Showing posts with label tempranillo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tempranillo. Show all posts

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Wine Time! Three To Consider

Wine Time!

Three To Consider
Seventeen months in oak.

Coto de Imaz 2008 Reserva Rioja (DOC), 13.5%, €19.60, Karwig Wines

This dark cherry coloured gem from La Rioja has spent 17 months in American oak and a further three years in bottle.The fruit aromas promise much and, with this well balanced wine, you don't have to wait long for the fulfilment. A complex well-aged, well-made wine “from a selection of the best Tempranillo grapes in Rioja”. In the mouth, it feels close to velvet and the tannins are a little grippy. Excellent overall and Very Highly Recommended.

Almirante’s Pionero Mundi Albarino 2013 (Rias Baixas), 12.5%, €14.95 at Mitchell & Sons, Dublin; Skelly’s of Longford; Bradley’s of Cork; and others


There are more than 600 pages in the 1994 Larousse Encyclopedia of Wine and the Spanish region of Rias Baixas gets about a 1/3rd of a page, enough though for the editors to note that “the Albarino, a variety of such excellence that almost the whole wine industry in the province..has been built on it”. It was indeed a solid foundation and, 21 years on, the results are now being tasted and acclaimed near and far.


Colour in this example is a light gold with green tints. The white fruit aromas are intense and gorgeous. And then there is the unmistakable tingle of the Albarino, fresh and fruity and yet so dry, all followed by a long reverberating finish. Very Highly Recommended.






Piantaferro Primitivo Di Manduria (DOC) 2012, 14%, €13.99 SuperValu

Greeting here is an aroma of dark fruits, plums mainly. Fruit flavours are quite concentrated and there is some spice, maybe a touch of liquorice and a silky input of tannin. Overall it is quite rich with a long finish. Well made, well balanced and Highly Recommended.

Primitivo, genetically similar to California's Zinfandel, has emerged as “the most consumer-friendly grape” of Puglia, the heel of Italy. Could be a handy one to have around when grilling on the BBQ this summer, even if you may have to eat indoors!

Thursday, July 31, 2014

Campo Viejo. Still and Sparkling

Campo Viejo. Still and Sparkling
Tempranillo

Campo Viejo Rioja Reserva 2008, 13.5%, €14.31 Widely available.

Campo Viejo is the "dependable" Rioja. Even in Spain, according to our guide on a recent Tapas Trail. And not just in Spain. It is in the No. 1 Rioja position worldwide. And one can see why, or at least taste why, in this bottle. The wine has been aged for 18 months in French and American oak and a further 18 months aging in the bottle.

Colour is a clean and bright ruby and it has inviting red fruit aromas. You’ll find rounded fruit flavours and spice notes on the palate. Really well balanced with little or no sign of tannins and it has a lovely long finish. Made mainly from Tempranillo (85%), it is added to our Very Highly Recommended list.


Campo Viejo Cava Brut Reserva, 11.5%, €15.38, O’Brien’s nationwide http://www.obrienswine.ie .

Cava is usually associated with the Catalunya region of Spain and indeed the vast majority of this traditionally made sparkling wine is made there. But it is also produced in quite a few other regions such as Aragon, Navarra, and La Rioja. The usual grapes in the blend, and in this wine, are Macabeo, Parellada and Xarel-lo.

Take a look at this in the glass and you see a clean greenish yellow colour, bright and with no shortage of rising bubbles. There are white fruit aromas which I've seen described as complex but I didn't find anything very intense. White fruits too on the palate and a terrific balancing acidity. Fresh for sure and with an excellent dry finish. A good value Cava, made by the Metodo Tradicional, and Highly Recommended.

They also produce a Rosé Brut, made with 100% Trepat.


Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Last Minute Wine Suggestions

Last Minute Wine Suggestions
 Top one goes with "a variety of meats" - ideal for Christmas!

Tim Adams, Bluey’s Block Single Vineyard Grenache, Clare Valley 2009, 14.5%, €16.99 Curious Wines 



Colour is a very light red and the aromatics are pretty if restrained. The magic is on the palate. Fruity for sure but very very refined and so well balanced. It has of course, the typical spice of the variety and, what you might not expect, an ABV of 14.5%. Must say it was love at first bite (well, first sip) with this mouth filling beauty, with its subtle tannins (supple, the label says) and its long fruity driven finish. Goes with a variety of meats and is Very Highly Recommended.

Viñedos Iberian, Yaso, Tinta de Toro 2010, 13.5%, stockists 

Familia Osborne (of Sherry fame) owns Viñedos Iberian and this Tinta de Toro (Tempranillo to most of us!) is a classy bottle. Yaso comes from a selection of old vineyards in the Zamora region of the Toro DO. They’ve been growing vines here for over 2000 years and this is named after the Greek goddess of healing.



Not sure I needed any healing when I opened this red the other day but I sure felt good as the initial sips came in and better as the silky liquid reached all areas.  It has an intense concentration of red fruits – you see it in the bright cherry colour and catch it in the aromas – and it is prominent again on the long finish. Highly Recommended.

Kerpen Riesling 2010 (Blauschiefer, Bernkastel, Mosel), €17.52, Karwig Wines

This estate bottled Riesling is a my favourite of mine, confirmed as recently as last Sunday. It is bright with straw green colours and modestly aromatic. Ripe fruits reach all areas before a long dry finish. Luscious apple-ly fruits yet really well balanced and with a great texture. Good with fish with light sauces or on its own as an aperitif. Highly recommended, not for the first time!.

The vineyards are on the slopes of the River Mosel, a tributary of the Rhine.

Check out the full 2013 list of recommendations here 

Friday, November 30, 2012

Yaso! Just what the doctor ordered.

Yaso. Just what the doctor ordered!
Yaso is the name of the god of healing in Greek mythology. It is also the name of one of the well priced well bred new wines from Cork importer Wine Alliance. 
Well bred? Yes indeed, the vineyard is owned by the Osborne family. No, not the heavy metal tribe. I’m talking about a vine respectability here: the owners are the Osbornes of Jerez. The Tonto de Toro (Tempranillo) vines that provide the fruit are in 40 year old vineyards in the South Eastern province of Zamora and the wines spend 6 months in French oak.
Yaso Tinto de Toro (Tempranillo), 2010 Toro (Spain), 13.5%, €12.00 to €14.00 Stockists 
Cherry red is the colour and there is a fairly concentrated red fruit nose. On the palate it is smooth, fruity, with light spice and a good finish. On the wallet, it is light to medium. Highly recommended.
The other recent additions to the Wine Alliance portfolio include Las Pizarras Si O Sy Syrah 2010 Calatayud (€10 to 12); Sembro Tempranillo 2011 Ribera Del Duero (€12 to 14); and the white (also from Osborne) Oropendola Verdejo 2011 Rueda (€13 to 15). 
Read the Toro background here 

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Pleased to meet you. Tempranillo, under another name!


Tempranillo, under yet another name!
MuseumReal Reserva 2004 (Cigales, Spain), 14%, €20.55, Karwig Wines.


The historic Cigales area has been producing wines for centuries and this, with its distinctive pewter label, is one of the good ones!

Grape variety is listed as Tinta del Pais, another name for Tempranillo, and the fruit comes from some of the oldest vines in the region (between 60 and 100 years old).

Colour is dark cherry, almost black, and the nose has that cherry, also plum, also hints of oak and spice, even herbs. The fruits and flavours are expertly combined to give a smooth sophisticated wine, concentrated, with moderate tannins and fine acidity leading to a long dry finish. A great match for red meat in general and for lamb in particular.