2006 PIEDRA AZUL, TORO, SPAIN.
7.95 Pounds,Berry Bros.& Rudd,
tlf: 0870 900 4300
Delivering masses of spicy, plum and cherry fruit,this Rioja-bashing red is one of the most impressive Spanish wines of the year so far- succulent, savoury and startlingly affordable.

MATTHEW JUKES , WINE LIST
WEEKEND DAILY MAIL
5, APRIL 2008

PIEDRA AZUL 2006.
89 Points
Estancia Piedra was founded in 1998 by Grant Stein(= Stone=Piedra) and produces a range of wines bases on old vines Tinta de Toro(aka Tempranillo).One of the humbler cuvées, Azul still packs in wild, spicy black fruit flavours of dark fruit, with hints of chocolate, spices and warm earth.
Drink 2008-2014

BY SIMON WOODS
WINE AND SPIRIT
APRIL 2008

The 2001 Paredinas, also a 100% Tinta de Toro cuvee, comes from 100-year-old vines and is aged 22 months in 100% new French oak.

Opaque purple in color, it offers toasty, hard wood charcoal, black cherry, and black currant aromas in a full-bodied package.

This balanced, rich, and structured wine should further evolve with 2-4 years of bottle aging and drink well for another 6-8 years.

The beautiful estate of E.Piedra is located on the slopes of the picturesque Guareña Valley 10 kilometers south of the town of Toro. It was founded in 1998 by Grant Stein, a Scottish lawyer, whose business acumen, love of wine, and fluency in Spanish allowed him to reinvent himself as proprietor and winemaker of E.Piedra. The winery has quickly gained recognition as an up-and-coming winery in the D.O. Toro. The secret of this bodega's success is its 59 hectares of vineyards, devoted almost exclusively to the Tinta de Toro grape varietal. This native varietal thrives under Toro’s dry, sometimes extreme, temperature changes. Except for its single vineyard, ‘Paredinas,’ the average age of E.Piedra’s vines is about 40 years.

2005 marks the first vintage of Azul (Spanish for blue—derived from its label, but it may have also been for the color of the wine!) Made from 100% Tinta de Toro grapes and hand-harvested from 40-year old vines, the must is fermented in temperature-controlled, stainless steel tanks. The wine is then aged in bottle and sees NO OAK.

The Azul is the best Spanish wine value tasted this year, says this wine aficionado. The wine boasts a deep, vibrant purple color with tinges of blue (recall the earlier suggestion?). The wonderfully rich and complex scents of ripe mountain berries, black pepper, licorice, earth, and minerals are both intriguing, inviting, and enchanting—all in the same whiff of the nose! It is on the palate, however, that the magic of this wine really begins. The wondrous attack of sweet fruit and a rush of the power and intensity of this young wine give way to a beautiful, full-bodied, dark, rich, savory palate with big dark berry fruit, amazingly vivid acidity, and sweet, zesty tannins. The finish is long, persistent, and completes the intensity and boldness of this stunner!
For those looking for all the fruit, tannin, purity, and intensity without any oak getting in the way, this is the wine for you! The Azul embodies the essence of the fruit of Toro D.O., and will meld perfectly with spicy meats, barbecue, Chinese, or Vietnamese cuisine. By the way, the wine was even better the second day after I opened it. Experience the difference for yourself!

Pjwine.com.

There's more to white wine than Chardonnay, more to Spain than Rioja, says Raymond Blake.

The foreign influence continues in Toro where Scotsman Grant Stein founded E.Piedra S.L. in 1998. As he tells it, his interest in wine dates back to his days as a student in Edinburgh when he tried to grow vines in a gro-bag in his flat. His approach is rather more sophisticated these days- as the gleaming stainless steel tanks and neat rows of expensive oak barrels attest. The new winery was completed in time for the 1999 vintage and while production is predominantly red, a small amount of white wine is made, principally from Verdejo with a little Albillo, Moscatel and Grenache Blanc. The 2004 tank sample was fresh and mouthwatering while the 2003 had the same juiciness allied to a richer character. The 2001 barrel fermented Verdejo was leaden by comparison, with the fruit swamped by the oak.
We finished with a splendid Paredinas 1999 made from 100-year-old, ungrafted Tinta de Toro bush vines. Chewy and rich with a serious grip of tannin and impressive length this was a big but balance mouthful that needed a robustly flavoured meat dish to be seen at its best.

(March 2005. Food and Wine. Raymond Blake)

PEÑÍN GUIDE TO SPANISH WINE 2008

CANTADAL 2006 RD
Tempranillo
87 Raspberry with a violet edge colour, powerful aroma, ripe fruit, varietal, mountain herbs, flavourful palate, concentrated,fruity,spicy, balanced.

PIEDRA 2006 RD
87 Raspberry with violet edge colour, varietal aroma,expressive, ripe fruit, smoky, perfumed herbs, fresh palate, bitterish, fruity, persistent.

PIEDRA AZUL 2006 T
Tinta de toro 100%
86 Deep cherry colour, varietal aroma, floral, ripe fruit, mineral, flavourful palate,fruity balanced.

LA GARONA 2003 TC
Tinta de toro 75%, garnacha 25%
91 Dark cherry colour, very toasted(roasted) aroma, chocolate, ripe fruit, damp earth, fat palate, spicy, toasted persistent, balanced.

PIEDRA PAREDINAS 2002 T
Tinta de Toro 100%
91 Deep cherry colour, toasted aroma, fine cocoa, earthy, candied fruit, flavourful palate, structured, sweet tannins, bitterish, long.


PIEDRA 2003 TC
Tinta de toro 95%, garnacha 5%
89 Deep cherry colour, powerful aroma, very toasted(roasted), spicy, chocolate, candied fruit, flavourful palate, mineral, ripe tannins, persistent.

PIEDRA SELECCIÓN 2002 TC
Tinta de Toro 100%
88 Deep cherry colour, toasted aroma, fine cocoa, tobacco, well-tanned leather, candied fruit, spicy palate, ripe tannins, bitterish, persistent.


ALBOCELA 2000 TR
Tinta de toro
87 Garnet colour, balsamic aroma, ripe fruit, spicy, earthy, warm palate, fresh, ripe tannins, spicy, persistent, balsamic .




PEÑÍN GUIDE TO SPANISH WINE 2007

PIEDRA 2002 CRIANZA RED
92 Intense cherry. Intense, complex nose with fine sun-drenched grapeskins with mineral and toasty oak overtones. Fleshy, full, flavourful palate, tight and firm tannins, slightly dry yet ripe.


PIEDRA PAREDINAS 2001 RED

90 Dark cherry. Powerful aroma with predominant burnt notes, balsamic suggestion,
jammy black fruits and hint of graphite. Fleshy concentrate palate with rough
tannins well-blended with the fruit; hints of liquorice and pitch; well-balanced and
long.


PIEDRA LAGARONA 2001 RED

90 Dark cherry. Predominantly varietal and mineral nose, fine, smoky oak overtones.
Rich, round, elegant palate, with a good oak/fruit balance

Tom Franks spent a week in Northwest Spain, visiting wine producers in Castilla y León and Galicia.

The Toro Region

From Rueda, we moved to the Toro region and visited two entirely different bodegas. Firstly, E.Piedra winery, which is owned by a charming couple from Edinburgh and where we tasted eight wines, including an oaked and unoaked Verdejo, a very good Rose 2003 made from Tempranillo and a classy Tempranillo with 10% of Grenache and oak aged for eight months.

(Feb 2005. Retail News Tom Franks)