Blind Spanish Tasting

After our "wonderful" Sangiovese tasting it was proposed that we would follow it up with a Spanish tasting. Wesabi graciously offered to host and set off to put together a wonderful tapas menu for the evening. Each attendee was responsible for bringing at least one bottle of Spanish wine prior to the dinner. Wesabi proceeded to decant each wine for about an hour before the start time of the tasting. Here is the fun that ensued...

• 2005 Bodegas y Viñedos San Roman Toro Prima 89 Points

  Spain, Castilla y León, Toro

  Decanted for 1 hour. This wine exhibited a dark garnet/purple color. On the nose, aromas of ripe cherries, plums, and raspberries were joined by hints of flowers and minerality with a bit of spice. On the palate, flavors of raspberries, cherries and plums were joined by hints of spice on the finish. The tannins were firm and the heat was a bit evident. The tannins would smooth out later but the finish was still a bit hot. Overall, a solidly built modern styled Spanish wine. HS89

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• 2003 Bodegas El Nido Jumilla Clio 90 Points

  Spain, Murcia, Jumilla

  Decanted for 1 hour. This wine was dark garnet/purple in color. On the nose, aromas of oak dominated with hints of black cherries and plums with hints of earthiness and spice. On the palate, intense red berry flavors dominated with notes of oakiness and firm tannins. This wine was not fully open for business and definitely could have spent more time decanting.
  
  On a revisit near the end of the night, the oaky aromas subsided a bit revealing more ripe cherry, raspberry and plum aromas with hints of chocolate and spice rounding out the nose. On the palate, the fruit flavors were still intense but with less oakiness. There were also hints of dark chocolate and spices rounding out the finish on this wine. There is some serious potential here... but for now... HS90

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• 2003 Bodega Numanthia Toro Termes 90 Points

  Spain, Castilla y León, Toro

  Decanted for 1 hour. This wine exhibited a garnet/dark garnet color. On the nose, aromas of plums, blackberries and raspberries were evident with notes of licorice, figs and notes of earthiness. On the palate, flavors of raspberries, black cherries and plums were joined by notes of graphite, figs and spice on the finish. Nice, modern styled Spanish wine with some age on it. This particular bottle tasted as though it was at it's peak and I can't see it getting any better as I felt it revealed everything that it had. Drink up! HS90

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• 2004 Celler de l'Encastell Priorat Marge Flawed

  Spain, Catalunya, Priorat

  Decanted for 1 hour. Despite no one else agreeing with me, I felt that there was something off with this bottle. In the glass, this exhibited a dark garnet color. On the nose, there was a musky smell with some barnyard in the mix. There was a hint of that wet cardboard smell as well with some blackberries and plums making up the fruit. On the palate, this wine was a bit funky... with a side of blackberries, plums and some licorice that made it through. Upon revealing what this wine was... this wine was nothing like what I remembered it being a year ago... thus it HAS to be flawed. NR

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• 2003 Mas Doix Priorat Salanques 92 Points

  Spain, Catalunya, Priorat

  Decanted for 1 hour. This wine exhibited a dark ruby/garnet color. On the nose, aromas of raspberries, blackberries and plums were joined by notes of graphite with hints of cedar and spice. On the palate, there were rich, ripe blackberries and raspberries joined by notes of leather, earth and spice. This wine continued to develop with each taste and has some serious potential. Nice balance of fruit and acidity with smooth, yet firm tannins form this modern-styled Spanish offering. HS92

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• 2005 Domaine Georges Vernay St. Joseph 90 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph

  Decanted for 1 hour. This wine exhibited a dark garnet/purple color. On the nose, aromas of blueberries and blackberries were joined my gamey notes with hints of smoke and spices. On the palate, flavors of blackberries, cherries and blueberries were joined by notes of bacon fat and ending on a spicy note. There was a nice length on the finish with smooth tannins and good acidity to this wine. YUM! HS90

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• 2003 Cartoixa de Montsalvat Priorat Montgarnatx 93 Points

  Spain, Catalunya, Priorat

  Decanted for 1 hour. This wine exhibited a ruby/dark ruby color. On the nose, aromas of kirsch, raspberries, and figs were joined by notes of licorice and hints of cedar. On the palate, ripe cherries, plums, and raspberries were joined by notes of red licorice leading to a nice, long finish. The tannins were well-integrated and this had a nice purity to it. A really beautiful wine that drank like a nice Spanish garnacha with some age on it. HS93

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• 1999 Bodegas del Marqués de Vargas Rioja Selección Privada

  Spain, La Rioja, Rioja

  Decanted for 1 hour. This wine exhibited a dark ruby color with dark orange tinges. On the nose, oak and alcohol dominated. There was a bit of plum and blackberries creeping from behind the wall of alcohol and oak. On the palate, the wine had a bit of heat to it, as well as a lot of oaky notes. The fruit that was evident were some cherries and raspberries. On a revisit later in the evening this wine did not improve at all... upon revealing what this wine was, I can only conclude that we had an off bottle. NR

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• 2002 La Granja Nuestra Señora de Remelluri Rioja Reserva 88 Points

  Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alavesa, Rioja

  Decanted for 1 hour. This wine exhibited a dark garnet color. On the nose, aromas of cherry, plums, and blackberries were joined by notes of spice and earthiness with hints of oak lingering in the background. On the palate, flavors of cherries, plums and black raspberries were joined by notes of vanilla and spice on the finish. The oak definitely was present on this one and was a bit distracting but overall a solid Spanish wine. HS88

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• 2001 Bodegas y Viñedos Heras Cordon Rioja 89 Points

  Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja

  Decanted for 1 hour. This wine exhibited a darky ruby/garnet color. On the nose, aromas of black cherries, plums and blackberries were joined by notes of vanilla, graphite and orange peel. On the palate, plums and cherries were joined by notes of spice and toasty oak on the finish. Soft tannin structure with moderate acidity give this wine a nice elegance. HS89

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• 2005 Dominio de Eguren Vino de la Tierra de Castilla Codice 83 Points

  Spain, Castilla-La Mancha, Vino de la Tierra de Castilla

  Decanted for 1 hour. This wine exhibited an electric purple color. On the nose, the fruit aromas were rminiscent of Yoplait's Mixed Berries flavor with hints of chocolate. On the palate, there was a good amount of oak. As opposed to the others that had a lot of oak notes, this wine followed the oak up with some artificial flavoring. I think I would prefer a Protocolo over this.... HS83

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• 2003 Legaris Ribera del Duero Crianza 86 Points

  Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero

  Decanted for 1 hour. This wine exhibited a dark ruby/garnet color. On the nose, aromas of plums and cherries were join by notes of earthiness and hints of leather. On the palate, there were notes of dried fruits with some cherries in the mix. Overall an easy drinking, smooth Spanish wine with some personality. HS86

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• 2004 Pagos De Quintana Ribera del Duero Tinto Roble 84 Points

  Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero

  Decanted for 1 hour. This wine exhibited a dark garnet color. On the nose aromas of strawberries, cherries, and blackberries were joined by notes of earthiness. On the palate, flavors of cherries and plums were joined by hints of oak and spice. The only bad element being the somewhat harsh acidity preventing me from fully enjoying this wine. HS84

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Overall, the group's #1 was the 2003 Montgarnatx Priorat followed by the 2003 Mas Doix Salanques Priorat and the 2001 Heras Cordon Reserva Rioja.

Thanks again to Wesabi for opening their home to us and for preparing the wonderful food to go along with the wines that everyone brought. I look forward to the next gathering!