Well, here it is a Monday night, and what better to drink a Tempranillo with than some homemade fajitas? OK, I can think of plenty of other things, but we'll give this one a shot anyway. Popped and poured this tonight and poured into a Riedel XL glass where it decanted for about a half hour. Nice red color in the glass.
The nose was not what I expected in the least, and I was really waiting for a sweet vanilla nose, crossed with some serious wood. Not oak, I am talking straight wood, 2x4, but that was not the case at all. Instead, I got a nice nose of dark black cherry, strawberry, and spice. There is a bit of cedar on the nose as well, and maybe a touch of blueberry and smoked paprika. Definitely a good nose, and surpisingly, the nose smells very young.
My question in regards to that is, do they age this wine in the barrel for 10 years? Or is it in the barrel for 5 years, and then in the bottle for 5 years? UPDATE: according to one of our know it all readers, this wine is aged 3 years in oak, then another 2 years in the bottle for a total of 5 years. Somehow, this does not add up to 10 years, so please know it all reader, explain your math to all of us. Where does that other 5 years come from? Maybe the grapes are left on the vines for 5 years after they are ripe? LOL!
My question in regards to that is, do they age this wine in the barrel for 10 years? Or is it in the barrel for 5 years, and then in the bottle for 5 years? UPDATE: according to one of our know it all readers, this wine is aged 3 years in oak, then another 2 years in the bottle for a total of 5 years. Somehow, this does not add up to 10 years, so please know it all reader, explain your math to all of us. Where does that other 5 years come from? Maybe the grapes are left on the vines for 5 years after they are ripe? LOL!
On the palate, this is drinking very well, and I found this to drink even better with food. I tasted this before I took a bite of the fajitas, and I got some nice strawberry and raspberry on the palate. This wine has a nice acidity to it, and plenty of backbone, but it is all well integrated. The alcohol is not offensive in the least, and the tannins are there, but nice and smooth.
For a Spanish tempranillo, this is indeed a heck of a great QPR, and there is nothing at all to be skeptical about. To slap a $10-$15 price tag on this bottle is absolutely genius to me, and this is definitely a food friendly wine. But I don't think it needs to be a Spanish inspired dish. I could see drinking this with pizza on a Wednesday night, or even on a Friday or Saturday. Or I could even drink this with burgers off the grill. Regardless of what you want to eat with this, I think it will be a very food friendly wine.
All in all, what is there to say here other than genius? This is a nice wine at a great price, and 88 point worthy. We'll see if it gets any better tomorrow night. Cheers!
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