2002 Termes Toro - Bodega Numenthia Termes - Spain

This lovely wine is starting to near the end of its life (within a couple years I think) but is drinking beautifully now.

Garnet colored and medium bodied with secondary notes of tar and cedar now at the forefront with some nice black currant and other dark notes receding some.

Fine tannins and a soft texture with a long finish. A touch of heat at the end is the only slight against this really nice wine.

Bought 3 or 4 years ago from Union Square Wines for $25.

TN: 2006 Can Blue - Priorat - Spain

I had never had Can Blau, a red wine made from 40% Carinena, 40% Syrah, and 20% Grenache from the Priorat region of Spain.

It is deep purple colored wine with earthy blueberry and cedar along with subtle floral notes. Very nice aromatics. Medium bodied and smooth with a clean finish at first but a drawback is that you also get a sense of the 14.5% alcohol content if you hold it on the toungue.

The wine needs decanting if you’re not planning on holding on to it for 2 or 3 years. If you decant, the aforementioned alcohol burns off. I had this opened throughout the day and it had definitely softened up nicely 6 to 8 hours later.

This is available for $14.99 at Garnet Wines or $16.99 at Astor Wines. It’s a nice value at both prices (and especially Garnet’s). Enjoy!

2005 Louro Do Bolo – Valdeorras – Spain – Godello

This was bought at Astor in an effort to break out of my French wine rut and try something different. This is a Spanish white which I decided to try after my interest in these were peked after reading a New York Times article by Eric Asimov where he talked about white wines from the Rueda region of Spain. This is not from there. It’s from Valdeorras.

To be honest, I struck out here.

It’s golden hued with notes of caramel and banana and a certain “sweet” smell. Fuller bodied but it comes across as somewhat flat and flabby. Not complex. Medium finish that coats the mouth. This wine is not really all that great. The banana is unfortunately one of the predominate features here and the flabby texture doesn’t help.

$15 from Astor Wine.

Tasting Note: 2003 Marqués de Riscal Reserva

The 1999 vintage of Marqués de Riscal Reserva was one of my early introductions to Spanish wines and I’ve liked it enough to follow the vintages.

The 2003 version is high in alcohol at 14%, a result of the scorching summer that year in Europe. This is mainly Tempranillo based with a ruby red color. It has strong cherry, licorice and cedar aromas mixed in with cinnamon and other spices. Very interesting nose. Smooth texture and nicely balanced with a long finish. Very nice and another solid B.

This was also the first bottle of wine I’ve purchased at the Trader Joe’s Wine Shop on East 14th St. They have it for $13 which is a nice price for a wine I’ve seen sell for as much as $20.

A New Vintage From an Old Friend - 2004 Castell del Remei Gotim Bru

Spain’s Castell del Remei - Gotim Bru from the Costers del Segre region might be one of the most reliable and affordable wines on the market today. It retails for $10 to $15 a bottle and its quality is consistent year in and year out for as long as I’ve been drinking this, going back to the 1997 vintage. (Read past posts here and here.)

It’s been a solid relationship.

The 2004 Gotim Bru has a ruby red color to it and a smoky aroma with underlying red fruit. There’s spice on the nose as well. Actually, if you swirl it around some, the aroma transforms into dark berry. The dark berry really comes though on the taste as well. Blackberry? Just slightly acidic but not enough to make me think this is too far out of balance. Medium long finish. Very good solid B wine.

2002 Termes Toro – Bodega Numanthia Termes (Spain - Castilla y Leon)

The #3 Wine if the Year in 2005 as cited by Wine Spectator! Bought for $25 at Union Square Wine! Will it live up to this incredible Price per Quality ratio!

Well… Yes. #3 Wine of the Year. Maybe not but awfully darn good.

Tempranillo. Deep red color with notes of Blueberry, blackberry, and tabac nose. Fine tannins. Slightly dry on the palate. But the fruit is the real star here.

The one knock on this wine is that its slightly acidic on the finish but that just makes it an A- wine rather than an A.