Botani Cork Mystery – Solved!

28 07 2011

OK,  yes I said I was going on vacation, and I am, but I had to post this quickly before I left.  I reviewed the 2010 Jorge Ordonez Botani white from Christopher Stewart Wine & Spirits Imports a couple weeks ago and was a huge fan, but I couldn’t figure out the elaborate graphics on the cork.  Here’s what I saw and the Cork Rating I doled out:

Cork Rating: 6.5/10 (I'm a huge fan of cork graphics, but what is this? A cruise ship and some mountain-castles? I don't get it.)

I had almost forgotten about my confusion over what this cork art represented until this morning, when a comment showed up under my Botani post…from Victoria Ordonez, Jorge Ordonez’s sister and official blogger of Jorge Ordonez & Co.!  Victoria wrote a great piece on the Jorge Ordonez site clarifying what the actual image is on the JO corks (it’s a three-masted ship, not a no-masted ship with mountains behind it, as I myopically guessed) and, more importantly, what it represents of the history of wine-making in Malaga, Spain…check it out here:

http://jorge-ordonez.es/blog/2011/07/28/ship-in-a-bottle/

As a result of this response, I have booked an eye exam and have also retroactively bumped the Botani Cork Rating up to a stellar 8.5/10 — anytime a cork can combine substantial graphics with historical significance, it’s an absolute winner.  If only every producer put this kind of thought and effort into its bottle closures…the world would be a better place.

Officially on vacation now…see you next week!





Wine Review: 2010 Jorge Ordonez Botani Moscatel Seco

6 07 2011

Summer is finally, briefly here -- I have just the wine.

It’s wines like this that make a good local wine shop (or a friendly neighbourhood blog) so important.  Apart from an atypically stylish label, this wine has nothing going for it that would normally make you pick it up off the shelf:  it’s not bargain-basement cheap (usual retail is $25ish), it comes from a completely obscure region (Sierras de Malaga) in a country (Spain) that is not at all known for its white wines, and it’s made from a grape (Moscatel Seco, otherwise known as dry Muscat) that doesn’t exactly have Chardonnay-esque market appeal.  Why have a $25 Muscat from southern Spain when you can stick to Wolf Blass and Kim Crawford and avoid risking that kind of cash on the unknown?  Because it’s freaking awesome, that’s why.  Thanks to a good wine store initially talking me into taking the plunge, I’ve now tracked down Botani in three successive new vintages, possibly the longest streak in my brief wine-collecting career, and if I can encourage some of you to be similarly adventurous then this blog will be worth its while. Read the rest of this entry »