First Tasting of 2010

Good evening! Tonight I am here with my friend Palamedes, with a most interesting tasting of Spanish wines from less-well-known DOs (that is, for those of us that do not live in Spain).

The first wine we will taste is a Dehesa La Granja 1999. This wine comes from Zamora, in La Mancha, Spain and it belongs to the Castilla-Leon DO. The wine is produced by Fernandez Rivera winery. The wine is made with Tempranillo grapes, 100% and has 24 months of oak cask ageing and is now 11 years old (yes, we can still count. It is still early).The colour of the wine, as expected, has some earthy tones on the fringes. We don´t detect a lot of grassitude in the wine, with tears that are not wide and that slide on the side of the glass. In nose, although the wine is still closed, we can feel a bit of leather. The first tasting of the wine indicates a light attack, a light middle and a short aftertaste. In mouth, the wine feels alcoholic and tannic, with significant levels of structure but not sufficient "meat".

The second wine is Gelbenzu EVO 2002. This wine comes from Ribera del Queiles. The wine is produced by winery Hijos de Gelbenzu. The wine is an assemblage of Cabernet Sauvignon 55%, 12% Tempranillo and 32% Merlot. The wine has 12 months of oak cask ageing. The colour of the wine is more ruby than the tempranillo, less dark. We observe little "gras" in the wine. The wine gives out only very few aromas. In mouth, unexciting: a bit acidic, no aftertaste, not velvety at all despite the presence of the Merlot. The wine, however, seems to have had some storage problem, so we will not judge it based on this bottle.

The third wine we will taste tonight is a Estola Gran Reserva 1999, made by Ayuso winery. This wine comes from Villarobledo, La Mancha. The wine is an assemblage of 65% Tempranillo and 35% Cabernet Sauvignon.About the ageing, we are not sure whether the wine has 36 months of oak cask (not new ones). The colour is ruby, with a darker hue. There is some glycerin, but not a lot. The aroma is predominantly mineral, with a hint of pepper and peaches or apples. The attack is noticeable but not violent. What clearly predominates is the middle of the wine, with is satisfactorily round and velvety. There is some astrigence, surely due to the CS, and some aftertaste. The taste of red fruit is quite noticeable, with a note of peaches.

The second tasting of the La Granja shows more marked indications of leather aromas, less mineral and a slight indicaiton of animal aromas. The middle of the wine has improved in the time since opening it, with more complex flavours, including leather. It is not fruity at all. The wine has improved significantly with oxygenation.

The second tasting of the Estola maintains the fruity flavour, with complex combinations of red fruit and peaches. There are tannins present, but they are only a ¨"touch", not at all dominant.

It is quite annoying the greedyness of some wine shops, who sell wine bottles that are not in optimum conditions. That is the case of the Guelbenzu we were going to try tonight. Unfortunately, some people does not have neither professionalism nor decency. Shame on them!

And now, goodbye. As always, remember:
IN VINO, VERITAS!