Monterrey, Mexico
Tasted Saturday, November 3, 2007 by hcampana with 1,726 views
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.
This was paired with a very fresh tasting watermelon salad with prosciutto and a vinagrette sauce.
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.
This motor oil type PX was paired with a trio of decadent desserts: Kahlua mini cake and ice cream.
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!
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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