Tasting Notes: Dr. Goldilocks and the Six Tempranillos

Once upon a time, there was a stressed-out allied health professional with curly hair the color of old pennies, but shiny. We'll skip the debate as to whether it's blond or red, and we'll completely ignore the gray that's popping in – they're just really light blond, darnit! She had a long four-day week with lots of patients, emails from a marketing minion who wants everything NOW, and a very patient adminion who wouldn't let Dr. Goldilocks put off important tasks for too long. Oh, and contract work that makes for a nice change of pace, but which needed to be done before she left the next day to see Dr.-in-training Goldilocks 2.0 (aka Babysis) in Philadelphia.

So yes, she was stressed out, and when she finally left the office at 8:30, she was tired, hungry, and ready to have some wine. She wandered through the food aroma gauntlet of downtown Decatur (of which Atlanta is a suburb in case you're reading this, and you're Carl), but having given up red meat for Lent, Ted's wasn't an option, Ruby Tuesday was too chain restaurant, and Leon's was just too crowded. It was too early for the Decatur Diner, so she ended up at JavaMonkey, where she knew her friends would be gathered for the biweekly wine tasting, in this case Tempranillo.

Tempranillo, if you're wondering, is a Spanish varietal red, and the only people who can say the name right are from places like Peru. Seriously, it sounds like they're making love to it in their mouth. It's swoon-worthy. You may know it better as the primary grape in Rioja, which goes with fun words like Crianza.

For the sake of narrative, I'm going to mix up the tasting order. Just bear (no pun intended) with me.

Dr. Goldilocks tried the 2008 Protocolo Tempranillo (Vino de la Tierra de Castilla, Spain). Aged in American oak, she proclaimed, "This wine is too thin!" Indeed, it didn't have much to it outside the cedar-y finish.

Then she tried the 2009 Vega Sindoa Tempranillo (Navarra, Spain). This one she deemed as, "too earthy, and it's doing strange fruity things on the roof of my mouth!"

The 2008 Emilo Moro Finca Resalso (Ribera del Duero, Spain) had interesting caramel-cedar notes, and had a caramel/chocolate finish. "It's good, but still not what I'm looking for."

Enter the 2006 Raimat Viña 43 Tempranillo, which spends 18 months in Virginia oak. Because there's nothing like knowing *exactly* where your wood comes from. It has to be good if the founding fathers got drunk on it, right? This one was all cherry smoothness. "That's more like it!"

The 2006 Sierra Cantabria Crianza from Rioja, Spain (told you!) had a nice raspberry-cherry nose that Hubby said had a whiff of sunscreen. It went very well with the Bello Prosciutto sandwich. "This one's very good."

Finally the 2007 Venta Mazzaron Tempranillo (Tierra del Vino de Zamora, Spain) had a little hickory smoke to it, but was well-balanced with yummy fruit. It also has an interesting history in that it's mostly from un-grafted, pre-phylloxera vines.

"Ah," said Dr. Goldilocks, "this one is just right!"

Look for blog and Twitter updates this weekend from Pennsylvania wine country!

Tasting Notes: Freedom, thy name is Tempranillo

I've got a confession to make. Next to Zinfandel, Tempranillo may just be my favorite grape. Consequently, I was really ready to enjoy this past Thursday's tasting at JavaMonkey, for that reason and because I hadn't been out of the house all day.

The wines are all 100% Tempranillo and come from Spain, so I'll just list names and regions:

2007 Campos Reales (La Mancha):
This one has been a favorite in the past, so I'm wondering if this vintage may not be quite as good as previous ones. The nose is buttery and a little musky, and it opens up to blackberry. It is light to medium-bodied with a lot of cranberry and a little pomegranate. Someone designated it as "Ocean Spray [juice]" wine.
Rating: Good
Note: According to my blog archives, I reviewed the 2008 Campos Reales in April. It was bigger, fruitier, and more complex than this 2007. So, if you're looking for a good, basic Tempranillo, go for the 2008.

2006 Sierra Cantabria (Rioja):
Although it's from Rioja, it's not a Crianza. Blue/blackberry nose, and the middle has a nice structure from the oak. The problem with this one is the major pepper kick at the end that someone described as "caustic."
Rating: Good

2007 Emilio Moro Finco Resalso (Ribera del Duoro):
Dark fruit with a little toasted almond on the nose. Sour cherry and currant with a silky texture that again went a little rough on the finish. A second tasting later revealed that it had smoothed out, so just let it open.
Rating: Good to Very Good

2005 Urban Ribera (Ribera del Duero):
Can tell on the nose that this will be a "hot" one with 14.5% alcohol. The dominant flavor is blueberry. Someone designated it as "blueberry pie," but I didn't get enough butter for that.
Rating: Good to Very Good

2006 Codice Tinto (Vino de la Tierra de Castilla):
This one has a hot nose, too, but it smoothed out with some good swirling. In addition to its dark fruit, it has some clove, spice, and a little butter. This medium-bodied wine could have come earlier in the tasting.
Rating: Very Good

2005 Venta Mazzaron (Tierra del Vino de Zamora):
With its smoky nose and bacon overtones on the palate, this was the table favorite. The combination of fruit and smoke made me want to pair it with a Belgian entree, maybe cherries and meatballs (yes, that's a real Belgian dish).
Rating: Very Good

Random Thoughts:
A trio of Emory students came to the previous wine tasting, Blends, armed with camera and notepads to do a feature for the student paper. The next to the last paragraph cracked me up:

Although the relaxed venue was enjoyable, wine aficionados may not want to head to JavaMonkey. A fellow taster sitting next to me was rather pretentiously swirling and sniffing his wines, a behavior that may be common at many wine tastings, but which seemed out of place at this one.

Don't worry, wine aficionados, you can come sit with us. We sip and swirl non-pretentiously.