"Last night I had a couple glasses of the Marqués de Riscal Tempranillo and
really enjoyed it. Nice deep berry nose. On the palate it was fairly full bodied and smooth with good tannins. Really nice mouth feel too. I had this in a restaurant so not ideal conditions for tasting but I like it enough to buy a bottle and to try it again. Note: I had two glasses and the second one (initially) was a touch cooler and slightly more sharp on the finish. I put this down to opening of new bottle or the like.ANBL has this (2006) for $15.79. I think this could make it in the top ten under $20. If anyone else tries this let me know what you think."
Price: $15.79
Score: 86
Region: Spain
Tasted: Nov 2008
UPC: 8410866430477
Posts
I bought 3 bottles of the Riscal Tempranillo. I am not a wine guru, however I love Tempranillo. I have tasted Tempranillos ranging from $8 to 60$ and this one is very good for the price according to my taste buds. I liked it better than more expensive Temps that I have tasted. Funny, but I also tought my second glass had a sharper edge on the finish which lasted for the last two glasses. I think a score of 86 is relatively accurate.
ReplyDeletePeanutman, Welcome. FYI, most of us aren't wine gurus. Think of this more as a forum - Rotten Tomatoes for NB wine, if you will - except that Norman has taken on a sort of initiation/organizing role to get things started.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both of you about the Riscal Tempranillo. I first tasted it last Friday, and started an independent review not realizing that Vesper had already posted one. Basically I said all of the same things you both did, down to the rating: lots of fruit on the nose (raspberries and strawberries) plus juniper and roses. Clear and smooth on the palate, followed by firm tannins. Good depth and complexity. Excellent at the price.
It was good on its own, as well as with spicy lamb risotto, spicy squash risotto and salmon, and Norman's curried fish.
I didn't notice any "second glass sharpness" but can vouch that it did very well in the half-bottle. It seemed as good after a few days in the half-bottle as when we first opened it.
I am also very impressed with this wine. There is just something about Spanish wines I love. To list a few: Casa Ermita Red Oaked Crianza 2003, Campo Viejo Reserva and the Montecillo Crianza stand out in my mind. I think its the mix of Fruit-forward and old oak notes combined to bring out an austere and explosive wine- a meeting of Old and new world wine techniques and favours.
ReplyDeleteRiscal Tempranillo 2006
ReplyDeleteFinally got around to having a bottle of the new vintage after many ‘by the glass’ tasting at the Blue Door.
The early nose on this wine was dusty gravel mixed with Hot Cherry. In time the gravel dissipated revealing cloves, red fruit, some stemy-ness and graphite. Smelled of typical Spain.
The palate was better than the nose, again the cherry fruit with resiny wood. The acidity screamed for food and the tannins had a nice mouth drying effect. Solid wine, but not particularly memorable, much better by the glass.
Value 3.75/5
Score 83
UPC #8410866430477
Retail Price: $15.79
Alcool 13.5%
Region: Castilla y Leon, Spain
Grape: Tempranillo
While I've certainly learned from and enjoyed extensive and well-informed commentary, my own view remains rooted in price and the option of thoughtless enjoyment. For $15.79, I can glug this happily after an evening of not especially pleasant work, and if I spare a moment to think deeply about it there's more than nothing to think about. And if I glug more than I think, no matter, since I've only splashed out the price of a couple of movie rentals. There are wines that stand out in their demand for attention and thought, and there are unremarkable but good value wines make a small but meaningful contribution to an otherwise pretty ordinary day. This is one of them. Meaty, beaty, big and bouncy. Yum.
ReplyDeleteAnon,
ReplyDeleteThat's a perfect description of the ideal everyday wine - and I agree that wines like that are money in your pocket (literally). We'd love to review more wines in that price range, but there are a lot of bad wines at that price so buying randomly is risky. So if you have any other favourites (or duds), please let us know.