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Region: Jumillia, SpainGrapes: 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 70% Monastrell
ABV: 15.5%
Price: $50
This wine is a beast to be tamed, to be sure. After it's first three vintages, this fourth continues to rank up there with some of the best wine out of Spain, maybe out of all of Europe, this year. With its completely opaque inkiness and almost incense-like nose, this wine hits you with a full-bodied punch of dark fruit, cranberry and brown sugar-cinnamon with a slight earth and oak note hanging out in the background. Epicurean.
Preface: Huge break...sorry about that. Here we go again!
Region: Catalogne, Spain
Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Garnacha, Merlot, Tempranillo, CarignanPrice: $18
This dark red meritage (pronouced like heritage) from Spain has a nice body and can only be described as "ultra-dry" (ie, it will make you want a glass of water afterwards). The nose is a strange oaky-plumy beast and the wine is full of ripe black fruit (plums and dark berries) with hints of coffee and spice.
Preface: So I was lazy this week...here is part 7 of my 11 part series of Spanish wine...
Region: Rioja, Spain
Grapes: TempranilloPrice: $22
The Conde de Valdemar is a nice full-bodied red with a beautiful ruby red color and notes of raspberry and oak. Would be great with a meal off the grill.
Preface: Part 6 of my 11 part series of Spanish wine...
Region: Ribera del Duero, Spain
Grapes: Primarily TempranilloPrice: $18
This red was aged for 5 years before being released to the unsuspecting public. Was it worth the wait? Personally, I don't think so. It has a very heavy aroma of tobacco, is incredibly dry and somewhat like leather with the hint of cherries and oak in the background.
Preface: Part 5 of my 11 part series of Spanish wine...salud!
Region: Rioja, Spain
Grapes: 100% TempranilloPrice: $10
Alcohol Level: 13.5%
Another incredibly dry red, this one with an undefinable nose (my collegues and I were thinking possibly the french oak barrel it was aged in coming out very strongly). While the nose is not very appealing, the wine was a nice light red with flavors of spice, coffee, prunes and blueberries.
Preface: Part 4 of my 11 part series of Spanish vino...enjoy!
Region: Yecla, Spain
Grapes: 100% Monastrell (Mourvedre)Price: $12
Alcohol Level: 14.5%
Bone-suckingly dry with loads of tannins. Medium red in color with a spicy nose. I get cherries and licorice out of this wine, but they are hidden behind the bold tang of the tannins. Not to be enjoyed without food, for sure.
Preface: Part 3 of 11 in my ongoing run through Spain...
Region: Castilla La Mancha, La Mancha, Spain
Grapes: 100% TempranilloPrice: $12
Intense in every way. Dark pink with a very-berry nose. Raspberries and blueberries fill your mouth with every sip and linger for the finish. Delicious and very refreshing.
Preface: Part 2 of 11 in my ongoing romp through Spain...
Region: Montsant, Catalonia, Spain
Grapes: 100% Garnacha (Grenache)Price: $10
Light pink with a nose of sweet cherries. Tastes like cherries, tobacco, and cedar. Not very refreshing, really. Unless you like wood.
Preface: Took a break for the Forth, but that does not mean that I wasn't enjoying some wonderful (and not so wonderful) wines. This is my first installment of eleven wines from Spain that I recently got a chance to taste. All will be short, sweet, to-the-point and possibly incomplete due to time restrictions (I was at a company tasting and they moved far too quickly). Enjoy.
Region: Rías Baixas, Spain
Grapes: AlbariñoPrice: $10
Yellow-green in color. A very dry white wine that seemed more like a Pinot Grigio or a typical Chardonnay than anything special. A nice amount of citrus, but lots of floral overtones that I found mildly unpleasant. Nicely balanced acidity, though.
Region: Jumillia, Spain
