Wines
19 Items Found
- Zaleo Tempranillo Seleccion Ribera Del Guadiana 2010 Product #26799 (In Stock)
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This 100% Tempranillo from Spain’s heartland could become your new "go to" burger, pizza, or just sipping on its own red! Made all in tank - no oak - it's loaded with black plum, cherry, and natural spice aromas and flavors. Bitter chocolate and black licorice notes emerge in the middle and carry on through a fun and tasty mouthwatering finish. No harm in chilling this a bit, either!
- Palacios Remondo Rioja La Vendimia 2010 Product #27128 (In Stock)
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Very nice value in a ripe, red fruited, Rioja that's on the fruitier side of this region's many styles.
"ased in Alfaro in Rioja Baja, Bodegas Palacios Remondo is where Alvaro Palacios wields his talent when not in Priorat (or elsewhere). Given his exacting standards there, it is unsurprising that he has sought to decrease production in order to improve quality. It is also unsurprising that these form an excellent set of Rioja wines, sculpted in a more modern style, although to be truly honest, I found his cheaper wines just as good, if not better than the flagship Propiedad! The 2010 Vendimia has a lifted nose driven by Garnacha. It offers ripe maraschino cherry, marmalade and damson fruit that is uncomplicated but very seductive. The palate is medium-bodied and very well-balanced, underpinned by fine, but firm tannins. There is a rigid backbone to this wine that complements the fleshy red currant and raspberry fruit on the finish. Drink now-2017."Wine Advocate 90 points
- Bodegas Lar De Paula Rioja Tempranillo 2010 Product #26870 (In Stock)
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100% Tempranillo from 20+ year-old vines in Rioja Alavesa, perhaps Rioja’s best sub-region. The ripe fruit gets a cool fermentation and gentle extraction and then just 4 months aging in a mixture of new American and French oak. This is the perfect marriage of Tempranillo plum and cherry fruit with gentle, but classic, Rioja oak accents. Yes, the aromas and flavors are pretty, but the texture and structure are the real stars here. It’s luxurious, round, and velvety in your mouth but avoids any hint of heaviness. And, the tannins and acids are more than soft enough for solo sipping, but have just the right power to let the wine sing with food and keep your mouth watering – and your hand reaching back to the glass.
“Bodegas Lar de Paula is owned by Fernando Meruelo and his family, who also own Bodegas Heredad de Baroja. The 2010 Tempranillo has a simple, fresh, ebullient nose of dark plum and bright red cherries. The palate is fresh, well-balanced and supple with a caressing, deep, plush, dark plum and cherries smothering the finish that is utterly seamless. This is superbly crafted from start to finish. Drink now-2016.”Wine Advocate 91 points
- Vina Altaba Bobal Crianza 2008 Product #26712 (In Stock)
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Here's a juicy, distinctive, bottle of red from the Manchuela region in Southeastern Spain. It's 100% Bobal and full of juicy red fruit and tangy acidity with accents of blood orange, damp earth and tar. The crunchy fruit continues on the long, slighly chewy, finish. Really compelling for the money and versitile at table, too.
- Finca Sobreno Toro 2009 Product #26865 (In Stock)
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The best vintage in a while for this always excellent Toro Tempranillo value! Plenty of ripe blackberry and plum, chocolate, and a nice touch of spice on the nose and palate. Gently marked by well-integrated American oak, this is still a touch firm on the finish, so better with food. Very nice value!
"Bright violet color. Smoky perfume of candied cherry and dark berries with a spicy overtone. Pliant and velvety in texture, offering gently sweet cherry and blackberry flavors that put on weight in the glass. Ripe and lively on the powerful finish, showing gentle tannins and persistent sweetness."International Wine Cellar 90 points
- Telmo Rodriguez "g" Dehesa Gago Toro 2011 Product #26971 (In Stock)
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Another very nice release of the old-vine Tinto de Toro (Tempranillo) from Telmo Rodriguez. No oak, but lots of lush richness and a touch of licorice and chocolate from the ripe grapes, too. Nice write up in the Washington Post as well!
"Star Spanish winemaker Telmo Rodriguez produces this sensuous red from old-vines Tinto de Toro, the local name for Spain’s flagship Tempranillo. Fermented in concrete and stainless steel, this unoaked wine is lush and dense, almost chewy in texture. Any restaurant with a charcuterie plate should carry this bottle." ** Washington Post, 3/15/13
- O Fournier Ribera Del Duero 2010 Product #27187 (In Stock)
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As always, plenty of ripe Tempranillo character here but with a lively, juicy, freshness.
"The 2010 Urban Ribera is from younger Tinta del Pais vines in Berlangas and Roa-Burgos that sees three months in French oak barrels. It has an understated bouquet of raspberry leaf and wild hedgerow with touches of briary. The palate is fresh and vibrant with crisp, taut tannins and a very vibrant fresh finish with juicy raspberry and cranberry notes on the aftertaste. Punchy and lively, this is brimming over with flavor at a great price. Drink now-2015."Wine Advocate 89 points
- Bodegas Lar De Paula Rioja Crianza 2008 Product #26896 (In Stock)
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Perfectly ripe Tempranillo fruit took well to 12 months aging in French and American oak, delivering classic Crianza freshness and fruit to go with the spicy oak accents. This will get better and better over the next few years, but the elegant, sophisticated, interweaving of fruit, earth, and spice notes are very compelling right now! Great wine at table, especially with anything roasted or grilled.
"The 2008 Crianza has a lifted mulberry, sloe and bay leaf scented bouquet with a dash of white pepper. The palate is medium-bodied with succulent tannins on the entry. It is very well-balanced with a rounded, sensual finish that offers touches of pepper and burnt toast. This is a very fine Crianza. Drink now-2018."Wine Advocate 91 points
- Abelis Carthago Lui Tempranillo Toro 2007 Product #26949 (In Stock)
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A stunner of a Tempranillo that delivers the muscular intensity you'd hope for from Toro but with just a bit more class than you'd expect. A 20 month stay in French oak gives roundness and a dose of Christmas spice to the black cherry, blackberry and smoked plum flavors. Getting close to overripe, but stays poised and supple on the powerful, long, finish.
- Las Rocas De San Alejandro Garnacha Old Vines 2009 Product #27155 (In Stock)
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Classic old-vine Garnacha, ripe and rich but not hot or thick.
"a big time sleeper, is the outstanding 2009 Las Rocas Garnacha Vinas Viejas, which comes from 60-100-year old vines planted at 2,500-3,500 feet elevations. Aged ten months in old French and American oak, it possesses 15.2% alcohol along with a deep ruby/purple color and copious notes of plums, raspberries, black cherries, lavender and licorice, a full-bodied texture, and impressive purity, depth and freshness. This dry red represents super value for frugal consumers. It should last for several years."Wine Advocate 90 points
- Clua Mas D'en Pol Negre 2010 Product #24898 (In Stock)
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Xavier Clua does it again! The newest release of this unaoked red from Terra Alta is better than ever. On the nose it shows dark black plum and super-ripe black raspberry fruit with a hint of earth - reminiscent of a first class Ribera del Duro. It's medium bodied and fresh on the attack with black raspberry fruit, some crisp sweet cherry, and a little blood orange citrus element. The fruit is sweet and ripe but stays fresh, not jammy or overripe. The finish shows more raspberry and a dash of black cherry with some sweet spice and fine, ripe, tannin. You can drink this today simply for the fruit and freshness or give it a little time (a year or two) to gain even more complexity Not a blockbuster at all, but easy as pie to drink! A blend of 50% Garnatxa Negra, 20% Syrah, 15% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon.
- Joseph Puig Montsant Tinto 2011 Product #26584 (In Stock)
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Spanish wine industry veteran Joseph Puig has a new project, uncovering great wines made by friends throughout Spain and then offering them to us at very attractive prices. This is a fine example, a perfectly textbook Monsant. Ripe but minerally, focused and fresh, this opens with red berry fruit and slate before darker, riper, raspberry flavors come up from underneath. Mouthwatering on the zesty finish, this a terrific blend of great ripeness with refreshing acids and minerality. Hedonistic in a good way.
- Buil & Giné Montsant 17XI 2009 Product #27008 (In Stock)
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Lovely blueberry and ripe blackberry fruit with just a touch of spice here in a wine that's easy enough to drink solo but that will work well with robust roasted and grilled foods.
"Made from a blend of garnacha, carinena and tempranillo that was aged for six months in French and American oak. Opaque ruby. Smoke-accented aromas of dark berries and dried flowers, with a spicy nuance building in the glass. Youthfully taut on entry, then fleshier in the middle, offering ripe dark fruit flavors and a hint of cracked pepper. Picks up brighter red fruits on the long, tangy finish."International Wine Cellar 90 points
- Vina Bujanda Rioja Crianza 2009 Product #27200 (In Stock)
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Lovely fruit like a modern-styled wine but classic elegance and weight. Terrific to drink now and will get better over the next couple of years.
"The 2009 Crianza is sourced from Rioja Alta and Alavesa: pure Tempranillo aged in French and American barrels for 12 months. It has a perfumed bouquet of ripe strawberry and Morello, with well-integrated oak that allows the fruit to shine. The palate is very supple and rounded on the entry with corpulent red cherry and cassis fruit. The finish is well-defined, crisp and vibrant, lingering nicely in the mouth. Drink now-2019."Wine Advocate 90 points
- Bodegas Lar De Paula Rioja Reserva 2005 Product #26897 (In Stock)
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A classy take on Rioja Reserva. It's all Tempranillo fermented in steel and aged 18 months in French and American oak and then held at the winery in bottle until ready for release. Shows the oak-influence you'd expect in a Reserva, but with plenty of spicy black fruit and fine intensity and power. Great wine for lamb or richer beef dishes.
"The 2005 Reserva has a spicy nose with touches of balsamic and cooked meat. The palate is medium-bodied with a juicy entry of blackberry, tobacco and black pepper with a structured, bay leaf-tinged finish that lingers nicely in the mouth. Drink 2013-2019." Wine Advocate 91 points
- Escudo De Plata Monestrell Jumilla Gran Reserva 2005 Product #26950 (In Stock)
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Here's an old-school Monestrell that gives you a taste of what you'd have drunk in Jumilla before it got "discovered" (and tarted up) in the 1990s. After a whopping 48 months in American oak, there's no wood taste at all. Instead, ripe, layered, notes of red licorice, plum, and blood orange zest perfume your glass and linger on your palate. Old-fashioned, mature, but still full of fresh fruit, this is the kind of wine a rich friend would pull from their cellar and serve unexpected (but welcomed) guests. Smells like money. Spend some time with it.
- Condado De Haza Ribera Del Duero 2007 Product #25419 (In Stock)
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In the 16 months since Tanzer published his review of the 2007 Condado de Haza, it’s rounded out beautifully and opened up for immediate enjoyment. It’s 100% Tempranillo given a long fermentation – 25 days – and then aged 18 months in fine-grained American oak. Easy enough to enjoy on its own on a cold winter’s night, this will sing with grilled meats, rich braises, or most any stew or dish featuring meat and black olives.
“Ruby-red. Musky aromas of berry skin and cherry, with complicating notes of dried flowers and herbs. Firm on entry, then fleshier in the middle, offering sweet red fruit flavors and a subtle peppery quality. Sweeter on the anise-tinged finish, where the cherry element lingers with good intensity. This will be drinking well soon, or could even be enjoyed now with a little aeration.”International Wine Cellar 90 points
- Celler Cecilio Negre Priorat 2009 Product #25693 (In Stock)
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Always rich and complex, Negre has just a touch more volume, intensity, and power in the warm 2009 vintage. There’s plenty of generous fruit and spice here, but it’s the stony mineral character that makes it special. Drink it now with roasted or grilled meat while a few bottles gain more complexity and definition in cellar for a decade.
“Celler Cecilio is the oldest registered winery in Priorat. The 2009 Negre is the same blend as the 2008 (50% Garnacha, 30% Carinena, and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon) and received the identical elevage (fermented with native yeasts and aged for 12 months in seasoned French oak). Reflecting the better vintage, it offers up a racy bouquet of cherry blossoms, incense, black cherry, black raspberry, and lavender. More structured and concentrated than the 2008, it will benefit from 1-2 years of additional bottle age and provide enjoyment through 2019.”Wine Advocate 91 points
- Billo Desnivell Priorat Negre 2009 Product #25821 (In Stock)
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Young Blai Ferré i Just - winemaker at Priorat’s Celler Cecillio - made just 100 cases of this first release of Billo Desnivell Priorat Negre, so we were delighted when importer Jonas Gustafsson gave us a crack at some. When he was just 22 years old and fresh out of winemaking school, Blai purchased a 2.3ha vineyard partially planted to Carinyena and what is now 80 year old Garnacha Peluda – “hairy Grenache”. The local term “Desnivell” – or big differences in height – certainly applies to this rocky site that slopes down to 350 meters elevation at a 35 degree angle!
From his purchase of the land in 1998 through 2008, Blai sold the fruit from this magnificent site to a who’s-who of Priorat, including Mas Martinet, Álvaro Palacios, and his “regular” employer, Celler Cecillio. In the very fine 2009 vintage, though, Blai was ready to make his first wine from these steep slopes under his own, Billo, label.
The result is one of the most exciting young Priorat reds I’ve ever seen. Even this young, the aromas and flavors are already generous and complex with red and black fruits – cherries, berries and plums – supported by notes of granite and slate. It’s powerful, mouthfilling and deeply flavored, but also remarkably silky and elegant. “Finesse” isn’t a word often used for Priorat, but that’s what you’ll find here, especially on the long, juicy, finish where the black fruit, granite, and hints of violets linger on and on . Hard to resist right now but with 10+ years of improvement in front of it.
