More Excellent Ribera’99

Yesterday I dropped by my retailer—Bodega San Sebastián—as part of the weekly ritual. Though they are extremely busy furnishing the future Tasca (mostly tapas, & everything vinous BTG!!), they always have time and humor for the Friday tastings. This time it was again CBC (Comercial Brero Canarias), whose David congregated us around the newest Ribera beauties that they distribute.
Hacienda Monasterio Crianza’99 (G93) was there, establishing a difficult benchmark for the newies. This was the order, drunk in the course of three hours:

Hermanos Pérez Pascuas VIÑA PEDROSA Cr’99 13% Alc. 18m French & American
PAGO DE CARRAOVEJAS Cr’99 (25% C-S) 13,5% Alc. 12m French & American
HACIENDA MONASTERIO Cr’99 (15% C-S+5% Merlot) 14% Alc. 16m Allier

The bunch is intensely hedonistic, immediately approachable, lush, balanced, food-friendly, and well-structured.
As usual (how easy it is to get used to these little luxuries ) glasses were Riedel 448/30, and Nikola kindly served some excellent local goats milk cheese and Italian dehydrated tomatoes, tapas-style. New A/C system has worked a little miracle while the cellar insulation gets finished.

Hermanos Pérez Pascuas VIÑA PEDROSA Cr’99 13% Alc. 18m French & American

Initially restrained nose but with telltale Ribera aromatics. The mouth at this stage suggested that some bottle age was needed. After about 1h. the nose had opened beautifully, and the palate mellowed, but it certainly has some future ahead. Gorgeous balance. Ripe but not overtly jammy nose of blackberry, plum, and cherry fruit, with exquisitely elegant, cedary smoky oak notes, tobacco, and ink. Great depth and complexity (minerals) for a wine this young (just arrived here; David was trying it for his first time too). The finish is long and full of character, though for a moment I felt a slight hollowness in the midpalate.
Regarding typicity, this was perhaps the most Riberesque of the session, conjugating excellent ripeness with textbook Ribera spiciness and elegant austerity (well, a touch of oldwordlishness… ).
90-91+

PAGO DE CARRAOVEJAS Cr’99 (25% C-S) 13,5% Alc. 12m French & American

I was sort of frightened by the claim of overripeness in the back label. I believe it refers only to the 25% C-S in the blend. After a little aeration the nose indeed shouts “overripeness” (well, surmaturité in Europe): sweetish nose, fruit-driven, it has soaked-up the 12m in oak and now it’s giving away a jammy/tarry (but perhaps not too intense) nose of black berries and prunes with some foreign evidence in the blend (but I would not spot it as CS particularly). Chocolate, spices, turf, ink… all the aromatics are there, including a beautiful faint spirity perfume in the background. Perhaps it will develop further with bottle age. The mouth (-ful) is all lush velvetiness.
This was by far the less typical of the trio, more dramatic than my usual glass of Ribera. On is own it would be very welcome, but in the context of the outworldlish 1999 vintage it appears a touch clumsy, perhaps even more between the Pedrosa and the HMonasterio. 90.

HACIENDA MONASTERIO Cr’99 (15% C-S+5% Merlot) 14% Alc. 16m Allier

This bottle needed a little air, unlike the one we tried 4 weeks before, but was just as good, so much so that virtually the entire TN has been pasted from that thread. One of the shop owners, Tino, joined us and waxed really enthusiastic about this wine; another attendant, Pío, sommelier at one of the best Restaurants over here, advanced us the impressive quality of the HM Reserva 1998.

This wine was just released last May, with considerable delay (up to 6m) for a 1999 with respect to other wineries. Well, you bet it is ready now: Two bottles of this wine were opened. Amazing ripeness and concentration in the nose, with intense jammy sweetness AND a fairly dry mouth (just what I like). That jammy black fruit is filtered through an exquisite and subtle net of spicy Crianza character: smoky oak, vanilla, and engaging complexity already, with mocha, tar, chocolate, and lead pencil. It is distinctive in the Ribera context, but without renouncing local character: full-bodied but well-focused, with perfect balance, fine tannins and a palate-friendly approachability. The finish is endless. 93