Archive for the ‘Spain’ Category
Friday, September 25th, 2009
Google tells me that “La Vendimia” can be translated as “harvest”. Made as a joven wine, which I believe means that the wine is meant to be consumed within a year or two of vintage. Hmmmm, I have been slow off the mark again. This wine is a blend of Garnacha and Tempranillo. Two bottles have been consumed, and with pretty consistent results. On the nose, cherries, undergrowth, stones, underbrush and a bit of earth. The palate showed cherries and mulberries, a stony dryness and fine tannins. With time it gained some complexity. Holding up well for a wine that was supposed to be in the wheelie bin a couple of years ago. I wavered over the score during the evening, 87, 89, 88, but I think 88 seems about right. Drink up!
Rated : 88 Points
Tasted : Aug09
Alcohol : 13.5%
Price : $28
Closure : Cork
Drink : 2009-2009
Source : Cellar
Posted in $20 to $50, Notes, Price, Rioja, Spain, Tempranillo, Varietal/Style | No Comments »
Monday, July 20th, 2009
You gotta love a wine in a wire cage; it just shouts “Beware! Danger!”. This is of course nonsense. A complex and elusive nose: black plums, red cherries, spice, graphite, warm leather, coffee grounds and a touch of cedar. The palate is also packed with flavours, showing cherries more than plums, wood spices, nuts, blackberries, herbs, sweet earthy spices and cinnamon. Savoury and a touch rustic, though there is some fineness about it, medium bodied and very satisfying. My first encounter with this wine, and very enjoyable it was. I will have to look out for subsequent vintages.
Rated : 92 Points
Tasted : Jul09
Alcohol : 13.5%
Price : $48
Closure : Cork
Drink : 2009-2014+
Source : Cellar
Website : Marques de Riscal
Posted in $20 to $50, Notes, Price, Rioja, Spain, Tempranillo, Varietal/Style | 3 Comments »
Friday, July 17th, 2009
I bought this as a taster a few years ago; time to try it. Plums and spice, minerals and river stones, mixed with a touch of black pepper. A simple palate: raspberries and plums, with a sprinkle of spice and a tangy finish. The tannins are soft. This wine has barbeque written all over it. Drink now.
Rated : 86 Points
Tasted : Jul09
Alcohol : 13%
Price : $19
Closure : Cork
Drink : 2009-2010
Source : Cellar
Posted in Grenache, Notes, Price, Spain, Tierra de Castilla, Varietal/Style, up to $20 | No Comments »
Thursday, July 16th, 2009
If you only like positive and uplifting reviews, then look away now.
Like removing a band-aid, I will try to keep this short. A bright red in colour, but an almost vicious nose: pine resin, acetone and old leather. A lightly bodied palate, with thin cherry liqueur and old wood spirit, some rancio characters and a feral edge, finishing with pine needles and then an anti-septic aftertaste. Only purchased 3 years ago so I am surprised this wine is over the hill already; perhaps it was stuffed before it got to me. Hopefully not an indicative bottle.
Rated : 79 Points
Tasted : Jul09
Alcohol : 15%
Price : $55
Closure : Cork
Drink : 2009-2009
Source : Cellar
Website : Telmo Rodriguez
Posted in $50 to $100, Castilla y Leon, Grenache, Notes, Price, Spain, Varietal/Style | No Comments »
Monday, June 29th, 2009
The 200-acre Finca Valpiedra vineyard is located in the heart of the Rioja Alta, and has been owned by the Martínez Bujanda Family for more that two decades. This is my first encounter with the wine. Lots of stuff happening on the nose, and in no particular order, showed cream, milk chocolate, cherries, coffee beans, minerals and rust. The palate is beautifully textured with loads of finesse, creamy oak and red currants through the mid-palate, tangy pureed tomatoes and minerals. The tannins are excellent, and still a little grippy, which I quite liked. Tasty plus plus.
Rated : 93 Points
Tasted : Jun09
Alcohol : 13.5%
Price : $60
Closure : Cork
Drink : 2009-2013+
Source : Cellar
Website : Martínez Bujanda
Posted in $50 to $100, Notes, Price, Rioja, Spain | 6 Comments »
Sunday, April 19th, 2009
I was told recently that Priorat doesn’t age well. This pronouncement has been gnawing at my conscience as I have been trying to drink some of the older wines from the cellar, and when I saw this it was quickly removed from the racks. The nose is still quite big, plump blackberries and minerals, some old liqueur characters, and slightly porty. The palate has some black fruits and spice, the softest tannins but the finish is perhaps a little on the broad side, and there are lingering notes of port again. Hmmmm. Quite satisfying, and drink up is my call.
Tasted : Apr09
Alcohol : 14.5%
Price : $50ish
Closure : Cork
Drink : 2009-2010
Source : Cellar
Posted in $50 to $100, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, Notes, Price, Priorat, Spain, Varietal/Style | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 18th, 2008
This was a purchase from the Langtons Wine Exchange early in 2007 for $65, which is ridiculously cheap for Clos Mogador, considering the current release is around $150. Initially very musty, so much so that I was worried. Luckily it cleaned up with some air, but was never really seductive: dry leather and old cherries, dried meats and some polish. The palate showed big cherry fruits, ripe and juicy, with some savoury leathery notes and big tannins that have softened and resolved quite nicely. Medium bodied and a dry finish. An excellent wine no doubts, but I was hoping for more.
Rated : 90 Points
Tasted : Nov08
Alcohol : 14.7%
Price : $65
Closure : Cork
Drink : 2008-2013
Source : Langtons Wine Exchange
Posted in $50 to $100, Grenache, Notes, Price, Priorat, Spain, Varietal/Style | 4 Comments »
Saturday, October 11th, 2008
Nine years old and only $14.25. I don’t know how they do it, though the fact that it isn’t very good might have something to do with it. Which begs the obvious question, the answer to which is that I am inquisitive. Anyhoo, on to the wine: raspberries, cherries, leather saddles, dried meats, salt, plus some nuances ala farmyard. The palate is dry, and though it is fairly agricultural, there are some sour cherries and red fruits, intermingled with horse hair. Lightly bodied and drinkable. Not sure if I would buy it again though.
Rated : 82 Points
Tasted : Oct08
Alcohol : 13.0%
Price : $14.25
Closure : Cork
Drink : 2008-2010
Source : Dan Murphys
Posted in Notes, Price, Spain, Tempranillo, Valdepenas, Varietal/Style, up to $20 | 4 Comments »
Sunday, September 28th, 2008
100% Monstrell, aka Mourvèdre or Mataro. Consumed over 2 days, and certainly profited from some air time. Initially dusty and earthy, with blackfruits and plums, cinnamon, star anise, camphor and a bit of tar. The palate is also dusty and dry, with some red fruits poking out, dried meats, tobacco leaf, blackberry liquor and smoky earth. There is an impressive depth of flavour, solid and masculine, though not terribly refined. The tannins built over the next 5 or 6 hours, and then the next day it had settled to show dried meats and almost meaty fruits, chewy tannins, a dry savoury length and some sour cherries on the finish. Good value and an interesting example of the varietal; but a toothpick will be required to remove excess tannins from between your teeth.
Rated : 87 Points
Tasted : Sep08
Alcohol : 14.5%
Price : $20
Closure : Cork
Drink : 2010-2015
Source : Dan Murphys
Website : Telmo Rodriguez
Posted in Alicante, Mourvedre, Notes, Price, Spain, Varietal/Style, up to $20 | 1 Comment »
Saturday, September 22nd, 2007
From Ribera del Duero. A rich red in colour, with splashings of deep purple. It just makes me what to sing a couple of verses of “Highway Star”. The nose is complex and alluring, like the sirens of the sea, showing blackberries and sage, coffee grounds, smoke, minerals, and some creamy and nutty characters that dissipated with time. The palate is smooth, with blackberries and blueberries, and tannins that I am in awe of, ripe and meltingly soft, finishing with nutmeg and cinnamon spices. It is supple and concentrated, drinkable, too drinkable, and my head does say it’s boozier than my palate thinks it is. Strangely, it closed down after 5 or 6 hours. Probably needs time given the pedigree of the
producer.
Rated : 95 Points
Tasted : Sep07
Alcohol : 14.5%
Price : $145
Closure : Cork
Drink : 2012 – 2019
Source : The Wine Emporium
Posted in Notes, Ribera del Duero, Spain | No Comments »