Few wines are more appropriate for the impending holidays than “Baby Jesus!” Yes, that includes Thanksgiving! The white is great with turkey and the rosado is one of very few wines that goes well with ham.
S.A.T. Niño Jésus is an agricultural cooperative in the DO Calatayud in the Aragon region. Cherries are their main business, but the stellar wines are gaining notice fast. They have only been ‘estate bottling’ their wines since the 2000 vintage, so we are on the ground floor of a phenomenon here, and apparently I started a trend.
When I started Millesime, there were no Calatayud wines available in Seattle. I contacted the major players in the summer of 2003 (Viñedos de Jalón, San Gregorio) before the big boys did, and for me it was no contest. Jalon was quite good, and San Gregorio's reserva material is really something worth looking at, but for sheer in your face value I had to go with the newcomer, Nino Jesus. I knew that I had really made an amazing discovery here. Anyway, nowadays there are a few Calatayud wineries available in Seattle from other distributors, but only one without a middleman. Taste them together - I have. Nino Jesus is the real thing.
Superlatives are lacking to describe these wines. The white – 100% macabeo, is an oily, nutty, blockbuster. The rosé – 100 garnacha, a vibrant, spicy fruit bomb, with more weight and character than some Tavels. The ‘young red’ – 75% garnacha, 25% tempranillo combines gobs of fruit with oodles of spice. The ‘Legado Old Vines’ – 100% garnacha, is about as much wine as you can pack into a bottle for anything approaching the price. The crianza – 85% garnacha, 15% tempranillo shows off additional complexities!
With the dollar doing well the prices are better than ever, some of the best values I have seen in 15 years in the business.
For the first time ever available, two new wines: a carbonic tempranillo that is a ‘cherry pie in a bottle’, and a grenache syrah blend (Calatayud-du-Rhone if you will). Please call 206.624.1701 to inquire if you are not already a convert.
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