2006 Bodegas Los Astrales Ribera del Duero Astrales

Community Tasting Notes (14) Avg Score: 89.7 points

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  7/14/2022 - forceberry wrote: 90 Points

  100% Tinto Fino from vineyards around the municipality of Anguix in Ribera del Duero. The average vineyard age is around 40 years. Fermented spontaneously and macerated for two weeks in 5000-liter oak vats. Aged for 18 months in predominantly French oak barriques. 14,5% alcohol. Tasted blind.
  
  Dense, concentrated and fully opaque blackish-red color with a somewhat evolved maroon hue. The nose feels dense, ripe and extracted with bold and concentrated aromas of dark forest fruits and toasted oak, some sweet mocha tones, light evolved notes of wizened black cherries, a little bit of coffee liqueur, a hint of cassis and a touch of ripe dark plums. The wine feels dense, extracted and chewy on the palate with a full body and concentrated, somewhat evolved flavors of wizened blackcurrants, some toasty oak spice, a little bit of minty lift, light sweet mocha tones, a hint of peppery spice and a touch of extracted woody bitterness. The wine is surprisingly high in acidity for the size and ripeness, whereas the assertive, grippy tannins feel very appropriate for such a powerhouse, lending some vital firmness to the mouthfeel. The finsih is rich, dense and grippy with a very long and somewhat sweet-toned aftertaste of toasty mocha oak, some cassis tones, a little bit of savory wood spice, light evolved notes of prunes and wizened figs, a hint of blueberry and a touch of minty lift.
  
  A modern and quite extracted blockbuster of a wine. The oak use here feels a tad too excessive, but the great structure here keep the wine from coming across as too monolithic, instead making the wine appear as relatively balanced for such a big wine. Although the wine is too big, extracted and oaky for my taste, I must admit that it feels like a well-made high-quality wine. I could live with the big size and ripeness, if the wine would've seen less oak, because even if the wine feels like it can still age for years more, I doubt the fruit will last as long as it takes for all that oak to integrate and disappear. Most likely this wine will keep on getting better as the oak slowly integrates and the bold, assertive tannins resolve, but I have a hunch this will never evolve into something truly elegant and exquisite.

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  2/20/2021 - jmh st louis Likes this wine: 92 Points

  Blackberry bramble. Dense palate. Well Balanced after a little time in the glass.

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  6/25/2017 - Alexroy wrote: 92 Points

  Dark but showing some age. Smooth, dark spice. Bold dark fruit, bursting with spice. Great wine at peak.

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  2/7/2016 - OT wrote: 89 Points

  No decanting. nose of dark fruits. medium tannins and acid. drink or keep in cellar next 3-5 years. Enjoy. OT

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  12/11/2015 - 500174 wrote:

  A point. Full flavoured but still lifted. 17

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