MONTE TORO 2000 13% Alc.
PRIVAT SYRAH 2000 13,5 % Alc.
GRAN CALZADILLA TINTO 1998 13,5% Alc.
PRIVAT BRUT NATURE NV

Friday at the Bodega San Sebastián, as usual, volcanic eruptions permitting. The lineup this Friday was pretty curious. Usual conditions & cooler temp (448/30 glasses, cheese), though this time—for a change—the Gran Calzadilla was double-decanted at home and slightly cooled. It showed.
MONTE TORO I have previously reviewed here, though at that time it was one of my bottles; this one came from David’s cellar (CBC runs Monte Toro here). Confirming my impression, this is the ultimate value in unoaked reds from the region: nothing ambitious or extravagant, just the fruit and good backbone for hearty meals. The wine has grown after a year in bottle, and holds its own beautifully. Rustic it must be, but also appropriately honest, to its origin, its pretensions, and to the consumer’s pocket (4-6€). Surprisingly, no one seems to have noticed it, so it’s being sold mostly in restaurants… 85-86

PRIVAT SYRAH 2000 is again another CBC product, and like the C-S that I posted on about a month ago it is an interesting project running in the Spanish region of Penedés. Vineyards are probably still young but the stuffing is there. Upon pouring the impression was “pleasant red, did you say Syrah?” At the time it had none of the expected characteristics, but was developing well with air. It took a long deal to open up and begin to express a telltale syrah nose of pepper and (faint) bacon fat, noticeably elegant as corresponding to—I assume—its origin in a cooler district of Penedés.
Good acidity and firm backbone, but overall just a pleasant promising effort. I expect more from future releases. 86+

GRAN CALZADILLA TINTO 1998
VERY curious red indeed. From the (beautiful) non-D.O. area of Cuenca in La Mancha comes this Tempranillo+CS blend with about a year in oak. Very developed earthy nose of minerals and hot stones, fruit in the background. Really curious expression of a very popular blend. Terroir-driven. The palate is all warm sweetness and polished tannins. Wanted better focus, though, and crisper acidity. Overall a very interesting (did I say that already?) experience. No idea of what to compare this to. Bodegas Fontana has a high-end Tempranillo (QUERCUS) also from Cuenca, but it’s very different because the current release is a 2000. Hard to rate, but I wouldn’t go above 87.

PRIVAT BRUT NATURE NV
Not that I do bubbly after the sessions, rather before, but this was very welcome. Nice mousse and bubble, very refreshing acidity, aromas of dried flower petals, citrus, and white fruit. Does not aim at complexity, but superbly made. 87

Everything suggests this week will be pretty intense…

Gastronauta, nice to see some of your TN's again. Where have you been?
Next friday I'll attend a tasting in Zürich with a small but quite good spanish line up (Palacios Bierzo '00, San Roman '99, Pago de St. Cruz,...). I'll post TN's afterwards.

Well, been trying to secure that meager position at the university: apparently you must be WORKING somewhere else to get it! Would you believe that?

This weekend I had
Albariño Granbazán Verde'01 (86-87) & the wonderfully complex
Sobreño Selección Especial'99 (91+).

Wednesday or Thursday I'll waste a whole afternoon at the ...Gourmetsalon!

Gourmetsalon? That sounds like a good invention! BTW: I recently got a bit sick of the silly, childish and aparently non wine-related postings here and so I began to lurk on the Squires bord. Do you know that there's a guy over there who has stolen your moniker? He calls himself "Gastronaut"

[ 11-05-2002, 10:25 AM: Message edited by: Marc ]

Yes, I've just seen him/her over there. This is bound to be controversial in Tenerife, where most people can't tell RP from WS...So far posts are limited to TN requests on Alsace & Rhone (might be my sleepwalking self as far as I know...?). No, of course it's not me ("they" must sign, I overlooked that).
I don't even know what all the fuss is about here: I just "DO" TNs and WConversations; couldn't care less for the name-naming and school-playground tactics.
"Gourmetsalon" turned out to be my own invention: it's actually Gourmetland 2002 (hopefully no difference to the palate...)

Well, Gourmetland proved so very good I'm returning today...Highlights forthcoming...