Recent Purchases from Despana, NYC

For Memorial Day Weekend we returned to New York City to visit William and a few other friends.  Located near our hotel in Soho is Despana Vinos y Mas at Broome and Lafayette Streets.  Owned by Angelica and Marcos Intriago they have been importing Spanish food products since 1971.  Despana Brand Foods primarily focused on the wholesale and retail markets.  In 2006 they opened the Despana food market as a public store followed by the wine shop in 2011.

The compact store maximizes space by utilizing floor to ceiling shelves to display several hundred selections of Spanish wines and other drinks.  The left side features red wines, flanking the staff door in the back are two wine fridges, and the left side features white wine, sparkling wine, and other beverages.  Rare bottles may be found in wine fridges.  The wines are grouped by region and for other visitors from Washington, DC you will find a comfortable mix of familiar labels alongside those never seen in our area.

Throughout the store and underneath the counter are bottles of Cune, La Rioja Alta, Torres, Vega-Sicilia, and Lopez de Heredia from the 1960s and 1970s.  These cooked and seepage stained bottles are not for sale.  Instead they are evocative of the 1960s Spanish motorcycle which stands in the storefront window.

I asked for help in selecting six red wines from Terra Alta, Montsant, and such which I had never tasted before.  Matt Diaz kindly picked the selections listed below.  Check back in the near future as I start tasting through these wines.  I cannot wait!

• 2007 Vina Aliaga, Garnacha Vieja, Navarra
• 2009 Clos de Noi, Negre Samso, Vinyes velles, Montsant
• 2009 Edetaria, Edetana, Terra Alta
• 2009 L’Inconscient, Les Cousins, Priorat
• 2004 Oriel, Setena, Terra Alta
• 2009 Vinos del Tros, Ay de mi, Terra Alta