Minneapolis Wine Club - Spain

This event featured a mix of Spanish wines.

• 2011 Viña Almirante Rías Baixas Vanidade 89 Points

  Spain, Galicia, Rías Baixas

  Very consistent with the first bottle. Shows some florals long with a nice mix of citrus fruits and pear. The palate is tart and crisp with good minerality, lemon,lime, pear, citrus zest. This will be great on a hot day out on the deck.

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• 2004 Bodegas Casado Morales Rioja Gran Reserva 89 Points

  Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alavesa, Rioja

  VEry dark red/purple color. 30 minutes decant. Followed 1 glass over 60 minutes plus. The nose has some nice red fruits, dried berry, earth, slightly green, leather. The palate has medium plus body, black cherry, some oak and spice with a touch of heat mar the finish. The mid palate is a bit lean. The nose is better than the palate here. 88-89pts.

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• 1994 Bodegas Muga Rioja Torre Muga 93 Points

  Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja

  Very dark red color with a 7mm bricked margin. Decanted for 1 hour, drank 1 glass over 2 hours plus. Excellent nose with florals, leather, funky - which really comes on over the first 60 minutes, aromatic, lacquer, dry earth, dark berries, cassis, and cedar wood. The palate is medium bodied, layered, very earthy, sweet raisin, kirsch, dried fruits, cherry, port-like, dusty, refined tannins and a long finish. My personal opinion is that this got better over 2 hours. It did take on more barnyard after that and maybe some caution is advised on not decanting too long or putting back into the bottle after a short 15 minutes of air to help protect it. This was a real pleasure to drink and my and group WOTN.

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• 2005 Bodegas Muga Rioja Gran Reserva Prado Enea 91 Points

  Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja

  Very dark red/purple color. Decanted for around 90 minutes, followed 1 glass over 2 plus hours. The nose has plenty of ripe black fruits, blackberry, tar, spme damp earth. The palate is dense and layered, earth, blackberry liqueur, somewhat sharp and angular with heat on the finish. It did seem as if this was gradually improving later in the evening. This still seems youthful to me with nice potential in 5 years. 91(+)pts.

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• 2001 R. López de Heredia Rioja Reserva Viña Tondonia 88 Points

  Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja

  Very dark red color. 2.5hr decant, drank 1 glass over 2 hours. The intriguing nose offers dried herbs, rosebuds, dried fruits, caramel, briary, dry earth. The palate is light with very drying tannins, a little heat, funky, mushroom, dark red fruits, spicy, medium body, thin in the middle and somewhat austere overall. I'm hoping that this just needs more cellar time to evolve. I'd sit on these for several years, as I'm not loving it where its at. 88-89(+?)pts.

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• 2003 Bodegas El Nido Jumilla El Nido 93 Points

  Spain, Murcia, Jumilla

  Deep purple color. Decanted for 3 hours, drank 1 glass over 2 hours. IMHO this is a sluttly, hedonist delight. The nose is big and ripe offering up gorgeous cassis and blueberries, wow, powerful, meaty, tar, subtle earth notes (maybe a subtle hint of heat at times). The palate is dense and lush with ripe black fruits, cassis, blueberry, black raspberry, chalky minerals and a nice long finish. Good balance. I loved this, definitely big and modern yet I didn't find it pushing my over the top button. Very tasty.

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• 2005 Bodegas El Nido Jumilla El Nido 91 Points

  Spain, Murcia, Jumilla

  Purple color. Decanted for 3 hours, drank 1 glass over an hour plus. The nose was very nice and similar to the '03 with blueberry, blackberry, dried earth, and some heat. The palate is disjointed right now, hot, oak, spicy, blackberry liqueur, black cherry, glycerin, full bodied though thinner than the '03. The nose is far better than the palate currently. I'd let this sit for 3 years and revisit then. 91(+?)pts.

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• 2001 Château Menate 86 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  Dark gold color, very advanced. Very small pour. I didn't find this as enjoyable tonight. It seemed sharp and very light.

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• 2005 Château Doisy-Daëne 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac

  Light gold color. Drank 1+ glass over 30 minutes plus. The nose has orange, nectarine, spices, pineapple. The palate is on the lighter side, sweet and maybe light on the acidity, orange marmalade, spiced, pineapple spice cake, has a good long finish. This is not as developed or deep as many of the '05's that I've had. Still, it is tasty and may get better with some additional age.

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WOTN was the 1994 Bodegas Muga Rioja Torre Muga (Reserva) (3+3+3+3+2+2+2+1+1+1=21pts)
#2 WOTN was the 2003 Bodegas El Nido Jumilla El Nido (3+3+3+3+3+2=17pts)
2005 Bodegas El Nido Jumilla El Nido (8pts)
2005 Bodegas Muga Rioja Gran Reserva Prado Enea (8pts)
2001 R. López de Heredia Rioja Reserva Viña Tondonia (3pts)
2004 Bodegas Casado Morales Rioja Gran Reserva (0pts)