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Spanish Wine Tasting Evening - Printable Version

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- TheEngineer - 10-13-2006

I was invited by an extremely nice retailer (KC you may know him as this was Warehouse Wines). I appreciated this opportunity as it was a group of friends, many in the trade who decended on his house. Nice cheese served too! Total about 11 people showed up.

So here are people who were 30 year+ veterans of the wine trade sitting down with me. Great Wealth of knowledge and they were a great bunch, learned a lot and also tasted though about $900 worth of wine. Great evening. To be sure, there wasn't a bad bottle except for the single unfortunate corked bottle.

Wine was served in four flights with winning wines determined in each flight. Points were assigned based on first and second place votes per flight. All the flights were so close and well put together. It was hard to chose the best one.

First flight: Newer Wines

Wine #1 Ventus Toro Tinto (100% Tempranillo) (3 points) $21
Deep Dark fruits, powerful, TANNIC, wow. so tannic, great grip chocolate, coffee, but medium+ finish for such a large wine. Definitely FULL BODY

Wine #2 2004 Numanthia Termes (100% tempranillo) (21 points) $65
I was looking forward to this wine as it uses Pre-Phylloxera vines. Flavor profiles was very different, more alive if that means anything. Apparently made from 70 to 100 year-old vines planted at a 2,300 foot elevation. Large but restained nose, seemed a bit tight to me (needed lots of air). Very fresh, intense, concentrated, massive, and rich. Palate of coffee, dark cherries, dark berries, very acidic and tannic, so built for long term, tons of wood though, great complexity and full body. My top pick.

Wine #3 2002 Bodegas Maurodos Vina San Roman (100 Tempranillo) (12 points) $50
Tight nose, more rim variation than the others and approachable, Abundant deep dark fruits but a very nice earthy, minerally, dusty sense. Not as dense and concentrated as the others but still very full body. My second pick

Flight 2 Older Wines (Kinda nice since the first three were SO LARGE)

1996 Ramirez de Ganuza – Rioja Alavesa (90% Tempranillo, 7% Granciano, 3% Garnacha) (14 points) $65
Definite signs of age on a bottle, floral, gamey, some leather and other secondary notes, nice acidity, Wonderful balance and great wine!

1997 Baron de Ona Reserva – Rioja Alavesa (92% Tempranillo, 4% Mazuelo, 4 % Cabernet Sauvignon) (10points) $25
Another very nicely aged rioja reserve. Elegant perfumey nose with some older cedar wood and a little spiciness. Nice fruits still, of cherries and plum, with secondary notes of leather. Medium body personality, a tough of tanginess, layering of flavors. My first choice for this flight.

1995 Alenza Ribera del Duero (8 points) $110

Still very deep garnet in color for an 11 year old bottle, very tannic and acidic and still rather tight so this could definitely use more time….like 5 more years. Predominantly dark fruits, somewhat sweet, spicy pepper, ripe with a nice touch of earth and tobacco. Solidly built wine. My second choice.

Flight #3 Younger Rioja and Ribera del Duero

#7 2001 Pagos de Vina Real – Rioja Alavesa (corked…..) $120.
Leave it to be the most expensive bottle tonight to be corked. I as really looking forward to this one too. Even though it was corked, you could get a sense of just how wonderful this wine would have been if flying full song. Shame…not rated.

#8 2000 Bodegas Alion, Ribera Del Duero (8 points) $65
This was my contribution for the evening. I love Alión as it is a bit more forward than Unico but still very complex and completely enjoyable. This was definitely tight but still very elegant with a herbal nose. Great balance, dense and rich red fruit, spicy and peppery, very complex and full bodied. (My second choice).

#9 2001 Alonso Del Yerro Ribera Del Duero (11 points) $45
Nose was cheerful and pretty, Color (like others) was a deep purple color with a nice nose almost floral. Full bodied but smooth silky texture Brighter cherries and plums still tannic and a great balance.


#10 2001 Torre Muga Rioja – Rioja Alta (75% Tempranillo, 15% Mazuelo, 10% Granciano) (13 points) $95
You can see how good all of these wines were when the Torre Muga gets only 13 points (or for that matter Alion gets 8 points). Very large and very modern, with a deep opaque purple. Nose and taste of blackberry, black cherries, plum, cedar wood, earthiness, leather, Great concentration, density, lively, and full body but still good balance. Wow….. My first choice

Flight four, Party like its 1999

1999 Vina Izadi Expression Rioja Alavesa (16 points) $95
Deep purple opaque with thick dark fruits, dry, solid tannins, very acidic and fresh. Great balance for this large wine. My first pick

1999 Abadia Retuerta Cuvee El Campanario (9 points) $55
Older wood with a meaty nose and taste, dark cherries slightly behind but high alcohol levels. Very tight with a slightly bitter finish.

1999 Artadi Pagos Viejos – Rioja Alavesa
Another deep dark opaque purple wine. The wine is concentrated but very balanced for its size. Still tight, with a nose of dark and red fruits, cherries, berries, some earthy minerals, coffee and spiciness. Medium+ body with a great great long finish, My second choice of the flight only for its impressive size.

Nice evening.


- wondersofwine - 10-13-2006

Interesting evening and notes. I have only tried one Torre Muga Rioja (the 1994) but didn't care for the modern treatment with lots of wood. I prefered the mid-rank Muga Rioja which was less wood-influenced. Also tasted one Numanthia and prefered a less expensive Spanish wine in the same tasting. I guess with Spanish wines I prefer the more subtle, traditional style although I am occasionally excited by a fruit bomb from Australia or a big, powerful Zin.


- TheEngineer - 10-13-2006

Wonders,

You are right. Funny though that in the first case, the Termes, it wasn't the biggest wine of the flight...if you could believe that. I will admit that the Muga as VERY LARGE and that in general I would have preferred the Alion but man...they were all BIG wines. I think that the tasters I sat around like the second flight the best as the wines were a bit more subdued.


- dananne - 10-13-2006

Sounds like my kind of tasting! Great flights!

I've had several of these. Numanthia-Termes has been a staple in my cellar since their '99. Agree it needs lots of air (or significant cellar time). I love Muga, but like Wonders above, I'm more a fan of their more traditionally-styled wines. We've been drinking Muga every year since the '97 (and, in fact, we've got a bottle of the '05 rose chilling in the fridge for this weekend -- saying goodbye to Atlanta summer, and all that). We've got that particular Torre Muga in the cellar, but I have not tried it yet.

Thanks, also, for the tasting notes on the Ganuza, the Ona, and the Artadi (all of which slumber in the cellar).


- VouvrayHead - 10-13-2006

oh, man... I'm so jealous!
Would have liked to see how a reserva Pesquera or Condado de Haza stacked up...


- TheEngineer - 10-13-2006

DA, No problem! I think you will like those wines when you get to them.

VV, More than a few people said the same thing after the tasting. I for one would not have minded if I had a chance to try it [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/smile.gif[/img]


- brappy - 10-13-2006

What a great time. Out of all those wines, the Numanthia would have been my favorite, but just by a pinch. I know many have thier favorite style of spanish wines; I guess I just like both and choose which one I want at the moment. But my mind can change on a dime if the wine is a great one.

Great notes also. It gets tough taking notes after so many wines. I usually start out taking the notes. They get more illegible as the night goes on until I just simply give up.

Oh well, like I said, good notes.

mark


- dananne - 10-14-2006

Brappy -- I very much agree with you in that I like both and choose depending on what I'm in the mood for or what I'm eating. For me, the only caveat is that the Rioja wines made in the so-called "international style" are far different from traditional Rioja, and I not only worry about those traditionally-made wines falling by the wayside of history, but the new wines can cause food pairing problems if one isn't careful. I think the old style was easier to pair with meals. Probably not as much fun to drink alone, though.


- brappy - 10-14-2006

I agree with you.....

What if... what is now considered "traditional" will be considered "new style" in the year 2030 or close to then? Anything is possible.... Things being cyclical and all..

But I know what you mean. If I'm going out to a Austalian tasting which is more like a cocktail party, I'll bring a big barossa shiraz. On the converse, if the tasting is a dinner, I'm opting for some cab from Western Australia. Tasty juice vs. food-friendly tasty juice? Bad example but I do understand what you're saying.

mark


- dananne - 10-15-2006

You may be right about cycles, and it may already be happening to some extent -- perhaps not with the winemaking as much as the varieties. Just some of the trends, like the Spanish bottling old vine Hondarribi beltza (which would have likely just been ripped out and replanted in the past), the trend back to field blends (particularly single vineyard, but also NV table wines), etc. In Greece, Portugal, Argentina, etc. you see a trend towards traditional (and in many respects, long-forgotten) varieties. In Washington this summer I visited a vineyard that used to have 30-yr old Gewurtz vines that they ripped up and replanted with Chard. Even though the Chard sold well, it wasn't as good as the Gewurtz. So, they ripped out the Chard and are going back. Stupid, insane, costly, but maybe the right decision? Who knows. All I know is that I'd rather try a unique Gewurtz than yet another blah Chard. Perhaps the winemaking decisions will follow suit. I hope so, because I hate, for example, having to ask the alc % on a bottle of Pinot Noir at a restaurant when trying to pair with my meal.


- TheEngineer - 10-16-2006

I tried the Muga Reserve last night and I yes it was MUCH less concentrated than its bigger brother. Much more of a wine that you can have with dinner. I must say that I like them both.


- Kcwhippet - 10-16-2006

Eng, Glad you liked the tasting. Bob does things up in a big way. He's been around forever, and knows everybody worth knowing in the MA wine business.


- Kcwhippet - 10-17-2006

Hey Eng, If you're going to Bob's Italian event on 30 Nov I'll probably see you there.


- TheEngineer - 10-17-2006

KC,

Dang....our schedules never cross. I will not be there as I will be in Hong Kong / Shanghai again. If I get a chance to see Bob though I'll drop off a bottle though.


- Kcwhippet - 10-17-2006

Well, if you ever make it into the shop on any Monday or most Wednesday evenings, I'll be there. Soon, it will be weekends, too, now that sailing season has ended.