Skränmunkarna May 2014

Very much looked forward to this eveing. Andanticipations were high!

I was right about the second wine (Salon) being a Champagne, but was sure the 1st one was a little successful Crémant...

• NV Pierre Péters Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Cuvée de Réserve 82 Points

  France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

  Blind.
  Light yellow.
  Small, simple nose with small bready component.
  Non-integrated, too simple with an over-fruity feeling in the mouth. A rather thin mid-palate. Components not integrated.
  I was certain it was a little good Crémant...

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• 1999 Salon Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut 87 Points

  France, Champagne

  Blind.
  Light yellow.
  Dark, mellow and a rather unattractive "spicey" nose that was attractive to some tasters, but not to me. Towards sweaty teenager.
  In the mouth, it has a fabulous, creamy mouthfeel. But... This murky special character towards cummin and Mexican food does not do well to marry my taste buds.
  
  My score is for mouthfeel and the fabulous concentration and intensity of this wine.
  But:
  
  I would NEVER buy this!

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Red!
Beefy!
Fabulous!

My three prepared words of anticipation.

And I left with a big and wide smile :-)

• 1983 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único 88 Points

  Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero

  Blinded guess:
  Simple Rioja GR from mid 90'ies.
  
  Dark red with slight signage of beginning maturity.
  Nose is rich with leather and a dominant spicy set of aromas, including: mint, dill, Nepeta and Swedish glögg.
  In the mouth, this is a maturing, non-complex slightly acidic bagatelle. Delicious and goes well with both garlic- and sardine-stuffed olives.
  
  After learning the label: this emperor is naked. A Vega Sicilian face-plant (if you look at the price and pedigree) but a quite delicious wine in the same league as simpler Rioja GR with some age to them.
  
  No high scores from the 'real' chritics, so we concluded that this btl was representative and just accept that 1983 is obviously not a very good vintage of this super hero label. Mega poor QPR but nevertheless delicious.

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• 2002 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único 96 Points

  Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero

  Blind.
  This is a young, superbly beautiful wine with a future as emperor of Spain. It will probably be enjoyed for another 30 or 40 years. WOTN for me (by far) and for roughly half the crew.
  
  Blackish red.
  Has a nose of CS fruit, some smokey aromas but is tightly wound. Promising oomph, but difficult to touch.
  In the mouth, it immediately strikes you with its superb balance and rich, layered set of complexities. We are talking full bodied, mega-intense with M+++ tannins. A rich, young, full bodied wine with a major component in future promise and potential for more points. The oak treatment comes out of the shadows only as the fruit recedes. Long, complex and showing off also a brittle mineral component...
  
  I really wish I had some and cannot think that this wine is worth its price.

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• 2005 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Valbuena 5° 93 Points

  Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero

  Blind.
  Blackish reed.
  Nose is pure, fruity and young with ominous omph lurking in the shadows. However, I could not coax anything more out of this padawan.
  Medium bodied weight on the palate. Young-young-young. Biting acids and a constitution that is not in harmony with itself. (At least not yet.) The wine is purely grapey, wet stones galore and just a VERY well made wine of sorts.
  
  This one needs many more years of rest. The recent encounter with 1982 of this wine talks clearly about why it is worth waiting for.

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• 2009 Bodegas La Horra Ribera del Duero Corimbo I 88 Points

  Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero

  Blind.
  It's unfortunate that there are coarse tannins here and that the wine is non-incorporated in itself.
  
  Blackish purple, showing REALLY young.
  Mellow nose with red fruit and buttery aromas.
  In the mouth this is TI-tannic and restrained in great fashion. I noted some harsh stalky, coarse tannins among the more velvety ones. Finishes long with intense, yet non-complex grapey aromas. Some barrels come out in the end-game, from underneath the rather rich and intense fruit. Clay-like minerality.
  
  This wine seems it could have been so much more. Or will become something MUCH more. If I had some, I'd keep the next btl for 5 years.

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• 2008 Bodegas y Viñedos Alión Ribera del Duero 86 Points

  Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero

  Blind.
  A very good wine with unusual red licorice and candy aromas.
  
  Blackish red.
  Nose of red, young, perfumed fruit: cummin, red licorice and candy esters.
  Palate did not impress in the rather tough company (2 differend Unico and 1 Valbuena as a starter) but this is a very good wine. However, felt a little simple tonight.
  If I had some, I'd keep for some time, at least for 10 yrs.

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• 2006 Bodegas Protos Ribera del Duero Gran Reserva 91 Points

  Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero

  Blind.
  A well built wine that has the future for it.
  
  Blackish red with purple streaks.
  Unusual aromas including liver paste and dough.
  In the mouth it has a great tannic grip, great diversity and spread. Because it's so young, it still isn't showing its true face and difficult to assess for me. Happy for Protos and that their wines, that their relentless evolution and quality control systems allow for creating great wines such as this.
  
  My crystal ball says: Not at its best if drank before 2020.
  My wallet says: Let's get wines that we prefer over this one at a better price.

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What a great tasting. Always humbling to drink some of the World's best wines...