2004 Ribera del Duero Horizontal Tasting

Monterrey, Mexico
Tasted Saturday, November 3, 2007 by hcampana with 1,726 views

Introduction

I wanted to thank 6 of our employees for a great beginning of the fiscal year and also take advantage to gage how good all these recently released 2004 Riberas are so I can make informed buying decisions.

The setting was my favorite restaurant in Monterrey: Pangea. The sight of 63 Riedel wine galsses in a single table was awesome!. The food was, as always excellent, as was the service.

Flight 1 - FLIGHT 1: STARTER (1 Note)

This was paired with a very fresh tasting watermelon salad with prosciutto and a vinagrette sauce.

  • 2006 Concha y Toro Chardonnay Marqués de Casa Concha 89 Points

    Chile, Maipo Valley, Pirque

    Had at Pangea during 2004 Ribera del Duero tasting

    I had never had this wine as I do not consume much white wine. Lately, however, I am growing fonder of opening tastings with a white wine. I was gladly surprised by this wine. The nose was not the oak bomb I suspected. Popcorn and butter were also absent. The nose was packed with delicious apple and pineapple. The texture was attractive and the finish had nice acidity. This won't blow anyone away but it is very pleasant.

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Flight 2 - FLIGHT 2: 2004 RIBERA DEL DUEROS PLUS ONE RINGER (7 Notes)

These wines were paired with 3 dishes: A lentil soup; a grilled salmon filet over a camote puree; an out of this world grilled pork tenderloin in a cinammon red mole sauce.

  • 2004 Bodegas Emilio Moro Ribera del Duero Malleolus 89 Points

    Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero

    Had at Pangea during 2004 Ribera del Duero tasting

    RED WINE 1

    Lactic nose, this was obviously harvested very ripe. Very expressive, ripe nose of black fruits and minerality. This is starting very well! In the palate though, this dissapoints a bit, lacking fruit in the mid palate and more substance. This is medium bodied and probably the lightest wine in the tasting. The ripeness comes through in a caramel infused finish. I guess this is the Condado de Haza and miss.

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  • 2004 Bodegas Pintia Toro Pintia 91 Points

    Spain, Castilla y León, Toro

    Had at Pangea during 2004 Ribera del Duero tasting

    RED WINE 2

    Similar nose to wine number 1 but more serious. This offers a hint of barnyard that was missing in the previous wine. Oak is fully integrated. This is fuller bodied and more tannic, with a dusty quality to the poliphenols. This wine opened up quite a bit towards the end. I was surprised that this was the Pintia. Previous vintages have been more rustic with more brutish tannin.

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  • 2004 Condado de Haza Ribera del Duero Crianza 92 Points

    Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero

    Had at Pangea during 2004 Ribera del Duero tasting

    RED WINE 3

    Dark fruit and offering a very modern profile with pure fruit, and no funk. This is the least Ribera of the bunch so far. Seriously concentrated this has the lowest acidity so far. Tannis are present and share a dusty quality to those found in wine number two. This received 3 votes for WOTN.

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  • 2004 Bodegas Felix Callejo Ribera del Duero Crianza 93 Points

    Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero

    Had at Pangea during 2004 Ribera del Duero tasting

    RED WINE 4

    This nose is more Bordeaux than Ribera. It reminds me of a St. Emilion from a ripe year. Cocholaty and steely this is damn fine. Full bodied and dense, this wine is packed with fruit and offers substantial tannins of very fine quality. A winner.

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  • 2004 Bodegas Emilio Moro Ribera del Duero 88 Points

    Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero

    Had at Pangea during 2004 Ribera del Duero tasting

    RED WINE 4

    Funky nose of black fruits and barnyard. Full bodied, tannin completely absorbed and the highest acidity of all wines tasted tonight. For me, this lacks fruit in the mid palate and more precision of flavors.

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  • 2004 Bodegas AAlto Ribera del Duero AAlto 96 Points

    Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero

    Had at Pangea during 2004 Ribera del Duero tasting

    RED WINE 6

    Jackpot! This is modern and ripe, offering vanilla and butter that frame a solid core of dark chocolate. The palate is what makes this wine great though. Full bodied, dense, intensely flavorful, coating the entire mouth with balck and red fruit flavors and an exotic note of cinammon. This is very tannic, so buyer beware. If you are tolerant to high tannin like me, you'll love this brute. I am convinced this is the Pintia, but miss! This received 1 vote for WOTN (mine).

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  • 2004 Hacienda Monasterio Ribera del Duero 92 Points

    Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero

    Had at Pangea during 2004 Ribera del Duero tasting

    RED WINE 7

    This has an exotic nose of ash, barnyard, black fruits and lots of minerality. Full bodied, nice acidity, excellent flavors but a bit of a clipped finish. This is a bit disjointed at this time, but it hints of greatness. This received 2 votes for WOTN.

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Flight 3 - FLIGHT 3: DESSERT (1 Note)

This motor oil type PX was paired with a trio of decadent desserts: Kahlua mini cake and ice cream.

  • NV Alvear Pedro Ximénez Montilla-Moriles Solera 1927 94 Points

    Spain, Andalucía, Montilla-Moriles

    Had at Pangea during 2004 Ribera del Duero tasting

    This was its usually flamboyant self. Intense nose of prunes, raisins and figs. Unreal viscocity and full body and some of the most intense flavors in any wine you can taste. This was a hit with everyone.

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Closing

This tasting was very informative. First of all, it is clear to me that Ribera del Duero does have a typicity that transcends different winemaking techniques. The wines were incredibly similar, something that surprised my guests. No one picked out the ringer from outside Ribera del Duero. Most votes went to Wine 6 (2004 Aalto), but we were of course...wrong!

Secondly, despite the price range in this tasting ($25-$65), the quality was pretty consistent. It took most of us all night to determine our ranking order. I picked my WOTN early on, but the ranking thereafter was incredibly difficult and changed around all night.

The voting for Wine of the Night finished like this:

2004 Condado de Haza Crianza: 3 votes
2004 Hacienda de Monasterio Crianza: 2 votes
2004 Pintia: 1 vote
2004 Emilio Moro Crianza: 1 vote

The voting for least liked wine went to the 2004 Emilio Moro Malleoullus

All wines performed well, so this bodes well for the 2004 Ribera vintage. I'll go out and buy some more Aalto to go together with the case of Pintia and Callejo that I bought today.

Salud!

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