Distinctive Terroirs of Spain wine tasting with Helio San Miguel

Mostly done blinded. I have very little training in blind wine tasting, so did predictably poorly. (The Mas La Mola Priorat seemed to me like a modern Rioja). But it was an interesting way to approach Spain's different terroirs.

Jorge Ordoñez's Old Vines Moscatel came out slightly fizzy. Helio said that he'd opened it before the tasting and considered chucking the bottle, but tasted it and determined that there was otherwise nothing wrong with the wine, in fact it was delicious, so he decided to leave it in, bubbles and all. I think most all of us agreed that it was excellent dessert wine. Perhaps Ordoñez should consider making a fizzy Moscatel?

• 2007 Don Olegario Albariño Rías Baixas 86 Points

  Spain, Galicia, Rías Baixas

  Light lemon color. Nose of ripe apple and grain with a touch of lemon zest. Medium bodied on the palate, somewhat fat, with a clipped finish. This needs more cut. Over the hill?

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• NV Bodegas Hidalgo Manzanilla Pasada Pastrana 93 Points

  Spain, Andalucía, Manzanilla de Sanlúcar de Barrameda

  Light gold color. Pungent nose of green apple, nuts and flowers. Full on the palate with good acidity and a long, persistent finish. Delicious Manzanilla Pasada, one of the benchmarks of the region, with real complexity and depth.

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• NV Gonzalez-Byass Jerez-Xérès-Sherry Del Duque Aged 30 Years Very Old Amontillado VORS 93 Points

  Spain, Andalucía, Jerez-Xérès-Sherry

  Medium brown color with a hint of green at the rim. Intense, pungent nose of roasted nuts, caramel and fine wood. Medium bodied on the palate, silky, long and full.

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• 2006 Bodegas y Viñedos Gancedo Bierzo Ucedo 88 Points

  Spain, Castilla y León, Bierzo

  Black with a purple rim. Funky nose with elements of manure, charcoal and a touch of gasoline. Some sweet black fruit in there somewhere. Came across as slightly closed. Prickly acidity on the palate, short finish. Interesting wine, though moreso on the nose.

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• 2005 Celler Mas La Mola Priorat La Vinyeta Vella 92 Points

  Spain, Catalunya, Priorat

  Deep ruby color. Sweet nose of black cherries, mulling spices, lactic notes and tobacco. Good persistence on the palate, lots of fine, sweet tannins and some licorice.

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• 2005 Telmo Rodríguez Rioja Lanzaga 89 Points

  Spain, La Rioja, Rioja

  Deep, purplish ruby color. Nose of deep black fruits with some licorice and cigar notes, and a bit of funkiness. Slightly closed on the palate and watery, god acidity and chalky tannins, medium bodied with good acidity. May need more time.

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• 2005 Telmo Rodríguez Toro Pago La Jara 92 Points

  Spain, Castilla y León, Toro

  Black with a deep ruby rim. Deep black fruit on the nose with spices and a hint of incense. Full on the palate with focused flavors of blackberry, black cherry and some meaty notes. Very pretty wine.

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• 2006 Dominio de Atauta Ribera del Duero 91 Points

  Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero

  Deep ruby color. Nose of pepper spice, cocoa and toast. Medium bodied on the palate, very tannic with incensy flavors. This needs a lot of time to resolve those tannins; it's very interesting now but the grip is intense.

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• 2006 Bodegas Los Astrales Ribera del Duero Christina 93 Points

  Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero

  Black with a deep ruby rim. Intense nose of licorice, cedar and toast. Medium to full bodied on the palate, extracted wine with great grip and presence, loads of dark fruit. Needs time to resolve. Reminds me of an Aalto PS.

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• 2006 Bodegas Los Astrales Ribera del Duero Astrales 89 Points

  Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero

  Deep ruby color. Pretty nose of blended dark berries and spice. Medium bodied on the palate with lots of tannin. Hint of oak on the finish. This is well made but not showing much character right now.

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• 2006 Bodegas Alejandro Fernández Ribera del Duero Tinto Pesquera 90 Points

  Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero

  Deep ruby color. Nose of sweet mixed berries, red and black, and dusty earth tones. Good acid zing on the palate, medium bodied. Struck me that it would be a good food wine.

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• 2005 Jorge Ordoñez & Co. Málaga #3 Old Vines 93 Points

  Spain, Andalucía, Málaga

  Medium gold color. Intense nose of lemon zest and peach nectar, with fine bubbles. This was definitely pétillant on the palate, so there must have been some secondary fermentation going on in the bottle. Whatever, it was quite delicious and did not appear to affect the flavor. Full bodied and sweet but with good acid balance, mouthcoating. Delicious dessert wine. I know the bubbles weren't intentional, and they may highlight some problems in the production line, but they worked for me.

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Justin Berlin felt the Don Olegario was over the hill; he'd had previous bottles of that vintage that he says were significantly better, with more cut on the palate. Others liked the Bierzo more than I did.

Thanks again to Helio for an interesting evening of good wines.