1996 Abadia Retuerta Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y León Cuvée El Campanario

Community Tasting Notes (55) Avg Score: 90.0 points

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View ohne_musik's profile
  • Report Issue

  10/16/2022 - ohne_musik wrote: 90 Points

  This bottle is a bit less balanced than the one last year. Fruit is drying up, leaving a streak of aggressive acidity with a tinge of VA. Still some lovely dried plums and fruit leather that segue into tertiary cedar, mushroom and soy-balsamic.a touch of brett that grows a bit over 3 hours.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View forceberry's profile
  • Report Issue

  3/22/2022 - forceberry wrote: 89 Points

  The first vintage of Abadía Retuerta, a 100% Tinto Fino from Sardón de Duero - a region immediately west of Ribera del Duero. 13% alcohol.
  
  Luminous and rather translucent black cherry color. Evolved, somewhat tertiary nose with sweetish aromas of blackcurrant juice and ripe bilberry, some cherry tones, a little bit of mushroomy funk, light pruney notes, a hint of old leather and a touch of blackberry marmalade. The wine feels dense, savory and quite tertiary on the palate with a full body and layered, aged flavors of earth and meaty umami, some pruney tones, a little bit of mushroomy funk, light crunchy notes of tart cranberries, a hint of savory wood spice and a touch of gravelly minerality. The structure relies mostly on the high acidity, as the ripe, resolved tannins mainly contribute to the silky texture, not to the structure. The finish is long and savory with quite tertiary flavors of meaty umami and mushroomy funk, some wizened forest fruits, a little bit of pruney dark fruit, light gravelly mineral tones, a hint of savory wood spice and a touch of blackcurrant jam.
  
  A balanced, fully evolved Spanish red at its plateau of maturity. The wine is starting to feel very tertiary and there is nothing particularly youthful here anymore. However, despite its aged overall character, the wine doesn't feel like it is falling apart on in a decline yet - it might feel too old for people who prefer more youthful fruit expression, but for palates more attuned to the tertiary flavors, this is in a quite wonderful spot: there are no obvious oxidative off-notes and the fruit department hasn't completely transformed into that dull, raisiny quality. Most likely the wine has reached this plateau of maturity some years ago and probably will stay there for some years longer; the wine can be kept, but it doesn't benefit from any further cellaring, so drinking sooner rather than later is advised.

  1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (3)

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View ohne_musik's profile
  • Report Issue

  8/31/2021 - ohne_musik wrote: 92 Points

  Ahh, wonderful youthful 25 year old Tempranillo. Crunchy red cherry fruit, mouthwatering acid, good concentration for a medium-light bodied wine with finely balanced structure with a little lick of complementary VA and sweet-ish sous bois. Some hints of well-integrated oak, but only if you look for it. Fine but still very grippy tannins. Perhaps a bit lacking in complexity and not sure it will develop, but it’s quite clear this wine will easily last another decade or two without effort. In that ways, it reminds me of the 1970 Pape Clement I enjoyed last month. Have 3 more bottles and am in no hurry to drink them.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View rmalloy's profile
  • Report Issue

  7/23/2021 - rmalloy Likes this wine: 92 Points

  This wine is drinking nicely. It is structurally balanced, with classic Rioja tangy acidity, ample tannins, and good overall weight. There is good red fruit freshness remaining, along with notes of cigar and coffee. I suspect this wine will keep drinking well for many years. I think acidity is more important than tannins to ageworthiness.

  1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View 559Cheers's profile
  • Report Issue

  1/26/2021 - 559Cheers Likes this wine: 91 Points

  Nicely aged and drinking well.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

View all 55 Community Tasting Notes

Professional reviews have copyrights and you can view them here for your personal use only as private content. To view pro reviews you must either subscribe to a pre-integrated publication or manually enter reviews below. Learn more.