March/2007 wines.
March/2007 wines.
Ver mensaje de jose- Blanco Nieva Pie Franco Verdejo 2005. Viñedos del Nieva. DO Rueda (5.95 EUR)
Straw hue as usual. Nice and balanced tropical fruit in nose, mango character IMO. Rippen white and soft tropical fruits in mouth with really nice acidity. Nice wine to be paired with different kind of dishes, from fish to salads or pasta. Nice QPR.
- Rosé D’Anjou Bougrier 2006. Loire Valley AC. (2.15 EUR)
Raspberry hue. In nose red fruits like strawberries, raspberries, etc. In mouth as well. It’s more weight than expected and a really nice acidity. IMO it’s a nice rosé with a great QPR.
It’s been paired with boilt rice with canned Saint-Jacques (well... ’zamburiñas’ in spanish. I know that they’re different kind of animal... but they look pretty equal), pasta sautée with veggies and I think it’s very easy to be paired with the usual spring & summer light dishes. For the UK people, I’ve seen it in Oddbins website for about 3.5 pounds.
- Loire Valley. Touraine Appellation Controlée. Sauvignon Vintage 2006. Bougrier (2.5 EUR)
Soft golden hue. Tropical fruit hiding write fruit and a quite curious honey melon smell. It’s a nice quaff and you like it even more taking a look on price.
- Viña Rey ";70 Barricas"; Tempranillo 2004. Bodegas Castejón. Vinos de Madrid (4.10 EUR)
It’s quite curious that being born and grew up in Madrid this is the first one (bottled) I drink. Here we go, let’s see what we find...
Medium/High garnet hue, nice red fruit but a thick coat of vanilla. Same in mouth and aftertaste. Round and thick tannins. It’s not really a big thing, but the vanilla-wine-I trinomial has disappointing as result.
Next day it’s a evolved positively. Vanilla has been paired with tannins and let the fruit talk. The vanilla is still there, but it’s not so disturbing. It’s not a great wine, but it’s enoughly nice and with a good QPR.
- Pierre Frick Muscat 2004 AOC Alsace (10.95 EUR)
Scent of pennyroyal/mint tea and some other kind of tea (well, at least Mediterranean teas ;). Far smell of white fruits, pineapple and lemon juice with honey, canned peaches/apricots and honeymelon. It’s not an intense wine and that was odd for me having in count (first: my lack of perspective & experience) the kind of grape but it’s showed that it makes it better to be paired with food, and for me that’s the point! It’s still ok QPR for less than 11 EUR.
- Azul Portugal 2004. Caves do Solar do Sao Domingos S.A. Bairrada Denominacao de Origem Controlada (about 2 EUR)
Licquorized red fruit with a touch of meat and lactic, but too much alcohol. It’s in the upper threshold for me. It’s not a heavy or cloying wine, but it’s too much alcohol for me. Despite chilling it, it’s too much. Price: 2 EUR. Ok, I know, I can’t be looking for miracles every single day...
- Loire Valley. Muscadet Apellation Controlée. Vintage 2006. Bougrier (3.15 EUR)
Easy and even simple, but with a vivid acidity and savory. The matter with this wine is that despite its simplicity it’s enoughly vivid that you want another sip after each other and it’s better being paired with food. Nice QPR for about 3.15 EUR.
Regards,
Jose
Re: March/2007 wines.
Ver mensaje de joseA couple of days ago I tried the Pie Franco 2006 from Blanco Nieva... wooow, nice and complex.. as usual. And what can we say about the prices of these Loire wines... really competitive.
Thanks –once more- for you monthly report.... ;-)
I do my best to fit..
Ver mensaje de Paco HigónMy monthly budget and drink wine everytime I’m in the mood for.
Most of them aren’t ’great & wow’ wines, but are really nice as everyday wine and I always try to keep in mind a usual question made be many of my friends and colleagues: Is necessary spend about 20 EUR to drink a good wine?
My answer is obvious, isn’t it? ;)
Regards,
Jose
My two cents...
Ver mensaje de joseYesterday I directed a tasting with an heterogeneous group of European visitors. I chose the following wines:
Palacio de Bornos Verdejo 2006
Sanclodio 2005
Viña Tondonia Reserva 1998
Cillar de Silos crianza 2004
Pago de los Balagueses Shiraz 2004.
The most appreciated wine was – unanimously- the Tondonia but they also very much appreciated the Palacio de Bornos, fruity and fresh. Mi comments (also in the Tasting Notes section):
Palacio de Bornos Verdejo 2006
Pale yellow. Nose of good intensity with notes of green apple, freshly cut grass, some exotic fruit and citrus fruits. Powerful and quite nice in the mouth, with good fruity touches and some pineapple, nice acidity and good length.
Sanclodio 2005
Straw with golden rim The nose is attractive, with some density but fresh, with good fruit, some floral touches and notes of green grass. In the mouth it is powerful, with some density, good intensity an average length.
Viña Tondonia Reserva 1998
Ruby red, medium opacity and orange rim. Medium intensity on the nose, with a predominance of tertiary aromas. Some hints of leather, light toasty notes from the cask on a backdrop of flowers (wild flowers) and fruit liqueur. The mouth is light, elegant, round, with notable acidity quite well integrated with good length and an aftertaste of mandarin peel. Nice pairing with game.
Cillar de Silos crianza 2004
Opaque and dense black cherry. Very interesting nose, good intensity, with a balance between fruit (primary notes) and “wood” (tertiary notes). The mouth is round and medium bodied. Nice backbone of acidity. Good length.
Pago de los Balagueses Shiraz 2004.
Winemaking process: Short aging in oak casks
Nice black cherry with a purple rim. The nose is intense, fruity and floral, fresh and pleasant. The mouth is attractive, fruity, and warm, with a good length, nice acidity and good presence.
It looks like a tasting sample...
Ver mensaje de Paco HigónOf wines from every corner of Spain, isn’t it?
Regards,
Jose
P.S. Gasp, but none from Jerez-Sherry :-/
Re: It looks like a tasting sample...
Ver mensaje de joseYep, that’s right.... as it was a very introductory tasting we decided not to try ";generosos"; nor ";cavas";.... Maybe ... in the ";advanced level"; ;-)))
Oh well... so it’s a nice...
Ver mensaje de Paco HigónBasic level tasting with quite different wines. It’s funny, the first wine I tasted when I did the ’Tasting Tuition’ was Manzanilla La Gitana ;)
Regards,
Jose