Pleased to meet you. Tempranillo, under another name!

Tempranillo, under yet another name!

MuseumReal Reserva 2004 (Cigales, Spain), 14%, €20.55, Karwig Wines.

The historic Cigales area has been producing wines for centuries and this, with its distinctive pewter label, is one of the good ones!

Grape variety is listed as Tinta del Pais, another name for Tempranillo, and the fruit comes from some of the oldest vines in the region (between 60 and 100 years old).

Colour is dark cherry, almost black, and the nose has that cherry, also plum, also hints of oak and spice, even herbs. The fruits and flavours are expertly combined to give a smooth sophisticated wine, concentrated, with moderate tannins and fine acidity leading to a long dry finish. A great match for red meat in general and for lamb in particular.

CHRISTENING THE RIEDEL

Tempranillo grapes

CHRISTENING THE RIEDEL
with a couple of Reservas


As you may know from a post earlier this week, I bought myself some Riedel glasses in town on Saturday. They were marked down from 25 to 15 euro. Needed something decent for the first use and so I settled on two recent acquisitions, both from Spain. The christening party went well!

FINCA MUSEUM VINEA RESERVA, TEMPRANILLO 2005, CIGALES, 14%, €8.00 TESCO, 4.5 STARS 

This is made from the fruits of 60 year old vines, has been aged for 18 months in oak and has then spent two years in the bottle. Well worth the wait.

Colour is close to black and there are aromas of dark fruit (plums, cherries). First impressions in the mouth are of fruit, spice and acidity. Warm wavelets of concentrated fruit slip and slide around the mouth and then the wine is slow to go, as if sorry to do so. And you are sorry to feel it fade away.

FERNANDO CASTRO CASTILLO SANTA BARBARA, VALDEPENAS GRAN RESERVA, TEMPRANILLO 2001, 13%, €6.99 O`DONOVAN`S, 4 STARS 

Picked up this lovely award winner at half price in my local O’Donovan’s. Colour is of dark cherry and the nose is of dark fruits and hints of pepper. It is fruity, spicy and dry on the palate. The fruits, black and red, feature as does the spice, in a complex multi-layered mouthful which lingers as it leaves.

More on the wine here. 

Spanish aging terms:

Crianza	Total stored 24 months, at least 6 months in oak
Reserva	Total stored 36 months, at least 12 months in oak
Gran Reserva	Total stored 60 months, at least 24 months in oak