...AND TO DRINK?

Last year I was summoned for tea by Marimar Torres. I’d praised one of her wines in a recent column, but I wasn’t sure why she wanted to meet me. I thought she might have been so entranced by my prose style that she wanted to fly me out to her California estate, where I’d be the in-house writer. In fact, she wanted me to try more wines. I was disappointed initially, but the quality of the wines perked me up. Marimar is the daughter of Miguel Torres, who in the 1970s showed that Spanish wine outside Rioja could compete with the world’s best. Venturing beyond their heartland in Catalonia, the family have vineyards all over Spain and a venture in Chile. Marimar set up her estate in California in 1986, and her daughter Cristina is being groomed to take over. Here are my favourite Torres wines, including two from the old country.

Marimar Estate Mas Cavalls Pinot Noir 2006, £25.92: www.thedrinkshop.com
My favourite of the Pinot Noirs. There’s so much sweet fruit, you’d never guess it’s as old as it is. Only that leathery quality at the finish gives it away.

Marimar Estate La Masía Chardonnay 2010, £29.42: www.vintagemarque.com
Imagine a very ripe Meursault and you’re nearly there. A wine that gives opulent Chardonnays a good name.

Torres Gran Sangre de Toro 2009, £9.10: www.thedrinkshop.com
It smells very mature, with some tobacco and toast, but in the mouth it’s tangy and young.

Torres Salmos Priorat 2010, £18.49: www.waitrosedirect.com
Dense, spicy and serious, this needs decanting to let it open up. Powerful.