Tasting Notes 120 found

Monte Amán barrica 2021
Tinto
Arlanza, Burgos
SPAIN
A full bodied and powerful but soft and luscious, silky fruit packed red, aged for six months in French oak casks, featuring the tempranillo/ tinta del pais grape , made famous by such wines such as Vega Sicilia and Tinto Pesquera, but given the denomination of Arlanza, which is barely known in its home market, let alone anywhere else.
There are several wineries in this region of northern Spain, which is a spin-off of the Ribera del Duero vineyards to the east of Aranda de Duero, and it appears that all of the bodegas, which are small with an average capacity of between 100 to150,000 litres, are quality driven, producing interesting and very competently made wines with the tempranillo varietal.
This particular 2021 barrique-aged wine, evaluated by US critic Suckling at 91 points, comes from a small bodega off the beaten track located between the medieval villages of Covarrubias, Santo Domingo de Silos and Lerma, and is highly recommended and excellent value at 6€ a bottle.
Pair with red meat, pork or game stews, grilled steak cuts, roast chicken, pasta with tomato or meat-based sauces, cheeses and cold meats. (77 views)

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B o d e g a s A l a v e s a s Rioja crianza 2019
Laguardia (SPAIN)
14.5%vol.
Textbook traditional rioja crianza, fresh and light, prominent red cherry fruit, new oak and soft tannins, long clean finish. Very high quality.
Equally good as an aperitif with olives, cheese and cold meats or paired with meat stews, grilled meats, roast chicken, pasta and risotto dishes and even freshwater fish such as trout and salmon. (109 views)

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Balancines Crianza Gold
Ribera del Guadiana 2018
Tempranillo and garnacha blend
Nine months in barriques of french oak (109 views)

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La Vicalanda Rioja Reserva 2015
Bodegas Bilbainas, Haro
SPAIN
Old school aged Rioja which oozes quality. Exhibits fresh and lively redberry fruit, noble oak tones, juicy backbone, very elegant and understated nuances of berry fruit, leather and tar and soft tannins with a long and refined clean finish. At or approaching its peak this year 2023 but still fresh, glycerine loaded, meaty yet elegant and refined, displaying a nice balance of wood, fruit and soft tannins, will probably drink well into 2024.
Superb with grilled meat, chicken or pork stew, any red meat dishes and meat or tomato based pasta.
Very high quality and well worth its asking price, an absolute pleasure to drink and thoroughly recommended.
Retails for about 20€. (142 views)

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Bodegas Alavesas
Rioja Reserva 2017
Beautifully crafted aged Rioja displaying new oak, upfront berry fruit and a soft unctuous finish.
Superb quality and great value for money
Drink now and for the rest of this year.
Retails for less than 10€ per bottle.
Unbelievable value for money. (165 views)

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Durón Ribera del Duero crianza 2018
SPAIN
A forward and expressive tempranillo aged in new oak made and bottled by the huge Rioja company, Solar de Samaniego, in Logroño.
This is their offering from Ribera del Duero, and it easily exceeds in quality this company's run-of-the-mill wines which they market as Rioja. Durón is mainly tempranillo with a small amount of cabernet sauvignon added, which is typical of the progressive winemakers in this denomination. Loaded with berry fruit, understated oak, fresh, vibrant and well balanced on the midpalate with a longish clean finish.
Usually retails for between 6 and 7 euros.
Great value for money and very good wine in its own right. Highly recommended. (148 views)

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Albariño Rectoral do Umia 2021
Rias Baixas
SPAIN
retail: 6 - 8 €

Nasty tasting and insipid, shrill white wine which has been awarded 90 points in a Decanter tasting. Despite the claim that 100% of the grapes are albariño, this in reality is only fit for cooking.
It's hard to believe that a wine made from the fresh and fragrant albariño grape can yield a wine as pathetic as this one. The company which makes this product probably buys most of the grapes from La Mancha in central Spain or Algeria, North Africa.
Avoid. (151 views)

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Tilenus oak aged mencia 2019
Bierzo
SPAIN
13.5% alc/vol.
retail 9 -11 €
88 pts.
Young, vibrant and balanced dry red made from the mencia grape which is native to the interior of northwest Spain. Exhibits some redberry fruit, an easy drinking and understated wine to accompany meat, chicken and freshwater fish. The wine is aged in oak but the back label offers no further information except to warn European countries which import the product that it contains sulphites. The short to medium finish is clean, agreeable, and pleasant. However, consumers based in Spain would do well to note that there must be at least half a dozen examples of wines of the mencia varietal which offer the same quality for half the price. (160 views)

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Carlos Plaza vino de la tierra 2021
Extremadura IGT
SPAIN (94 views)

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Finca Resalso 2021
Ribera del duero, SPAIN
Tempranillo
14% alc/vol.
Retail price: 8,50€ (328 views)

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La Planta Ribera del Duero 2020
Viñedos y bodegas La Planta (Bodegas Arzuaga Navarro) Valladolid, Spain
100% tempranillo six months in American and French oak barrels
Retail 9 - 10€
Lightweight, lacks character, moderate length of finish, very little "oomph" but clean and correct. Absolutely nothing to dislike but not much in this wine's make-up to elevate it from the pack and definitely overpriced.

Wines of a similar category, and similar price bracket, such as young Ribera del duero offerings from Abadia San Quirce, Figuero, Portia, Valdubón, Valderivero, Finca Resalso, Carmelo Rodero and Condado de Haza are far superior, not to mention some supermarket own-brands with price tags of between 3 and 5 euros that can easily match what La Planta aspires to. (82 views)

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Côtes du Rhône Reserve 2018, Perrin Famille
Price: 12€
Alc./vol. 14.5%
Drunk: November 2022
Rating: 86/100

Pleasant, easy-drinking light to medium bodied red.
Correct and pleasant but very little character or fruit.
According to the Famille Perrin company's website this wine has a "beautiful deep ruby colour with purple undertones" - which is true enough. It then goes on to speak about the "intensity of red fruit, raspberry jam, spices and blackpepper."
The cellar must have forgotten to bottle these qualities into the example I purchased.
There is nothing intense about this wine: pleasant but instantly forgettable.
Another prestigious winemaker resting on their laurels. (866 views)

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Château Bel Air de L'Orme 2019
Bordeaux Supérieur

Cabernet sauvignon - merlot blend from the Landiras region to the south of the city of Bordeaux, located well away from the quality vineyards of the famous Bordeaux crus.
Light and pleasant, slightly astringent, correct and drinkable but an instantly forgettable wine that can accompany cold meats, mature cheeses and tomato-based pasta dishes. Will surely benefit from decanting, airing and drinking the next day. There must be umpteen other offerings from chateau in the Bordeaux Supérieur appellation that offer better value for money and a more memorable and enjoyable drinking experience.
What little fruit there is at the moment will disappear relatively soon so should be enjoyed now; drink up to 2022. (904 views)

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Chateau Vieux Cantenac 2016
Saint Emilion
Bordeaux

Tasted April 2021
Retail price 12€

The wines of the right bank denominations Pomerol and St. Emilion are known for their aromas and gentle nuances of forward fruit that dominate the midpalate. This relatively young 2016 version of Vieux Cantenac contains or displays a lack of fruit which seems to have faded and what remains are austere and dry and astringent memories of what probably existed just after the wine was bottled. This 2016 is way past its best. Tasted a year and a half or two years beforehand this would have been a pleasant and enjoyable drink. What is encountered now has a hard veneer, is devoid of fruit and is a wine that possesses a short and ungenerous finish. The wine still offers an enjoyable but limited drinking pleasure if accompanied by a meal - the tasting experience provides an experience of what was supposed to be a light fruit-driven wine to be consumed a year or two after bottling. (519 views)

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Carmelo Rodero 2018
Ribera del Duero, SPAIN

92 points +

This young and potent red is designated "9 months" due to the time it has spent in French oak. Made from tempranillo grapes harvested from the producer's own vineyards. A quality wine which is pungent, complex with layers of dark fruit, soft tannins and a longish finish. Will improve if laid down for a couple of years. Excellent example of a young Ribera del Duero which can be enjoyed now or in the near future. (298 views)

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