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Spain and Portugal
2033 Brandywine
Tasted August 1, 2009 by jrobs7777 with 789 views
Introduction
Good introduction to Spain and Portugal, with wines across the price spectrum. We featured a variety of cuisine (and cheeses) from Spain/Portugal. My verdict was that the sweet spot is in the $20-50 range. While there are good and great wines at the higher end, the wines were more hit and miss for my palate
Flight 1 - Non-Blind Starters (2 notes)
White - Sparkling
2002 Llopart Cava Brut Cava Leopardi Brut Reserva
86 points
Perfectly fine example of cava. A little on the bland side, but refreshing minerality with some floral notes. A touch of nuttiness and acidity.
White - Fortified
N.V. Hartley & Gibson's Manzanilla
75 points
This was bad. I enjoyed the nose a bit. Some salinity and nuttiness. But it was virtually undrinkable as a wine, resembling soapy dish water.
Flight 2 - Non-Blind Light Whites (3 notes)
White
N.V. Gazela Vinho Verde
84 points
Solid spritzy white. For $5, it has to beat. Tasted in a light Spain/Portugal flight as part of our tasting and it did very well. Wine of the flight for me. Floral and minerally on the nose. The refreshing spritz on the palate is very refreshing.
White
2007 Martín Códax Albariño Rías Baixas Burgáns
83 points
Just above average. Salinity. Sweet. But the nose was very off putting. Could have been slightly flawed. Palate was not as bad, and it was just "plain."
White
N.V. René Barbier Mediterranean White
81 points
A bit like apple juice. But bland apple juice without the sweetness. Not bad for the price.
Flight 3 - Blind Dry Portuguese Reds (3 notes)
Red
2001 Cortes de Cima
89 points
This was very good in our blind tasting. Impressed me with good complexity and density. Plum and the Port profile. Very round and fruit. Average finish.
Red
2006 Quinta do Mouro Vinho Regional Alentejano Vinha do Mouro
85 points
Bright fruit. Nothing outstanding, but at this price, it is a perfectly fine lighter red.
Red
2002 Quinta do Crasto Douro
87 points
Soy sauce. Very predominant. Some underlying berry fruit and plum. Good drinker. Some heat on the finish.
Flight 4 - Blind Spanish Grenache and Blends (3 notes)
The Mogador was a disappointment but the Alto Moncayo was a nice surprise.
Red
2006 Bodegas Alto Moncayo Garnacha Campo de Borja
91 points
Quality Grenache. Complex nose. Really wowed by the nose. Spicy pepper, herbs, good red fruit, some licorice, tar and cedar. Vanilla and sweet spice. The palate was good -- nice and round, coating with good fruit. Find finish. I thought there were some touches of heat that detracted a bit overall. The nose is really the star of the show here. From a value standpoint, this stood out tonight.
Red
1999 Torres Conca de Barberà Grans Muralles
87 points
Hard to place nose. Earthy manure on the nose. Some tree bark as wll? Defintely the oldest of the wines in this flight. Lacking concentration. Straight ahead and fruit. Nice, but nothing more.
Red
2003 Clos Mogador Priorat
87 points
The score is based on potential as this really did not show well tonight and may be a bad spot right now. Brett? Stewed jammy fruit. Hard to parse through and figure out what we have - just a hodge podge of fruit. Some spice and oak. Had high hopes for this and it fell a little short.
Flight 5 - Blind "Bargain" Tempranillo (3 notes)
The Alonso del Yerro was the star here and it should age well for the next 5-10. Still very young.
Red
2004 Bodegas y Viñedos Montecastro Ribera del Duero Montecastro y Llanahermosa
flawed
I'm going to go with the FLAW as it is hard to score this. After tasting and making some observations, we were advised that one bottle in the flight may have suffered heat damage, so that put this in context. Overwhelming stewed fruit. Brett? Hard to score this. Palate better than nose, as there was some structure. Blue fruit and vanilla? If I was going to give it a score, it would be in 84-87 range.
Red
2004 Bodegas LAN Rioja Edición Limitada
88 points
Very vegetal. Green pepper. Earth. Jammy fruit. More fruit and less veggie would make this better. Some heat. We enjoyed the 05 and this is typically a nice bottle for the price. I did not love this in the blind format as compared with the other wines in the flight.
Red
2006 Alonso del Yerro Ribera del Duero
91 points
Showed really well tonight. Exceptional value at under $30. Big and round. Nice coating tannins. Very nice nose of hot pepper, black pepper, red fruit and some secondary herb and earth notes. Sharp acidity on the palate with the fruits in harmony. A touch of heat creeps in at the finish, which knocks it down a peg, but this is one to keep an eye on. 91+
Flight 6 - Blind White Rioja (3 notes)
This was an interesting exercise as we tasted through the R. Lopez de Heredia line. It was easy to identify the wines in the blind format based on color. I liked these more than most but I thought the 89 is drinking very well and is a better value then the 81.
White
1989 R. López de Heredia Rioja Blanco Reserva Viña Tondonia
87 points
This was very close to the 81 Gran Reserva and may, in my opinion, pass it with some more bottle age. I enjoyed the nuttiness but found the fruit was more forward and gave it a fuller body. The finish was not on the same level as the Gran Reserva, but this is a very solid wine at over half the price.
White
1981 R. López de Heredia Rioja Blanco Gran Reserva Viña Tondonia
89 points
This is a good solid white Rioja, but these are definitely not up my alley. Fresh for such an old and oxidized wine. Some floral and mineral notes peaking through. Nutty and salty. Subtle fruit. I did not get too much. A touch of sweetness. Green tea? A very nice finish. Well made, but the white Rioja flight was not my cup of tea.
White
1999 R. López de Heredia Rioja Blanco Viña Gravonia
84 points
Disappointing. Fresh and acidic, and a tough nut to crack. Flat on the palate. Lacked any kind of complexity. A little fat, maybe?
Flight 7 - Blind High End Tempranillo (3 notes)
The group consensus was that the Unico was the dry wine of the night. There were a few who backed other wines, but the Unico definitely had the most votes. It's a stunning wine with great complexity concentration and finish, but the Toro which followed held up well. The La Nieta was overshadowed, but it is a very nice bottle. On balance, my take is that these wines are on the high side for my tastest. That said, I'll drink the Unico if it is given to me -- I'm just not sure I'd buy it.
Red
1996 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único
94 points
Very solid effort and contender for wine of the night. Very complex notes. Herbs, tar, cedar, leather but a surprising amount of brighter fruit. The palate was subtle and complex. Coating tannins, suggesting many more years of life for this. Good blue and red fruit with herbs. Very good bordering on great finish. Impressive effort. Worth $$? That's another discussion.
Red
2004 Bodega Numanthia Toro Numanthia
92 points
Very good. Deep dense. Cherry coke, chocolate, herbs and dark fruit. A bit tannic and tough to get a handle on, but that is to be expected. Should soften over time. Patience will be rewarded. Solid finish.
Red
2005 Viñedos de Páganos Rioja La Nieta
89 points
Third out of three in the blind "higher end" Tempranillo flight. Stewed fruit. Big and dense but was like a lot of loud music -- it's hard to appreciate whether there is any subtlely. This was a perfectly good wine. Good fruit. Coats the palate well with a nice finish. But it was so big and oaky and dense that it was hard to appreciate what, if anything was going on underneath. Way overpriced.
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Comment
Flight 8 - Blind New World Spanish Reds (3 notes)
I enjoyed these wines, especially the El Nido as it had more to is than just huge dollops of fruit and oak.
Red
2004 Bodegas El Nido Jumilla El Nido
93 points
Sweet spice, red fruit and great concentration. Dark opaque color. This was not a fruit bomb, as I expected it to be. It was not subtle, either, but offered a good blend of spicy fruit with a very nice finish.
Red
2005 Bodegas y Viñedos de Murcia Jumilla Pico Madama
88 points
I was not a huge fan of this. As I did not take thorough notes on everything, I definitely fell short here. It was clearly third in this group. Big fruity nose. Plain on the palate with flaws in the finish. Maybe in a bad spot right now, but it lacked the complexity I look for.
Red
2005 Bodegas El Nido Jumilla Clio
88 points
This was a bit of a step down from its bigger sibling. Not so much in fruit and concetration, but this lacked some of the subtlety and introduced more heat than the El Nido, especially on the finish. Good but clearly a step down.
Flight 9 - Non-blind Vintage Port (3 notes)
Some stunning wines in here. I was a bigger fan of the 94 Taylor. I appreciated the Fonseca and how young it still is, but for my taste the Taylor was the WOTN.
Red - Fortified
1977 Fonseca Porto Vintage
94 points
Surprising fresh and light. I expected a denser, chewy port for a wine over 30 years old. But it was not. Exhibited secondary notes, but a lot of brighter red fruit. Very interesting. Not overly sweet. Good sweet spice, red fruit, chocolate and maybe some secondary toffee. This had a very nice finish. Very enjoyable.
Red - Fortified
1994 Taylor (Fladgate) Porto Vintage
95 points
After the 77 Fonseca, this was big change. Big dense blue fruit. Opaque purple color. A complete change from the lighter 77. Side by side was a very interesting comparison. This was dense, just loaded with blue fruits and berries. The conentration was tremendous. I did not take complete notes and neglected to comment on the finish. Probably the WOTN for me, but its close.
Red - Fortified
2000 Graham Porto Vintage
90 points
This is young. Still too young. A bit difficult to get ahold of. Heavy. Mocha, coffee, chocolate. Dense and rich. Not the style I particularly enjoy.