It's been stressful lately so tonight after laundry and grocery shopping, since I was not with my beau, I decided to open a bottle from the collection. Since I just passed my certification exam on the wines from Spain and Portugal I thought something from Spain.
If you like red wine and you don't know much about the wines of Spain there are three names you should remember: Tempranillo (a grape), Rioja (a wine region), and Ribera del Duero (another wine region). Tempranillo is the red wine grape of Spain and tends to be low both in overall acidity and sugar, but relatively high in tannin, making wines that are moderate in alcohol and are quite long-lived. Wines made from the Tempranillo grape tend to have aromas and flavors of berries, "earthiness", very aromatic with good acid balance.
OK, now I have in mind a red wine from Spain meaning one made from Tempranillo, but what region. Rioja is the better known (it holds the highest Spanish viticultural designation) while Ribera del Duero is the up-and-coming challenger. I tend to like to back the "new kid" so I bypass the couple of Rioja wines and select the 2006 Torremoron Tempranillo.
After decanting and letting it breath a bit I pour my glass. The wine is a beautiful, bright violet/garnet color. The nose is a little red currant, cherry and mint with a good touch of old-world earthiness that I enjoy in my wines. The wine is medium bodied, good tannins and acidity delivering juicy raspberries and producing an "Ahhhh" of pleasure.
This is a pleasure and for its price (about $13 at Bevmo) a good introduction to Spanish wines.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment