October wines...

Hi all,
and here we go with the monthly report.
- Finca La Estacada Roble 2005. Viñedos y Crianzas SL. VdT de Castilla (2.7 EUR)
Dark hue. Rippen dark fruit and round shape tannins. Quite young in every face, at this moment and bearing in mind preceding vintages. Round. Good QPR for the usual 4 EUR, but this bottle was part of an off, so better QPR for about 2.7 EUR

- Viña Gravonia 1994. López de Heredia. DOC Rioja. (7.73 EUR)
";No sé porqué te quiero, será que tengo alma de bolero";. This sentence of a bolero, can summarize my feelings about this wine. This bottle was too soft. Nice and usual acidity, a typical Xmas sweet
that in spain is named as ’naranja escarchada’, and a comfortable hint of white ground pepper. It was like in a dumb phase.

- Castillo de Agüarón Reserva 2002. Grandes Vinos y Viñedos S.A. DO Cariñena (3.15 EUR)
Dark hue and a deep rippen black and red fruits. Quite round, but I miss an extra touch of acidity. It’s great to find wines like this, with and affordable price and good pairing with many different kind of food. Great QPR as its brothers (crianza and ’normal’ one).

- Marqués de Alella Clásico 2006. Embotellado por Marqués de Alella. DO Alella (5.6 EUR)
How many apples are needed to fill a bottle? This one is full of them, with some herbal hints and a good acidity. It’s still a nice and easy sip with a good QPR for less than 6 EUR.

- Mas d’en Compte Blanc 2003. Celler Joan Sangenis. DO Priorato (aprox 10 EUR?)
Alerted by a post I decided to open the last bottle of this wine.
Golden. Citrical, apricot and medlar smells with a touch of peanut peelings. In mouth the wood is almost disappeared and comes a slight acidity (finally!) with a nice bitterness. No glory for this wine, nonetheless it’s been the most enjoyable of all I’ve uncorked.
Summing I can say that this vintage is so far of the expressive 2001 and with no good QPR.

- Borsao Garnacha Mítica 2006. Bodega Borsao. DO Campo de Borja (1.3 EUR)
Dark hue. In nose and mouth is fruit, fruit and more fruit. Blackberries mainly. The QPR is quite good for about 1.3 EUR

- Borsao Crianza 2004. Bodega Borsao. DO Campo de Borja (1.95 EUR)
’Smelly cat, smelly cat...’ Do you remember that Friends’ episode where Phoebe sings this song? As I uncork the wine it smells so bad that brings this song from my memory. It smells so bad, so I cork the bottle again and store in the fridge. Next day the bad smell has disappeared and the wine is so good as usual. It’s still in a good moment for consumption and with the usual great QPR.

- Eric Texier Côtes Rhone St. Gervais Le Cadinnier 2000 (9 EUR)
Looks dusty. Soft animal touch that disappears in some minutes. Mediterranean dried bushes, balsamic, anis-seed, roscón de Reyes (a traditional cake that use to be eaten on 5th January), red fruits and chocolates. Nice and stimulating acidity. Vivid. With a sort of texture. Good pairing of potatoe and smoked sausages salad whose dressing was a homemade mahonesa with a slightly sweet mustard. Better pairing with a roasted tiny lamb leg. Long time ago I used to ’pair’ a CD or a song as well. While I was drinking this wine I was listening ’Dragon Days’ by Alicia Keys. Good QPR for about 9 EUR.

Regards,

Jose