| Spanish Red 2008 Tasting Report |
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| Borsao 2006 – Borja, Spain |
Notes – This is a lighter styled red with a light rose
color in the glass. There are strong scents of
strawberry, raspberry and violets in the nose and these
are consistent on the palate as well. The wine is light,
acidic and tart, which makes it altogether refreshing
and easy to drink a little chilled in the summer time.
This wine has got to be a work of art at the supper
table, especially with BBQ. What else can I say, this
wine was a crowd pleaser!
color in the glass. There are strong scents of
strawberry, raspberry and violets in the nose and these
are consistent on the palate as well. The wine is light,
acidic and tart, which makes it altogether refreshing
and easy to drink a little chilled in the summer time.
This wine has got to be a work of art at the supper
table, especially with BBQ. What else can I say, this
wine was a crowd pleaser!
| About $8.00 |
| Score A- |
| Numanthia Termes 2005 “Termes” – Toro, Spain |
Notes – This Tempranillo wine is a deep purple in the
glass and it fills your nose with rose petals and
blackberries. It is very tannic and needs some time to
mellow out and although it starts out bold, it seems to
finish a little flat. This was my wine in the tasting and I
have been drinking it every since the 2002 vintage. If I
am being honest, I think this is the weakest vintage
that I’ve tried from them. It didn’t seem to matter to
anyone else though, because it was also a crowd
pleaser. Give it time to breathe!
glass and it fills your nose with rose petals and
blackberries. It is very tannic and needs some time to
mellow out and although it starts out bold, it seems to
finish a little flat. This was my wine in the tasting and I
have been drinking it every since the 2002 vintage. If I
am being honest, I think this is the weakest vintage
that I’ve tried from them. It didn’t seem to matter to
anyone else though, because it was also a crowd
pleaser. Give it time to breathe!
| Around $28.00 |
| Score A- |
| Pico Madarma 2004 Petit Verdot – Jumilla, Spain |
Notes – Reddish brown and showing heavy licorice, bay
leaf and clove accents, this unusual tea-like tasting
wine was very unique indeed. Perhaps it is the grape
variety itself, but I don’t think I’ve ever tried a wine
that tasted anything like this before. I swear I even
tasted a little orange peel, which is unusual in a red
wine. Who knows for sure? Very different and I am
not sure how it would stack up with food, but as long as
the dish was rustic, it would probably be just fine.
leaf and clove accents, this unusual tea-like tasting
wine was very unique indeed. Perhaps it is the grape
variety itself, but I don’t think I’ve ever tried a wine
that tasted anything like this before. I swear I even
tasted a little orange peel, which is unusual in a red
wine. Who knows for sure? Very different and I am
not sure how it would stack up with food, but as long as
the dish was rustic, it would probably be just fine.
| Score B+ |
| About $35.00 |
| Bodegas Vinos Pinol 2004 “L’Avi Arrufi” – Terra Alta, Spain |
Notes – Purple and mysterious with loads of red plum
and blueberry pie filling for stuffing. Big, tannic and
altogether rich and concentrated. For those of you that
prefer bigger and bolder wines, this is the Spanish wine
for you. Some people felt it was too sweet, but there
was two reasons it seemed that way. One, we tasted it
right after a very dry wine and the “corked” bottle and
two, it was extremely concentrated with loads of fruit.
So I guess it did seem a little sweet, but honestly, this
wine was a monster! Hands down my personal favorite
of the evening, but it requires some time to become all
that it can be.
and blueberry pie filling for stuffing. Big, tannic and
altogether rich and concentrated. For those of you that
prefer bigger and bolder wines, this is the Spanish wine
for you. Some people felt it was too sweet, but there
was two reasons it seemed that way. One, we tasted it
right after a very dry wine and the “corked” bottle and
two, it was extremely concentrated with loads of fruit.
So I guess it did seem a little sweet, but honestly, this
wine was a monster! Hands down my personal favorite
of the evening, but it requires some time to become all
that it can be.
| Score B+ |
| Around $38.00 |
| Venta Mazzaron 2004 Tempranillo – Zamora, Spain |
Notes – Dark red with a masculine nose full of prunes
and currants. It was the first bigger and tannic wine in
the tasting and appeared very complex. I was
pleasantly surprised by it’s price tag, because to me it
seemed like a more expansive bottle of wine.
Definitely a steak wine or some other red meat. One
of my favorites of the tasting.
and currants. It was the first bigger and tannic wine in
the tasting and appeared very complex. I was
pleasantly surprised by it’s price tag, because to me it
seemed like a more expansive bottle of wine.
Definitely a steak wine or some other red meat. One
of my favorites of the tasting.
| About $15.00 |
| Score B |
| Vallobera 2001 Rioja, Spain |
Notes – Brick red, indicating old age and an
overwhelming cardboard smell and an extremely dry,
chalky taste. This wine was corked and I had no
intention of including it in the results, but as you can
see, the group liked it better than the following three
wines. I can’t say whether or not this wine was a great
value because of its condition.
overwhelming cardboard smell and an extremely dry,
chalky taste. This wine was corked and I had no
intention of including it in the results, but as you can
see, the group liked it better than the following three
wines. I can’t say whether or not this wine was a great
value because of its condition.
| Around $13.00 |
| Score B |
| Torres 2006 “Sangre de Toro” – Catalunya, Spain |
| About $10.00 |
| Score B |
| Hecula 2004 Monastrell – Castano, Spain |
| About $13.00 |
| Score B- |
| San Vincente 1999 Rioja |
| About $40.00 |
| Score C+ |
Notes – Light red, very earthy with candied red fruits.
On the palate it was earthy, showing leather. It was
also very tart making it puckering and somehow it
came together a little funky in the mouth. You know, I’
ve always like Torres wines because they are very
rustic tasting and that is their charm, but this wine was
a little bizarre.
On the palate it was earthy, showing leather. It was
also very tart making it puckering and somehow it
came together a little funky in the mouth. You know, I’
ve always like Torres wines because they are very
rustic tasting and that is their charm, but this wine was
a little bizarre.
Notes – This crimson red wine had a gassy nose and I
was able to eek out a little cherry in there somewhere.
On the palate it was filled with horse sweat and
barnyardy. Three words I’d never want associated
with my wine…ever!
was able to eek out a little cherry in there somewhere.
On the palate it was filled with horse sweat and
barnyardy. Three words I’d never want associated
with my wine…ever!
Notes – Another crimson wine, probably showing its
older age, but it had a gorgeous spicy oak nose filled
with briar berry accents. Oh, but it collapses on the
palate. The oak overwhelms everything making it thin
and one-dimensional. Really and truly, this wine is not
as bad as the score indicates, I think it was treated a
bit unfairly. But, after that wonderful nose, I was left
utterly disappointed.
older age, but it had a gorgeous spicy oak nose filled
with briar berry accents. Oh, but it collapses on the
palate. The oak overwhelms everything making it thin
and one-dimensional. Really and truly, this wine is not
as bad as the score indicates, I think it was treated a
bit unfairly. But, after that wonderful nose, I was left
utterly disappointed.
For this month’s staff tasting we reviewed nine Spanish
reds. This tasting was somewhat different than other
months in that we really would not be sticking to just one
grape varietal or region. So in effect, we were comparing
apples to oranges so to speak. This creates a lot of
problems in a blind tasting. Tempranillo, for example is a
big, bold and tannic wine that often requires time to mellow
out, while many wines made from the Garnacha (Grenache)
grape are lighter and fruitier, producing wines that can be
stage was set for some very unusual results for this staff
tasting.
To my surprise, we had quite an assortment of Spanish
reds from all sorts of Spanish wine regions, but none of the
wines came from the two most prestigious regions, that
being Ribera del Duero and Priorat. Now technically Rioja
was known as a prestigious region, but the former two has
surpassed Rioja in quality over the last decade. We had
blends and straight up 100% varietal wines, representing
the gamut of wines with names like, Tempranillo,
Garnacha, Monastrell (Mouvedre) and Petit Verdot. Petit
Verdot??? I had no idea that Petit Verdot was being
dabbled with by Spanish winemakers and certainly not as a
stand-alone varietal, but the one offering we had performed
quite well.
The more we do these blind tastings it seems the more I
am convinced that they are inherently flawed. None of us
are really wine experts and it is certainly hard to take into
consideration a wines potential down the road for
greatness. For me personally, I really just rely on past
experiences and what I perceive to be as a wines structure
and balance. We really experienced this on a grand scale
with our last tasting on Bordeaux wines. None of the wines
we tasted in that line up were ready to drink now, save the
Mouton Cadet and lo and behold, it performed extremely
well. There was a bit of that going on in this tasting as
well. Our first place wine fit the profile of easy, fun and
immediately pleasurable drinking for right now and it did
not disappoint. It was probably the one wine in the tasting
that no’ one seemed to disagree with. We all thought it
was pretty good. It had the largest majority of first place
votes and I believe I had it down as my third favorite of the
evening. Another plus going for it was it’s under $10.00
price tag. Once that nugget of trivia was revealed, people
liked it even more.
Moving back into form however, the following three wines
running second thru fourth were three of the four most
expensive wines in the tasting. And all seemed to have
structure for longevity. The fifth place wine was also one I
really liked. Made from Tempranillo, but only costing
around $15.00, it had plenty of those tannins that the grape
varietal is known for. The sixth place wine was corked and
the proof in the pudding that our tastings are somewhat
flawed, it placed better than three other wines. Finally, our
last placed wine got somewhat pelted for being different,
due in large part that it is almost a decade old and more
mature than the other wines in the tasting. That being said,
it did have some flaws. Oh well, here are the results:
reds. This tasting was somewhat different than other
months in that we really would not be sticking to just one
grape varietal or region. So in effect, we were comparing
apples to oranges so to speak. This creates a lot of
problems in a blind tasting. Tempranillo, for example is a
big, bold and tannic wine that often requires time to mellow
out, while many wines made from the Garnacha (Grenache)
grape are lighter and fruitier, producing wines that can be
stage was set for some very unusual results for this staff
tasting.
To my surprise, we had quite an assortment of Spanish
reds from all sorts of Spanish wine regions, but none of the
wines came from the two most prestigious regions, that
being Ribera del Duero and Priorat. Now technically Rioja
was known as a prestigious region, but the former two has
surpassed Rioja in quality over the last decade. We had
blends and straight up 100% varietal wines, representing
the gamut of wines with names like, Tempranillo,
Garnacha, Monastrell (Mouvedre) and Petit Verdot. Petit
Verdot??? I had no idea that Petit Verdot was being
dabbled with by Spanish winemakers and certainly not as a
stand-alone varietal, but the one offering we had performed
quite well.
The more we do these blind tastings it seems the more I
am convinced that they are inherently flawed. None of us
are really wine experts and it is certainly hard to take into
consideration a wines potential down the road for
greatness. For me personally, I really just rely on past
experiences and what I perceive to be as a wines structure
and balance. We really experienced this on a grand scale
with our last tasting on Bordeaux wines. None of the wines
we tasted in that line up were ready to drink now, save the
Mouton Cadet and lo and behold, it performed extremely
well. There was a bit of that going on in this tasting as
well. Our first place wine fit the profile of easy, fun and
immediately pleasurable drinking for right now and it did
not disappoint. It was probably the one wine in the tasting
that no’ one seemed to disagree with. We all thought it
was pretty good. It had the largest majority of first place
votes and I believe I had it down as my third favorite of the
evening. Another plus going for it was it’s under $10.00
price tag. Once that nugget of trivia was revealed, people
liked it even more.
Moving back into form however, the following three wines
running second thru fourth were three of the four most
expensive wines in the tasting. And all seemed to have
structure for longevity. The fifth place wine was also one I
really liked. Made from Tempranillo, but only costing
around $15.00, it had plenty of those tannins that the grape
varietal is known for. The sixth place wine was corked and
the proof in the pudding that our tastings are somewhat
flawed, it placed better than three other wines. Finally, our
last placed wine got somewhat pelted for being different,
due in large part that it is almost a decade old and more
mature than the other wines in the tasting. That being said,
it did have some flaws. Oh well, here are the results:
| Happy Birthday Sandy! |
