Spanish wine is probably the best value old world wine that we American’s can get (at least here on the East Coast of the US
Here’s the thing about Spanish wine: there are about three million acres of vitis vinifera planted in the country, making it the most widely planted wine producing nation in the world, but interestingly it’s only the third largest producer of wine on the planet (behind France and Italy of course). That’s because Spain
The region where the PradoRey I’m drinking was made is located in the northern plateau of Spain. The bottle notes indicate that this is is 95% Tinto Fino (which is another word for Tempranillo), 3% Cab Sauv and 2% Merlot.
Let’s begin:
Color (8/10)
Inky red with a rusty hue. This is a very nice color, aside from the rust which speaks of a slight tannic overload. No matter, and it won’t taint the rest of my review. This is a tough one to score, because I know what a good Tempranillo should look like (ruby red with a light glow on the edges) but this is a blend and I think the merlot changes the hue. Then again, I could just be color blind since I really don’t know what I’m talking about…so let’s call this a solid 8 and move on.
I said LETS MOVE ON!! Stop staring at the glass, you’re creeping me out.
Nose (27/30)
Ah the nose. First we swirl (note that uncorked this baby an hour ago and it’s been decanting in the glass; a Reidel; so yes it’s had a chance to open up), then we sniff.
I closed my eyes and did kinda of a “wine association” thing (similar to “word association” but different). Here’s what I got: Almonds, Soy Sauce, Black Currant, Green olives and HOT SAUCE!
I love the nose on this wine, but at a whopping 14.7% alcohol this is a HOT wine, as in two glasses and you’ll feel it.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but again I digress. I score this a 27 on the nose both for its complexity and fruit forward goodness.
Palate (37/40)
“Hoo-Yah” this is a medium textured wine with the merlot rounding out the finish in a spicy, black pepper pucker. As it hits your mouth you get an infusion of butterscotch for just an instant and then the spices start to shine through like an old vine Zin, but drier.
I scored this a 37 out of 40 points. I enjoyed it a great deal, but it was a little too much on the finish. Again, as with the color, I’ve not had a Tempranillo with Merlot mixed in (although, the Cab Sauv really balances this out nicely).
Don’t get me wrong, I love this wine: but I’m not dancing around the room with excitement about it (given the time and two or three more glasses, that would be a possibility, but there I go with that digression thing again).
Overall (19/20)
So, here we are, looking for an overall score. I gave this a 19 out of 20, which I know a lot of you who actually KNOW what you’re talking about when it comes to wine (please remember: I am a doofus, and I’m making most of what I’m writing here up as I go along); but when you consider that I’ve never had a blend like this, and the Tempranillo really shines through in a well balanced (although slightly alcohol hot) wine; I have to call this as I see, smell and taste it: and this is at least a 19. It might be even better than that if I knew what I was talking about.
Total
8+27+37+19= 91
I get accused of scoring my wines very highly, but you have to remember that my WIFE is the one with the palate in this family, and she picks all of the winners. I can’t remember the last time she picked a 80 to 90 point wine, and she didn’t do that tonight.
The 2004 Tinto Fino blend from Ribera del Buero Roble in Spain
Salute!
- Steve
