A small but dedicated bunch turned out for the March installment of our monthly BAWE tasting Yesterday. Our theme was Tempranillo, and compared to our last monster tasting of Viognier and Zinfandel, this was a nice change of pace with 7 reds being poured. All wines were tasted double blind (except for the Chard). The top three wines were all excellent, and it was a close call for me to pick between them. Here are my notes.

1989 Stony Hill Chardonnay
I had picked this up on Winebid for $15 on a whim, thought it would be fun to kick things off – see if there was any life left at all. While this wine certainly won’t blow anyone away, it actually showed reasonably well, it was by no means completely dead – but certainly dying. Quite dark golden color, some fruit that was generally muted by more nutty, caramel notes. Short finish.

1996 Torre Muga Rioja
Bright dense red color, juicy, meaty nose showing some tart cherry notes, pepper, and game. Rich and full, good structure and balance, lovely wine. My #3 of the linup.
Votes:
#1: 1
#2: 0
#3: 3

1998 Baywood Vineyard Select Tempranillo
Young red appearance with purplish edges, this wine is soft, fruity, and friendly. Pleasant, not terribly complex, just a nice fun wine. I thought I sensed some residual sugar, but it may have been just the ripe fruit.
Votes:
#1: 0
#2: 1
#3: 0

1996 Marquis de Caceres Rioja
Ouch, heavily oxidized, we figured this to be the oldest wine in the lineup, what a shocker. Must have been badly cooked.
Votes: Yea, right!

1999 Turnbull Tempranillo
A dark bright red color with almost bluish edges. Great nose, showing spice, vanilla, and cherries. Velvety smooth on the palate with a good medium finish, shows American Oak, and really stood out from the Spanish wines. Terrific. My #2 of the linup.
Votes:
#1: 3
#2: 2
#3: 1

1991 Torre Oria Grand Reserva
Some age on this with light browning at the edges. Pepper, game, and jammy fruit carried and superb structure. Still tannic, this could use a little more time in the cellar, my #1 wine of the flight!
Votes:
#1: 2
#2: 2
#3: 1

2000 Vega Sindoa Navarra
Young dark red/purple color, Pyang immediately identified Lychees of all things (I have never experienced Lychees in a red wine before!), and he nailed it. This was a very odd wine, smooth tannins, jammy, but sweetish. Not bad, but different.
Votes:
#1: 0
#2: 1
#3: 1

1996 Marques de Riscal Rioja Reserva
Some age with light bricking, the nose is somewhat muted, but elegant. Soft fruit and a somewhat meaty edge, pepper, and dusty tannins. Nice wine, my #4 of the linup.
Votes: none

I just love a good Temparanillo. I took a bottle of '96 Alion and a '96 Abadia Retuerta Cuvee El Campanario to dinner this past Saturday, thinking they'd be excellent quaffage to the roast leg of lamb.

Little did I know our host was clearing some of his 'last of's' aged Burgundy from the cellar, so now the Spaniards are resting quietly in Chris' cellar. Good thing our club's tasting is in two weeks at their place...I might just have to revisit these two when I get there!

...hey, chief - you gonna finish that bottle?

Eric,

Thank you for hosting. This tasting definitely made the drive home easier...

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How 'bout a game of 8-ball for a nice bottle of Cab...

Pyang, it was my pleasure - easy with such as small group.

BTW, the real suprise of the tasting was the 1991 Torre Oria Grand Reserva - huge thumbs up to this wine, and it was apparently $13.99 at Beverages & More!!