva 2022 opens our tasting: a really special traditionally-made (like Champagne) sparkling wine.  This family-owned winery was established in 1865 in Vilobí del Penedès.  The vines benefit from a mild climate owing to the proximity to the Mediterranean.  This Reserva is a skillful blend of 40% Xarel-lo (giving a tangy, lemony lift) and 30% each of Macabeu (for a pleasant floral, stone fruit pizzazz) and Parellada (contributing quince and yellow apple character).

Bodegas Bodem

Oxte 2024 follows, made by Bodegas Bodem, a family winery committed to vegan wines.  It took 30 years for Geirnaerdt-van Ekeris to find the exact location in Cariñena, an almost unknown district which was the birthplace of the Garnacha grape, known in France as Grenache.  This wine is made from Garnacha Blanca and the light-skinned Macabeo.  Expect a tropical profile of pineapple and banana with white peach and green fruits..

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Laguardia town

Then we journey west to Rioja Alavesa for Cosme Palacio Blanco Reserva 2020 made from the Viura vine, a synonym for Macabeo.  The fermentation is in stainless steel and maturation in French barrels for complexity and elegance, creating wine with citrus fruits, hazlenuts and pistachio characteristics. Bodegas Palacio is based in Laguardia in the heart of Rioja Alavesa; it was founded by Don Cosmo Palacio in 1894, making it the second oldest winery in the district.

Tempranillo vines in Rioja

Emily has selected Glorioso Rioja Crianza 2020 as our first red, made entirely from Tempranillo, a variety accounting for almost 42% of all Spanish red plantings.  Jancis Robinson MW has said, “Tempranillo is Spain’s answer to Cabernet Sauvignon, the grape that puts the spine into so many good Spanish reds.”  This example is grown on calcareous clay terraces.  The wine was fermented in stainless steel and then aged for a year in French oak.

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Roberto Rodríguez, winemaker, and Jesús de Miguel, manager of Bodegas Palacio

Cosme Palacio Rioja Reserva 2016 shows the benefits of maturing for longer.

To make a comparison from the Alavesa sub-district, the hand-harvested thick-skinned Tempranillo grapes were macerated for 28-32 days in stainless steel by leading winemaker Roberto Rodríguez; this was followed by ageing the wine for 20 months in new 225 litre French barrels, just like top Claret.

For even longer ageing, an intense and elegant Glorioso Rioja Gran Reserva 2017 has been secured.  Aged in French oak for 26 months, it shows notes of blueberries and red forest fruits. The noted Glorioso brand was created in 1917.

Cap de Pera Garnacha-Syrah 2023 comes from the little known designated district of Terra Alta.  This 14% red was macerated in stainless steel with daily overruns for two weeks to extract the colour, aromas and soft tannins; it was then fermented at 22 degrees and allowed to go through its malolactic fermentation but saw no wood.

For a total contrast, Emily has secured bottles of Cap de Pera 2023 from Montsant, Cariñena, an area noted for its continental and dry climate.  Five vine varieties were used: 45% Mazuelo, 35% Garnacha Tinto, 10% Merlot, 5% Syrah and 5% Tempranillo.  This stylish red was macerated for a fortnight in stainless steel and not wood aged.

We are delighted to return to the Swedish Hall at 6 Harcourt Street W1H 4AG, a road named after John Simon Harcourt, the local landowner and MP for Westbury in 1800-1802.  Built in 1911, the Swedish Church and Hall were designed by Herbert Wigglesworth and Axel Haig.

Doors open at 6.30pm; please do NOT arrive earlier (as the Committee needs time to set up).  If you arrive early, there are many wine bars / coffee shops in Marylebone.  The tasting ends at 8.30pm

Dress code: Jacket and tie for men; please advise your guests.

For admission, please first check availability (info below), not to the Membership Secretary.  Once confirmed and paid, either print off the numbered ticket or have it available on a mobile telephone.

Date:      Tuesday 16^th October 2025

Time:      6:30

Venue:    Swedish Hall,  6 Harcourt Street,  London,  W1H 4AG

Dress:   Jacket and tie for men

TASTING COSTS

HOW TO BOOK

Options:

• Via the on-line form below  (preferred method)
• or
• E-mail your tasting request to tastings@redherringwineclub.co.uk (NOT to the membership secretary) and make a payment

Enquiries can be made by telephone on 020 8947 5082 or by e-mail to tastings@redherringwineclub.co.uk  but bookings will only be allocated when funds have been received.

HOW TO PAY

By on-line banking only (details below) 

Your reference should be as follows:

Please make it very clear if vegetarian options are required.​

Bookings will only be allocated when funds have been received.

Payment of membership subscription(s) should preferably be made via the online form on the Membership page of the Club's website.

(If membership payment is still made together with a tasting application, please ensure the membership secretary is advised via membership@redherringwineclub.co.uk.

Please remember to advise the Club (membership@redherringwineclub.co.uk) of any home or e-mail address changes

Tasting Application

Diary Dates: