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Overall impressions: it's been awhile since I reported on Spanish wines. This flight was a collection of various vintages, from which a Priorat wine emerged on top again. The Rotllan Tirant is fabulous, with a seductive nose and full rich mouthfeel. Relative bargains can be found in the Gran Clos de J.M. Fuentes and the Santa Cruz de Artazu. But the real bargain here is the Castel de Remei Gotim Bru. It's an amazing value at $9. There were no disappointments here. All of the wines were very good. And those that didn't quite measure up the Rotllan were 4 times less expensive. There's no question about it - Spanish wines offer a significant value. |
Txomin Etxaniz Getariako Txakolina - Basque Region. $10.99. Light
gold color. Sharp, Riesling-like nose, with hints of ash and floral
aromas. Bone dry, yet there's a slightly sweet edge to the wine.
Medium-long finish, with almost a salty quality to the aftertaste.
man, this has GOT to be great with goat cheese. 2002
Abadia Da Cova Albariño Ribeira Sacra. $14.99. Light
medium gold color. Off-sweet nose of muted floral aromas and spice.
Smooth on the palate, with a nice fruity/floral taste, and long
tasty finish. Refreshing aftertaste. 2001
Dominio Egurin Protocolo - Navarra. $4.99. Medium-dark
garnet color. Buttery and floral in the nose - somewhat manipulated,
yet very attractive. Fruity and smooth across the palate, with a
medium-long tasty finish. All Tempranillo, and surprisingly good
for the price. Pitch that Two-Buck Chuck. 2001
Santa Cruz de Artazu - Navarra. $28.99. Dark
ruby color. Nose of raspberry, tobacco, rose petal, and pomegranate.
Big cherry flavors, seems packed with fruit all the way through
the long slightly tannic finish. Old vine Grenache; made by Artadi's
winemaker. 1994
Torre Oria Utiel Requena Grand Reserva. $11.99. Dark
garnet ruby color. Nose of burnished cherry, with a light herbacousness,
tobacco, olive, hardwoods, and a touch of eucalyptus. Chewy mouthfeel,
tastes like freshly macerated fruit, long finish. 2001
Pedro Luis Martinez "Alceo" Jumilla. $12.99. Dark
ruby garnet color. Seductively ripe aroma of black cherry and toast.
Fleshy mouthfeel, with plenty of fruit through mid-palate, and a
slight drop-off toward the finish. Tempranillo, Monastrel, Syrah
blend. 2001
Castel de Remei Gotim Bru Costers del Segre. $8.99. Medium
ruby garnet color. Sweet, fleshy and ripe nose, with a brandied
cherry quality. Very tasty mouthfeel, lots of pomegranate and black
cherry, and a long finish. Blend of Cabernet, Merlot, and Tempranillo. 1999
Gran Clos de J.M. Fuentes Priorat. $35.99. Medium
ruby garnet color. Ripe, and slightly oaked edge to the floral,
olive, and caper scents in the nose. Big and chewy mouthfeel, complex
flavors of fruit and herbs, obvious oak and tannins, with a very
long tasty finish. 90% Grenache, 10% Carignane. 1998
Rotllan Torra Priorat Tirant. $59.99. Very
d ark ruby color. Nose of olive, herbs, buttered toast, and meat
drippings. Full and rich on the palate, massive mouthfeel, with
sweet ripe chewy fruit and smooth seamless finish, and a delicious
aftertaste. Primarily a blend of Grenache, Carignane, with additional
% of Merlot and Syrah. Just beautiful. 2000
Luna Beberide Tierras de Luna Castillo y Leon. $23.99. Very
dark ruby color. Nose of cassis, chalk, marzipan, and hardwoods.
Exceptionally smooth mouthfeel, nice fruit and long smooth finish.
Did I mention that this is one smooth wine? The blend here is about
50% Cab, and 50% kitchen sink varietals. 2000
Pago de Los Capellanes Ribera del Duero Crianza. $17.99.
Very
dark ruby color. Nice black cherry and toast nose. Freshly crushed
fruit covers fills the mouth through mid-palate, where the fruit
drops off precipitously to pedestrian levels, and the wine finishes
a bit narrow in focus. 90% Tempranillo. |
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2000
A Alto Ribera del Duero. $31.99. Very
dark ruby color. Smoky BBQ nose of cassis, toast, and bacon. Dry,
slightly rustic edge to the mouthfeel, but this is just packed with
fruit. Very long and tasty finish. 100% Tempranillo. 2000
Flor de Pingus Ribera del Duero. $36.99. Very
dark ruby garnet color. Nose of black cherry, toast, and vanilla.
Nice rich mouthfeel. Very smooth on the palate, with a slight fade
toward the otherwise smooth long finish. Mostly Tempranillo. 2000
Elias Mora Toro. $28.99.Very,
very dark ruby color. Slight bittersweet chocolate and vanilla scent
to the black cherry and floral nose. Tasty, slightly sweet-sour
macerated fruit on the palate. Long tasty finish. Tempranillo. 2000
Artadi Rioja Vinas de Gain. $15.99.
Dark ruby garnet color. Sweet ripe floral nose, with a lovely berry
scent throughout. Slightly sweet on the palate, fruity and smooth
with a light oaky touch, the wine seems to lack complexity from
mid-to-latter palate and through long finish. The nose seems to
promise mor than the mouth delivers. Tempranillo. 1998
Vina Santurnia Rioja Reserva. $14.99. Medium
garnet ruby color. Light oaky tobacco scent to the burnished cherry
nose. Seems almost CdP-like on the palate, with fruity taste and
long finish. Nice enough wine, though it could use a little punch.
Tempranillo. 1999
Guzman Aldazabal Rioja. $21.99. Dark
ruby color. Largely floral black cherry and vanilla nose, with an
interesting touch of petrol. Flavors of black cherry and licorice
cover the palate, with tannic and gripping finish. Tempranillo. 1999
Artadi Rioja Pagos Viejos. $63.99. Dark
garnet ruby color. Slightly oaky and meaty scents compliment the
rich black cherry in the nose. Fleshy and slightly stemmy mouthfeel,
with flavors of black cherry, eucalptyus,and a very long finish.
Tempranillo. 2000
Olivares Dulce Monastrell. $19.99. Medium
almond garnet color. Nose of prune, dried apricot, and hazelnut.
Sweet and chewy on the palate, with flavors of date, apricot, and
dried prune. Seamless long finish. Mourvedre. |
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No original material may be reproduced without written consent Mail & Comments - Eric Anderson Last Update 11.18.03 |