Last night my wife and I attended a Spanish wine tasting/class. It was a terrific selection of wines from several regions. We started out with a Priorat red, Martinet Bru 2005. Jay Miller gave it a 91+. I thought it had nice spice components, probably from the Syrah blended in to the Cab, Merlot, Carignan blend. We then moved to a 2004 Finca Coronado, 90 points from Parker, which is a Cab, Tempranillo, Syrah blend with some Merlot, Petit Verdot, and Graciano thrown in. I liked it, but probably wouldn't buy it again. Still, it's from La Mancha, and the label says it's bottled in Ciudad Real just down the road from where I lived when I was there. When even La Mancha is producing wines of this quality you know Spain is doing something right.
As nice as the first two were, the next three were fantastic, and I added them to my cellar. The 2004 Masia Carreras is a Jorge Ordenez import from the Costa Brava, and as we all know he's got the touch! Wine Spectator and Wine Advocate have some disagreement on scores for this bottle, and quite different descriptions of the components. Spectator calls out the dark fruits, while WA focuses on old world components. I'm a fan of old world, and loved the crushed stone, minerality, leather, and definitely got some of the black fruit. Next up was the 2003 San Vicente. Full on Tempranillo, this is Spain's grape. It's also an Ordenez import (seeing a pattern here?) and it's from Rioja. Jay Miller gave it a 92. I agree with him about the earth and graphite on the nose. And the finish went on and on. I love Tempranillo.
The last wine of the night was the 2006 El Nido Clio. No reviews out there yet, but don't let that stop you from buying a bottle. If you can find it. Actually, don't. That way I'll be able to continue to find it. Grin. This is another example of disagreement between the Wine Advocate and the Wine Spectator - WA consistently gives this wine about 5 points more than Spectator. Who cares though? It's Monastrell and Cabernet, 70/30 (exactly opposite of El Nido El Nido by the way). It's from Jumilla - a really hot (temperature and trends!) region of Spain. And, perhaps most important? El Nido is a collaboration between Jorge Ordenez and Chris Ringland. I've been a fan of a lot of wines both of them have been involved in, and this one has both.
Hats off again to The Wine House in Manlius, NY. Their owner, Tim Buckles, and their Certified Sommelier, Matt Christen, continually select outstanding wines for their classes and tastings, and share wide ranging knowledge of the industry, the wines, and the regions of the world. They've created a community around wine in the area, and we've made good friends as a result of our classes there.
As nice as the first two were, the next three were fantastic, and I added them to my cellar. The 2004 Masia Carreras is a Jorge Ordenez import from the Costa Brava, and as we all know he's got the touch! Wine Spectator and Wine Advocate have some disagreement on scores for this bottle, and quite different descriptions of the components. Spectator calls out the dark fruits, while WA focuses on old world components. I'm a fan of old world, and loved the crushed stone, minerality, leather, and definitely got some of the black fruit. Next up was the 2003 San Vicente. Full on Tempranillo, this is Spain's grape. It's also an Ordenez import (seeing a pattern here?) and it's from Rioja. Jay Miller gave it a 92. I agree with him about the earth and graphite on the nose. And the finish went on and on. I love Tempranillo.
The last wine of the night was the 2006 El Nido Clio. No reviews out there yet, but don't let that stop you from buying a bottle. If you can find it. Actually, don't. That way I'll be able to continue to find it. Grin. This is another example of disagreement between the Wine Advocate and the Wine Spectator - WA consistently gives this wine about 5 points more than Spectator. Who cares though? It's Monastrell and Cabernet, 70/30 (exactly opposite of El Nido El Nido by the way). It's from Jumilla - a really hot (temperature and trends!) region of Spain. And, perhaps most important? El Nido is a collaboration between Jorge Ordenez and Chris Ringland. I've been a fan of a lot of wines both of them have been involved in, and this one has both.
Hats off again to The Wine House in Manlius, NY. Their owner, Tim Buckles, and their Certified Sommelier, Matt Christen, continually select outstanding wines for their classes and tastings, and share wide ranging knowledge of the industry, the wines, and the regions of the world. They've created a community around wine in the area, and we've made good friends as a result of our classes there.
