Glimpse of Iberia

Last night, Jenny and I attended another wine tasting at Paul Ullrich in Basel, at their Laufenstrasse branch. It was a private event organised by a colleague of a friend who works at one of Basel's pharmaceutical companies, and the theme was Spain and Portugal. I'd only first come into serious contact with the wines from the Iberian peninsula as part of a WSET course I did in Basel five years ago, so yesterday evening was particularly worthwhile. Here is a scan of the list of wines we tasted (prices in CHF), including my scribbled, rather simplistic, notes:
There were some wonderful wines in there. The two "bargain buy" reds from the Douro and Priorat, in particular, were stunning for the money you pay. I bought a bottle of each, plus a quirky, light white, Via Edetana Blanco 2008, which was right up my street. The four "highlights" of the list were simply a treat. Maybe "Auditori" showed most generously on the night, but the others have immense potential.

Recently, I've read about and tried some impressive Portuguese reds, and yesterday's wine tasting bolstered my impression of them. The real eye-opener, however, were the Spanish wines from regions other than Rioja. They all showed a keen sense of place and great character. It was also good to try two Priorats which confirmed some of the hype surrounding this fine wine region in Catalonia.