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Priorat and Ribera del Duero
Willamette Wine Storage, Portland, OR
Tasted June 30, 2011 by David Paris (dbp) with 797 views
Introduction
Ribera del Duero is definitely not a region I tend to enjoy, and Priorat is pushing it... there's some classically made Priorats, but I'm finding them few and far between these days. As such, I almost didn't attend this event, but decided to see if anything would sway my pre-concieved notion. The most interesting part of the evening for me were the three starter white wines, which were all killer and amazing values. Again, the Ribera del Duero wines were not really palatable, and most of the Priorat wines were hard to get through as well.
Flight 1 - Starter Whites (3 notes)
White
2005 Palacios Remondo Rioja Plácet Valtomelloso
91 points
This wine was quite lovely. Really killer aromas of rich fruit, and all kinds of stewed melons. There's a strange funkiness to it as well, but it's very delicious. The palate is nice and soft, creamy, and elegant. There's some nice acidity present, with just a slightly off putting metallic notion. Nice and tart on the finish, which is rich, and nicely coating the tongue. Very mild oak present.
White - Sparkling
2005 Domaine Huet Vouvray Pétillant Cuvée Huet Brut
91 points
Very nice minerals on the nose, which is also slightly tart. The palate is quite cutting, though at the same time really nice and soft. Good acid on the finish, with nice tart nature. Not too much complexity here, but what is there is hugely enjoyable.
White
2005 Bodegas Naia Rueda Naiades
90 points
Smells a bit sweet, but also a little funky, with a petrol and diesel note. The palate is nice, with more funk. Some sweet, burning rubber as well. Tart finish with nice acid, which is the dominant play here, with a moderate oakiness.
Flight 2 - Priorat (5 notes)
Red
2004 Cims de Porrera Priorat Solanes
91 points
I loved this the first time I came to it, but upon reevaluation later in the evening I couldn't quite see why I scored it here. Anyway, the note at first was of a massive smell, with really impressive big fruit (blackberries), but this is balanced with some charcoal, flint, gravel, and graphite. Big aromas, but nice. Thick and large on the palate. Rich, but at the same time structured and slightly boozy. Some spiky thorns on my mouth. Spicy. More big spice on the finish, but then it gets really really mellow and soft. Nice earthiness, more charcoal, and deliciously rich.
Red
2004 Alvaro Palacios Priorat Finca Dofí
85 points
This smells like a modern Cabernet Sauvignon; could be from Washington if I didn't know better. Hugely rich, spicy, and boozy aromas. The palate is thick and big, tart, and grippy. Too young, and too much tannins. No interesting flavor, but the structure is noticed so it could come around. The finish is again a massive grip of tannins. There's this slight nice candied fruit flavor underlying the massiveness, but barely. I'm not convinced this wine will ever come around.
Red
2008 Meritxell Palleja Priorat Nita
87 points
Bretty, a bit dirty, like a wet potato bag in a moist cellar. There's some underlying fruit there, but it's pretty hidden. The palate is soft and quite large, with nice fruit. Some red apples, but also some alcohol. The finish shows big spice. It's tart, but there's plenty of alcohol as well. I get some of that brett on the finish as well. Grippy and tight notion lingers.
Red
2007 Alvaro Palacios Priorat Les Terrasses Velles Vinyes
86 points
Very large, rich, and modern aromas. Lots of alcohol and spice. Too much so. The palate is softer, but still plenty of alcohol masquerading as spice. More alcoholic spice on the finish, which shows some tartness, but it's the grippy tannins that are most present.
Red
2001 Celler Vall Llach Priorat Vall Llach
92 points
Very very soft and elegant aromas compared to the other wines. This shows rose petals, soft pretty graphite, nice dust, a crushed cherry pit, and light earthiness and dustiness. The palate is also quite soft, pretty and amazingly balanced and elegant in comparison to the others. Still tons of tannins, but these are soft. Some earth funk, slightly tart fruit, and plenty of spice. The finish offers intense spice. It's juicy, and there is some alcohol noticed. Good balance throughout otherwise, though, but I'd say this bottle needed to air a bit more to show its best based upon previous bottles.
Flight 3 - Ribera del Duero (4 notes)
Red
2003 Dominio Pingus Ribera del Duero Flor de Pingus
83 points
This wine's getting scary... a messy stew of fruit, alcohol, and turpentine on the nose. The palate is thick, extracted, and boozy. "New World." The finish is thick and spicy. Grippy, tart, and bitter. The texture and taste is that of cream. This is not at all what I seek in wine. The underlying material here is decent, it was just turned into Frankenstein, otherwise this score would be way lower.
Red
2001 Bodegas y Viñedos Alión Ribera del Duero
88 points
The best of the Ribera del Duero wines tonight, but still not my style. The nose is pretty decent. There's some nice burnt lumber, and definitely massive fruit. The woodsy note is soft, but it's still dominant. Creamy like dessert on the palate. Really nice, with soft fruit. The finish kicks with big spice, earth, and tar. I get a strong memory of angel food cake with chocolate sauce on top. Soft wine. Decent stuff, but still too much like desert for me.
Red
2004 Dominio de Atauta Ribera del Duero LLanos del Almendro
88 points
Quite soft aromas, including light licorice. Some soft wood as well, coupled with spice. This smells nice, like a wood shop. The palate is soft, and pretty nicely balanced. Some grippiness, and quite tart. Grippy again on the finish. Nice material, but again, just not my style of wines.
Red
2002 Bodegas AAlto Ribera del Duero AAlto
flawed
This was lightly corked... at least I sure hope it was corked, and the winemaker didn't intend the wine to taste like it did. Faintly so, but the whole thing was more muted than it should have been, with a certain cardboard note on the palate. No notes taken as a result.