Spanish Wines at JP's – 1/13/2005 Disclaimer: someone who actually knows something about Spanish wines, such as Annette Peters who joined us this evening after a long absence, would be a far better author than yours truly for these notes. And as seems to be usual at this venue, strong kitchen smells were difficult competition for the wines' aromas and flavors. But here goes. W1 – lightly corked, not tasted. Gramona, 2001 "Gessami" (appellation Penedes). W2 – lite gold, trace of spritz? Sizable fresh, attractive nose; medium body, taste full and rich, lots of ripe fruit, on the soft side but acid structure is adequate, fully dry; attractively aromatic finish, excellent length, very nice wine for current drinking. Pazo Senorans, 2003 Albarino (appellation Rias Baixas). Went well with JP's excellent calamari. W3 – clear gold; mostly pears and alcohol on nose; tastes of full soft fruit, trace of cheese, perhaps white cheddar; cheese on the finish too; reasonably good length. Martin Codax, 2003 Albarino (appellation Rias Baixas). W4 – full gold; shy floral and shellac nose; tastes of weighty, mature fruit and wood, some amylic tones, finishes with good length and power, at first as it tastes then quite floral, overall a little strange but good. Emilio Rojo, 2002 (appellation) Ribeiro. (This is made of five grapes, mostly or all traditional Spanish varieties, whose names I did not write down because the print was too small.) 1.1 – light purple; funky, forward fruit nose showing some alcohol; light body, lots of tasty red fruit, a bit of finishing tannin, nice light wine overall. Los Llanos, 1992 "Pata Negra" Gran Reserva (appellation Valdepenas). 1.2 – deep medium purple, oaky and fresh grapy nose with a touch of alcohol, medium body, attractively astringent, decent fruit level in the mouth, finishes powerfully alcoholic although again with a reasonable fruit level. Javier Asensio, 2002 (appellation) Navarro, Tinto. 1.3 – dark purple, smells of fresh dark fruit and chocolate, medium body, tastes of fresh grapes, touch of tannin, some acid to integrate; finish dominated by tannin and alcohol, decent wine though. 2002 Vina Sastre, Roble (appellation Ribeira del Duero). 2.1 – light red, lovely if oaky tempranillo nose showing a touch of age, very aromatic midpalate with a substantial funk factor (raw or maybe even decaying meat??) and plenty of fruit, smooth transition to reasonably aromatic finish, lacks finishing power but good length, overall impression very good if idiosyncratic. Rioja Alta, 1994 Gran Reserva (appellation Rioja). Controversial wine, clearly too weird for some tasters, maybe including yours truly if I'd been having more than sip or two. 2.2 – dark purple, shy nose with oak and dark fruits, midpalate BIG tannic alcoholic & acidic, decent fruit level but could certainly wish for more in a wine this size, decent finish, not special. Guelbenzu, 1995 "Evo" (appellation Navarra). 2.3 – lite/medium red, sizable sweet oaky tempranillo red fruit nose, tastes of more tempranillo fruit, mature now, delicious, aromatic finish, touch of alcohol at the end but good power and length. Marques de Arienzo, 1987 Gran Reserva (appellation) Rioja. One of my favorite wines of the evening. Much less impressive an hour or so after being opened; not sure whether it was falling apart a bit in the glass (it is 17 years old, after all) or just couldn't compete with the lovely wine # 4.1. 3.1 – dark purple, reduced alcoholic nose improved with air, clear "one note" dark fruit midpalate with substantial alcohol, aromatic dark fruit alcoholic finish. Artadi, 2001 Vinas de Gain (appellation Rioja). Disclaimer: gratuitous shot at Bob Parker coming up. This wine got a big score from Parker although for my taste, at this point in the wine's life, it is not carrying its alcohol very gracefully. And by the way, it doesn't especially taste like Rioja, or anything else in particular. 3.2 – extremely dark purple, big dark fruit international style oaky nose, distinct smell of Cognac; sweet late harvest zin midpalate, thick and soft wine, big alcoholic black fruit and oak finish. A 290-pounder trying to dance the ballet. Laderas de Pinoso, 1999 "El Seque" (appellation Alicante). 4.1 – lite/medium red, touch of maturity visible; a clear, aromatic tempranillo sweet oak nose, midweight, extremely sizable tempranillo fruit in the mouth, delicious and well structured, still more and to some extent different fruit tones on the finish, tasty and pure, extra long, very fine indeed. Rioja Alta, 1998 "Vina Ardanza" Reserva (appellation Rioja). Got my vote for wine of the night, by a considerable margin; thanks for sharing! 4.2 – inky purple, butterscotchy sweet oak nose, midpalate rich, soft, dark black fruit and lots of it, alcoholic, raisins and/or prunes; then the finish is on the subtle side for the wine's size. Cims de Porrera, 1999 "Classic" (appellation Priorat). 4.3 – medium to dark purple, legs in glass, alcoholic nose, tastes of sweet, soft and spicy Rhone red fruits, very alcoholic, some acid and tannin upon chewing; alcohol dominates the finish. Ramirez de Ganuza, 1998 Reserva (appellation Rioja). Dessert – dark cloudy brown; sharp shellacy nose, smells like those weirdly herbal liqueurs some French (and apparently Spanish?) are fond of as digestifs, not my cup of tea, not tasted. Toro Albala, 1975 Don Pedro Ximenez Gran Reserva (appellation Montilla Moriles). Despite this note, people's willingness to share such old and unusual wines is greatly appreciated. Hope to see everyone next week!