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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 91.2 pts. and median of 91 pts. in 40 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by Ianthemac on 3/9/2019 & rated 93 points: Took a while to open up and initially we thought it was dead in the water as the nose was suspect, but this proved to be a false alarm. After a 30 minute decant it was sublime. Silky texture, tobacco, a bit of sous bois, tannins melting away. Tertiary in every respect. Possibly now a touch on the decline? Very fine. Not a wine one gets access to all that often. A real treat. (3331 views) | | | Tasted by FransS on 9/20/2018 & rated 87 points: difficult wine at the age of 21; deep colour, a bit raw, very CS,, nice, but (still?) not so balanced. (3090 views) | | | Tasted by Alemany on 8/6/2018 & rated 90 points: One of my all time favorites!! (3181 views) | | | Tasted by Francois Le Mouel on 12/9/2017 & rated 93 points: Fantastic old school cab...at a great price. Balanced and complex, with cedar, tobacco and cooked strawberries on the nose & the palate...with a long finish. Definitely at its peak, but should remain there for quite a while. Amazing QPR (still selling for approx. $60). (4242 views) | | | Tasted by AllRed on 12/12/2015 & rated 92 points: Dusty red currant, tobacco and hints of iron. Fully resolved tannins with red fruit and tobacco on the palate. Finishes with good length and plenty of fruit. At peak IMO. (6866 views) | | | Tasted by Comte de Rousset on 9/20/2015 & rated 95 points: Absolument sublime. Presque parfait. À racheter les yeux bandés et les mains attachées :-) (4389 views) | | | Tasted by Wine Canuck on 12/26/2013 & rated 91 points: Pours a mature brick shade with some transparency. Nose smells slightly older than 16 years with notes of decaying leaves, tobacco, and dark slightly stewed fruit. This has aged a bit prematurely and is evidently ripe with not much in the way of pyrazine. I was surprised to see that this was 13.5% as it felt more like 14%+ in weight. Palate on the other hand shows some still remaining youth and structure with abundant tannin. A great match with prime rib. (7279 views) | | | Tasted by Winiac on 3/15/2013 & rated 91 points: Thick sediment on the bottle side, still pretty dark and does not show much of an orange ring. Floral and still live and has very good acidity and good minerality. Cherries and spice. Full bodied with long length and fairly balanced finish (tad hot with food). (7458 views) | | | Tasted by bwillia on 1/31/2013 & rated 91 points: Mineral driven, Some funk on the nose. Maybe slightly over the peak. The fruit is in the background. Lots of black pepper. Chocolate in the finish. (6906 views) | | | Tasted by Mariacammal on 1/7/2013 & rated 94 points: Excellent chocolaty perfect (4565 views) | | | Tasted by bwillia on 10/25/2012 & rated 94 points: I am blown away by how fresh this wine still is! From the color to the bright fruit it still seems very young. I think its strong acidic back bone has helped it carry on. This is elegant quality juice. (4975 views) | | | Tasted by manols on 4/16/2011 & rated 92 points: Peu habitué de ces vins, un cabernet sauvignon assez costaud mais qui a bien vieilli. Tres bon équilibre, légèrement épicé. (2965 views) | | | Tasted by martcouz on 4/1/2011 & rated 92 points: N'ayant pas trop l'habitude des vieux vins, j'étais convaincu que le vin était bouchonné à l'ouverture. Après 15 minutes de carafe, le goût un peu désagréable s'est estompé et le vin s'est révélé dans toute sa splendeur. Superbe vin! Belle complexité. (1938 views) | | | Tasted by Stevovino on 3/12/2011 & rated 94 points: Ce vin est majestueux, très heureux de m'en être procuré deux. (1972 views) | | | Tasted by wine maestro on 1/22/2011 & rated 91 points: Traditional olde world Black Label that is sophisticated, polished and classy. Powerful,
yet refined and elegant as flavor nuances parade across the palate. Marked by soft
leather, dried sage and cherry elements with prominent, chewy tobacco leaf, this
Spanish red is quite admirable at this stage. Fine grain tannins frame an impressive
midpalate that reflects an earthy, mocha tone wrapped in cedar. A finish that gains
velocity surrounded by dark chocolate, coffee and a hint of black pepper. This wine
still has gusto and structure to continue on for years. Drink now through 2013. (4317 views) | | | Tasted by ToddR911 on 1/5/2011 & rated 95 points: Outstanding wine! It's dark red and thick, but drinking well right now. Rich flavors. Blackberry and chocolate. I bought this in 2002 and just wish that I had bought more. (4334 views) | | | Tasted by djhamade on 5/13/2010 & rated 90 points: great with sausage paella (4889 views) | | | Tasted by AllRed on 3/28/2010: The Blind Drunks monthly tasting (Chateau Lay): Dark color. Aromas of beef bouillon, prunes, tobacco and dark fruit. A bit brighter on the palate, with raspberry and red currant tones. No guess. (5458 views) | | | Tasted by GrandeSerataFuori on 4/6/2009 & rated 90 points: Still fairly young and just beginning to hit its stride, showing a touch of age. This was fantastic alone or with multiple food pairings. WOTN. (2005 views) | | | Tasted by swyang on 12/4/2006 & rated 90 points: A very good wine, but was a bit overshadowed by a wonderful Auxey Duresses by comte Armand '99. A typical nose of Bordeaux fully expressing now, and rather restrained but classy as well as complexe tastes. A little bit short at the end. Yesterday was yet another evening which reminded me why at Bouchard's they always tastes the Red first and then the whites. It would have made perfect sense for the two last night... (6392 views) | | | Tasted by Double-A on 5/4/2004 & rated 93 points: Dark garnet colour. Aromatic, crème de cassis, mineral, earth, pencil lead, mint and leather nose. Dry with ripe, sweet-centred fruit and rounding tannins; med-full bodied, long, well-balanced finish.
4.5/5 (533 views) | | | Tasted by R2-D2 on 12/17/2003 & rated 91 points: Reticent at first, but turns to tobacco, clay, and toast. The pleasing cherry fruit fills the mouth, with slightly bitter tannin. (443 views) | | | Tasted by peternelson on 5/16/2003 & rated 91 points: WS: Great nose; silky smooth mth; sweeter, w/out the leather; licorice stick and big t’s.***I like! (1889 views) | | | Tasted by R2-D2 on 4/19/2003 & rated 90 points: Hailing from a Torres single vineyard, the Mas La Plana has a very dark red color to it. Aromas of cigar box, dried cherries, black olives and wet earth flew out of the glass. As with the Torres Gran Coronas, the tannins possess power. Brambly black berry fruit, vanilla, oak and minerals are very lingering on the finish. (414 views) | | | Tasted by Double-A on 2/4/2003 & rated 93 points: Dark ruby/garnet colour. Ripe cassis, tar, vanilla toast, cedar, tobacco and leather nose. Full and rich with spicy, ripe tannins that are just starting to round off. Long finishing.
4.5/5 (522 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Stephen Tanzer
Vinous, November/December 2001, IWC Issue #99
(Torres Penedes Gran Corona Mas La Plana Black Label Gran Reserva) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Vinous. (manage subscription channels) |
| Torres Producer website
U.S. Importer (Addt'l Info)Cabernet SauvignonCabernet Sauvignon is probably the most famous red wine grape variety on Earth. It is rivaled in this regard only by its Bordeaux stablemate Merlot, and its opposite number in Burgundy, Pinot Noir. From its origins in Bordeaux, Cabernet has successfully spread to almost every winegrowing country in the world. It is now the key grape variety in many first-rate New World wine regions, most notably Napa Valley, Coonawarra and Maipo Valley. Wherever they come from, Cabernet Sauvignon wines always seem to demonstrate a handful of common character traits: deep color, good tannin structure, moderate acidity and aromas of blackcurrant, tomato leaf, dark spices and cedarwood.
Used as frequently in blends as in varietal wines, Cabernet Sauvignon has a large number of common blending partners. Apart from the obvious Merlot and Cabernet Franc, the most prevalent of these are Malbec, Petit Verdot and Carmenere (the ingredients of a classic Bordeaux Blend), Shiraz (in Australia's favorite blend) and in Spain and South America, a Cabernet – Tempranillo blend is now commonplace. Even the bold Tannat-based wines of Madiran are now generally softened with Cabernet SauvignonSpain Vinos de España - Wines of Spain (Instituto Español de Comercio Exterior) | Wikipedia
Wine Map on weinlagen-info
Spain is the third largest wine producing nation in the world, occupying the majority of the Iberian Peninsula with vast diversity in climate, culture, and of course, wine. From inky, dark reds of the [Priorat] to dry, white Finos from Andalusia, Spain can easily boast of elaborating a wide variety of notable styles. Within Spain there are currently 62 demarcated wine regions, of which a handful have gained international recognition: [Rioja], Priorat and [Ribera del Duero]. Yet these regions are only a small sample of the high quality wines Spain produces. Regions such as Cava, Penedes, Somontano, Galicia, Rueda and Jerez are only a few of the numerous regions worthy of exploration throughout Spain. Spain can also lay claim to having the most land under vine in the world, growing up to, by some accounts, 600 indigenous varietals of which Tempranillo is their most well known. Other popular varietals include [Garnacha], Bobal and Monastrell for reds and for whites; the infamous [sic] Palomino Fino grape which is used in the production of sherry wine, Pedro Ximenez in Montilla Morilles, Albarino used in the creation of the bright, effervescent wines of Galicia, and Verdejo in Rueda. - Source: - Catavino.net
Spain is not in the forefront of winemaking for its dessert wines, other than for its sweet wines from Sherry country including the highly revered Olorosos (when sweetened). But apart from Sherry Spain has a range of styles of dessert wines, ranging from the those made from the Pedro Ximenez grape primarily in Jerez and Montilla-Moriles) to luscious, red dessert wines made in the Mediterranean from the Garnacha (Grenache) grape. Some good Moscatels are made in Mallorca, Alicante and Navarre. The northwest corner of Spain, Galicia, with its bitter Atlantic climate, is even making dessert wines, called “Tostadillos” in the village of Ribadivia (similar to France’s “Vin de Paille”). The Canary Islands have made interesting dessert wines for centuries (they are mentioned by Shakespeare, for example) and in recent years the quality of winemaking has been improved and the Canary Islands wines are being better marketed now. The winemaking styles for “Vinos Dulces” are also diverse, from “Late Harvest” (Vendimia Tardía) to “Fortified Wines” (Fermentación Parcial). Based on in-spain.info.Catalunya Map on weinlagen-infoPenedès(extracted of web page http://www.dopenedes.es/en by M.Angel Menor).
The D.O. Penedès is noted for its excellent white wines, fresh, fruity and with moderate alcohol content, while its reds are soft, with velvety texture and character. The rosés are fragrant and fruity. There are some outstanding sparkling wines, with intense and persistent aromas. The flagship grape variety of this region, which stands out among the 18 authorized varieties, is Xarel.lo making it the icon of the Denominació d'Origen.
The two most important items in the vilafranca del penedès Wine Museum show the existence of vines in the penedès area before the 4th Century BC, introduced by the Ancient Greeks [phocensis]. These two items. of great archaeological value, are two press plates discovered in excavations of two different Iberian villages located in the Penedès region.
At the end of the 19th Century, specifically in 1872, the "sparkling wine of the Penedès" came to life. After the catastrophe caused by phylloxera, the renewal of the vines allowed for important evolution, as right from the very start cavas of very high quality were made that in a very short period of time were conquering very large markets. During this century cava has kept up this quality tendency supported by the winegrowing sector.
The vine knows no frontiers nor geographical nor political boundaries established by man, for this reason the Appellation of Origin Penedès extends over the whole of the Penedès region.
Between the coastal hills and the narrow plains of the Mediterranean coast, right in the heart of the central depression, the vines of the Penedès region are grown and ripen. We are talking about a surface area of 1557 km2 (600 mi2) divided into three separate areas: the Upper Penedès, the Central Penedès and the Lower Penedès.
The influence of the sea and the sun makes the Penedès region an area with a mild, warm climate, most suitable for growing traditional white grape varieties such as Xarel·lo and Macabeo; and also red varieties such as Tempranillo, Garnacha, Cariñena and Monastrell.
On the other hand in the Central Penedès or Middle Penedès temperatures are lower. On its hillsides Xarel·lo and Macabeo are also cultivated, the majority of these grapes being for cava production. Recently, and as a result of the constant innovations and experimentation carried out by winegrowers in the area, foreign varieties, such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, as well as Cabernet Franc, pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc or Merlot, have been planted and have acclimatised well.
There is still a more inland and protected area, the Upper Penedès, with altitudes of up to 800 metres (2600 feet) above sea level. It is not in vain that the experts say that these vineyards are possibly the highest in Europe. This is the area where the parellada variety is traditionally grown, a native white variety of the Penedès. In recent years the planting of other white varieties from France and Germany, Muscat d’Alexandrie, Riesling, Gewürztraminer and Chenin Blanc, has become widely extended.
The land of the Penedès is quite varied but the majority is under cultivation and is of very similar characteristics.
The soil here is deep, neither particularly sandy nor sufficiently clayey, permeable and with good rain water retention. As often happens with quality winegrowing land, in the Penedès the earth is poor in organic matter, calcareous and not particularly fertile.
The geology of the region is quite varied despite the limited surface area of the Penedès. The soil of the Upper and Lower Penedès, where the majority of cultivation takes place is made up of miocene, continental and maritime sediments of considerable thickness, and at certain points is covered by quaternary sediments. The coastal hills are formed by triassic, cretaceous and oceanic material. And on the coastal hillsides disintegrated calcareous cretaceous material predominates, with small miocene plots that are still cultivated.
The surface area under vine in the Penedès is 26,000 hectares (64,000 acres) with a planting density of 2,300 to 3,000 vines per hectare (930-1200 vines per acre) and some trellised varieties such as Chardonnay or pinot Noir have a planting density of up to 5,000 vines per hectare (2000 vines per acre), requiring less production from the vine in order to grow a higher quality grape. There is a predominance of small and medium sized exploitations, and a further identifying characteristic of the Penedès stands out in that the majority of the wine producers make wine harvested from their own vines, looking after the product from the very start, right to the end of the process. This care and personalised follow-up is clearly noted in the end result of those winegrowers who make their wine from their own vines. We are referring to wines which are cared for, wines with class. In short, wines with their own style.
One of the factors which make it possible for wine of excellent quality to be produced in the Penedès is the climate. The area of the Appellation of Origin Penedès has many different microclimates, a result of its nearness to the coast and high ground, in this latter case extremely varied, since it reaches 700 metres (2,300 ft) where there are vines growing on slopes.
Generally speaking, the climate of the Penedès is typically Mediterranean, Catalan coastal and pre-coastal, that is to say mild and warm. The area of the Lower Penedès is warmer due to the influence of the sea. The Upper Penedès is an area of typical pre-coastal climate, where frosts are far more frequent and the contrast between the maximum and minimum temperatures is greater. In certain areas there is an annual rainfall of some 900 litres per square metre (18.6 gallons per square foot). At El Vendrell (Lower Penedès) the average temperature is 14.4ºC (58ºF) and at Vilafranca (Central Penedès) 12ºC (54ºF): very favourable temperatures for vine cultivation. |
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