I recently enjoyed a trip to the Raimat wineries in Catalonia in Spain's northeast.
May I suggest that you read this column over a glass of Raimat chardonnay, abadia, cabernet sauvignon or tempranillo, four of the magnificent wines produced by Raimat. Tempranillo is an indigenous grape, as are macabeo, xerello and parallabe -- three others grown by Raimat. In Japan, Raimat wines and others produced by Codorniu, the great cava maker, are imported by Mercian.
With its honeylike aroma and bitter richness, Raimat chardonnay is a marvelous mouthful of wine: 100 percent chardonnay. Raimat cabernet sauvignon contains 10 percent merlot, and is cedary on the nose and on the palate, with satisfying ripe plum and blackberry fruit flavors. (In Spain a wine may bear a varietal label -- i.e., one grape's name -- if it contains at least 85 percent of that grape and not more than one other grape.)