Category: Stunning

P. du Roy Grand Cru 1999 – Bordeaux, France

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Deep dark and concentrated strawberry, moss, and old leaves on the nose.  Cotton candy and bananas as it opens up.  You read that right.  Wow.  Violets, red berries, cocoa, faint vanilla on the front palate, fading to florals and cocoa bitterness.  Sleek and elegant.  Looong finish.  We decanted this and drank it over the course of an hour.  A really lovely bottle worth the wait.  I picked this one up during my first visit to Bordeaux, in Saint- Emilion after a fun tour around the very generous tasting table of the shop Bordeaux Classique.

  • Rating: Stunning
  • Name: P. du Roy Grand Cru
  • Winery: P. du Roy, Saint-Émilion
  • Region: Bordeaux
  • Country: France
  • Varietals: Guessing Merlot plus – ask Danielle & Richard Dubois
  • Price: $50 (roughly)
  • Where to Buy: Bordeaux Classique

Quinta da Vacaria 2015 Reserva – Douro, Portugal

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Notes of strawberry, cocoa, and dried leaves on the nose.  Soft acid notes blend with a bracing granite on the front palate.  Almost creamy red fruit, with vanillin and cocoa notes and more of the dank woody flavors.  Chewy leather and tobacco on the rear palate, closing with perfectly balanced tannins and an echo of those chewy leather and berry notes.  Wow.  This is fantastic!  How did I find it?  I did what you should do when you visit Lisbon:  go into Garrafeira Nacional, strike up a conversation with one of the fine women and men that work there, and ask them to help you find something fun and special.  I have never been disappointed.

  • Rating: Stunning
  • Name: Quinta da Vacaria 2015 Reserva
  • Winery: Quinta da Vacaria 1616 Vinhos S.A.
  • Region: Douro
  • Country: Portugal
  • Varietals: Who knows – Teresa Pinto & Jean Higues Cros ain’t tellin’!
  • Price: About 40 Euros?
  • Where to Buy: Garrafeira Nacional, Lisbon, Portugal

Perelada Finca Espolla 2011 – Empordá, Spain

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The moment you open this beauty, the heady balsamic notes come rolling off the glass, letting you know that you have indeed popped a bottle of Empordá wine.  Blackberries and balsamic do a dance with lower notes of vanilla and chocolate on the nose.  This one hits the front palate hard with black fruits, tarry leather, and floral-laced hit of acid.  Having first experience their wines at a wine festival on the Costa Brava (gracias, PGJ), I actually expected to be bowled over by the tannins.  Not so here.  As the dark fruits give way to cherries, vanilla, and cocoa flavors, balanced tannins come in to help the long, lightly peppery finish, hold its notes.  This one really surprised me in that I expected it to be good, but not a cherry-pepper vanilla cocoa bomb of Catalan love!  I had this with assorted fuet, aged roncal, piquillos, and cherries – and the peppery notes just kept giving.

  • Rating: Stunning
  • Name: Perelada, Finca Espolla 2011
  • Winery: Cavas de Castillo Perelada
  • Region: Empordá
  • Country: Spain
  • Varietals: Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Garnatxa
  • Price: 15 Euros
  • Where to Buy: Barcelona wine shops

Terra do Zambujeiro 2011 – Alentejo, Portugal

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Leather, dry leaves, and crushed flowers on the nose, with a faint hint of dark berries.  Red and black fruit, with vanilla on the front palate.  Dusty, chewy tannins come in on the mid-palate, with tobacco and more leather and pepper.  The rear palate is the real revelation where briny cherry flavors burst forth, complementing the dark, leathery and peppery finish.  I had this with a spicy pasta and the wine more than doubled the strength of the cayenne pepper in the pasta as it all washed down.  This gorgeous wine spent two years in French Oak and is unfiltered.  It was recommended to me by Tatyany Matos at Garrafeira Nacional in Lisbon.  Spot on recommendation (the woman’s a genius), true to the tagline on the label:  every drop, a drop of perfection.

  • Rating: Stunning
  • Name: Terra do Zambujeiro 2011
  • Winery: Quinta do Zambujeiro
  • Region: Alentejo
  • Country: Portugal
  • Varietals: Aragonez, Trincadeira, Alicante Bouschet, Cabernet Sauvignon, Touriga Nacional
  • Price: $?
  • Where to Buy: Lisbon

M2 de Matallana 2011 – Ribera del Duero, Spain

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img_3643The nose smells exactly like blackberries. Blackberries. Like blackberry pie. It evens out a bit with some slate and vanilla notes as it opens. A luscious, voluptuous and generous wine. Strong, percolating vanilla, black fruit, and salty stone notes and a great mouthfeel. The tannins pull together in just the right way, at just the right time. It is amazing with pata negra jamón and valdeon cheese. I picked this one up in San Sebastián and am so glad I did. Just a lovely wine. For around 20-25 euros – I will find this one again.

  • Rating: Stunning
  • Name: M2 de Matallana 2011
  • Winery: Vinos Telmo Robriguez
  • Region: Ribera del Duero
  • Country: Spain
  • Varietals: Tempranillo
  • Price: 20-25 EUR
  • Where to Buy: N/A

Abadal 3.9 2009 – Pla de Bages, Spain

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IMG_0012A powerful nose of baked berry pie, leather, crushed flowers with a hint of jasmine at the end. Some strawberry notes develop as it sits open in the decanter. A really amazing bouquet worth lingering on. Chewy leather, cocoa, and dark red fruit at the front end with a powerful, typically Catalan, tannic finish with stone and slate. This is a fascinating and powerful expression of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. About 30-45 minutes after decanting the nose shifted to a strong maple note – sheer stunner. Truly a roller-coaster; it opens, concentrates, opens again. A deep black garnet color. Cherry popsicle near the end. Yes, I said cherry popsicle. Melted. Cherry. Popsicle. I picked this up in Barcelona on Patricia’s recommendation. Damn glad I did. Wine Searcher can’t seem to find a bottle in the U.S.

  • Rating: Stunning
  • Name: Abadal 3.9 2009
  • Winery: Bodegas Abadal 
  • Region: Pla de Bages
  • Country: Spain
  • Varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah
  • Price: $25
  • Where to Buy: N/A