I am going to spain/portugal and would liek to bring my dad back a bottle of wine that you can not get in the US or is a lot more expensive here. Any suggetions?

Well, if you have major bucks to spend, and are particularly fond of your pops, Vega Sicilia Unico from Ribera del Duero is supposed to be the best wine in Spain. Cooter's budget does not allow this level of indulgence, but it's supposed to be 1/2 price in Spain. I've only ever seen it in the US in a restaurant for $300.

With that said, 94 and 95 were great years from the Rioja, and any reserva or gran reserva from those years should be great wines. One I enjoyed in Spain that I had not seen here was Coto de Imaz. A good Ribera del Duero is always great as well, and, for whites, nothing beats an Albarino. Another great region for reds is Priorat in Caatalunya. Since I don't know all that much about Spanish wines that don't make it to the US, I found a good bodega in Spain and asked the proprieter for a few suggestions. You can do the same. In general, I found prices to be approx 1/2 or less of US prices for the same wine (eg, Marques De Caceres Crianza is approx $14 here, and was approx. $6 in Spain).

What kind of wine your dad likes best? : red, white, white sparkling, or sweet?
Given that Spain is the second world wine power there are about a thousand
wines worth buying.

Good luck! ;-D and don´t buy just anything, you are doing the right thing
asking.

I would love a quick education on wines to sample while in Spain!! It would be fun to bring a new favorite home!!

Well my dad is a red wine drinker..I am also going to portugal so any good port suggestions would also be helpful. Thanks!

sdnj33, I'm afraid I'm no expert on wines in Spain... but I'm working on it! Had some GREAT Albariños and Ruedas while in Galicia. You'll find some VERY detailed, interesting, and insightful threads about wine here in this forum by using the SEARCH link above/right and typing, simply, WINE as your keyword. Good luck!

Saludos, MadridMan

Not a bad place Spain for reds, I have heard some Frenchies praising Spanish
Riojas above Bordeuxs and these are supposed to be the best in the world although
personally I prefer Burgundy. Ok:

Rioja
200 Monges Reserva 1996
about 20 eur

Rioja
Marques de Vargas (any of them)
about 15 eur

Rioja
Finca Valpiedra (any of them)
about 15 eur

Good luck!

If he likes Port, bring him some old port from Portugal. If you spend $20 in Portugal, you'd be bringing home the finest, stuff you'd never be able to buy here.

Hi SDNJ...
Just saw your post and you might already be here but just in case you're not:
Here are a few of my choices of lesser known but top quality wines from Spain:

Mauro (from the Ribera de Duero but without DO)
Ganuza de Remiro from Rioja
Valsacro from Rioja Baja
Les Terrasses from Priorato

These are wines that are really great in the price/quality category. If you want to go snob, there are a lot of boutique or "author" wines popping up in Spain now. But most of them are coasting along on snob appeal and the prices are just a product of marketing.

I have not had good luck with white wines traveling from Spain. But there are some good ones too. But I would recommend taking back reds.

If you want a good rundown on wines, have a peek at my wine site www.wine-from-spain.com and you can get some of my tasting opinions on a lot of them.

Thanks for your input, richardmadrid! But please be careful about "advertising" of your site here on the message board.. even if it is relative to the thread. I would suggest including that link/description in your signature file instead. Thanks!

There's a decent article in the NYTimes online version HERE entitled "Drop by Drop, Savoring a Spanish Wine Region". YOU DO NOT have to register to read the above link/NYTimes article.

Here's the first paragraph....:

For years I've been a fan of a particular kind of Spanish wine, a dark, intensely rich red called Ribera del Duero. I remember the first time I tasted it, in a tapas bar in Manhattan where a friend had ordered it to go along with our lunch of little dishes of shrimp swimming in a sea of olive oil and garlic; dry, salty air-cured jamón serrano; and wedges of pungent sheep's-milk cheese.

Read the entire article HERE....

Hey, sorry. I wasn't trying to advertise.. just an easy way to not have to type all my opinions out again.. Can't send wines to the US anyway.

I have really enjoyed the following:
marques de Arienzo (1982) 12 Euros...very special as 1982 was the "excelente" year of the 80s in la Rioja..
Otherwise
1994,1995....paternina banda roja
hope this helps
James

I agree with the first answer. Vega Sicilia (Ribera del Duero region), if you want to impress and you have the Gold Card. Otherwise, I would go with a Muga. Reserva/Grand Reserva. 1994 and 1995 were the last Excellent years in the Rioja region, if I´m not mistaken. (1999 and 1996 for R del D.)