Spanish wines and tasty tapas

So we went round to a friend's on a lovely summer's evening and got ready to try some Spanish wines as part of our monthly wine club.

As it was so glorious, we got to sit in the setting sun, whilst our friends waited on us hand and foot! They were super hosts and provided a smorgasboard of tapas with every wine. They are keen cooks, so we ate:

• olives
• tomato bread
• croquettas
• patatas bravas
• meatballs
• spanish tortilla
• hams and cheese
• Tres Leche (Mexican dessert) for afters.

In terms of wine we were 'treated' to a sherry to start. Whilst our hosts are big fans, the rest of us found the Hidalgo La Gitana Manzanilla a bit like paint stripper. I have enjoyed sherry when drinking it in Spain in the past, but it was much richer than this. Not my thing at all!!!

We then moved through various reds and whites, pretty much all of them with predominantly Spanish grapes and most of them from the north west part of the country.

The whites we had were:

Torres Vina Esmerelda, 2014: This was a Muscatel/Gerwurztraminer blend. The nose was honey and apricot and the wine very fruity. It was strange in that it was a dry wine, light bodied, but a very strong fruity flavour that was almost sweet! It wasn't for me at all and was my least favourite of the evening (bar the sherry) RRP was £7.49.

Montenovo Godella 2014: This was a Godella grape. This was dry, crisp, light bodied and reminded me of a SB with light tropical taste and mineral undertones. RRP was £12.49.

Albarino Martin Codax 2013: This was an Albarino grape. It was dry and medium bodied. I got tropical smells of banana and other tropical fruits, although the notes focused on honey and peach!

The reds (which I preferred, but still wasn't really blown away by) were:

Matsu El Viejo 2011/12: This was a Tempranillo. It was full bodied with a nose of cigars, and a taste of cherry and blackberries. I didn't get the nose of lavendar and graphite nuances that the tasting notes suggested. RRP was £25.

Vox Populi Bobal 2011: This was a Bobal grape (Spain's 3rd most popular grape variety). Lots of blackcurrant and a medium bodied wine. This was my least favourite of the reds. RRP was £11.99.

Conde de San Cristobal 2011: This was a blend of Tempranillo, Merlot and Cab Sav. This was a medium bodied wine, with hints of tobacco and blackcurrant and silky texture. RRP was £18.

Mo Monastrell 2012: This was a blend of Monastrell, Cab Sav and Grenache and was my favourite of the evening. It was full bodied with a lovely cherry, blackberry blend, with a hint of balsamic. It was 4 out of 7 of us favourites of the evening, and we all thought it was more expensive than it actually was. I put it at £15, but it's RRP was £9.99 from Waitrose.

So a lovely evening. I wouldn't say I am in any rush to go out an buy any more Spanish wine. The Monastrell was a little revelation, but it was great to try some new stuff and expand my horizons!