Post a Comment On: Viti-Culture

This is an unusual and modern crianza, because it is 50 percent temperanillo and 50 percent syrah (instead of a more traditional grape like grenache). It was an intriguing concept, and I know syrah is a grape that can age. I tried a more conventional crianza, Condesa de Leganza the other day and liked it very much, so I figured a little experiment might be fun. This one is from the DOC of Utiel Requena, a more obscure DOC than La Mancha, which was where the more traditional crianza came from.

So, to the tasting: Gorgeous deep deep ruby color. Nose of oak, vanilla, cherries, a touch of blackberries, and cola. (I knew the cola thing was possible from having read reviews, but this is the first time I've encountered it myself. And wow, who knew? It really does smell like cola. In a good way. Weird.) Light bodied for a red in the mouth. Dry. The finish has a touch of cola, the cherries, and a hint of spice from the syrah. The finish also has an unfortunate cotton-mouth effect from all the tannins. I've enjoyed plenty of 'chewy' wines: and it's not that this wine's tannins really come off overly strong in the flavor, they are definitely not 'chewy'. They're very mellow tannins right up until you swallow, and then you are hit with major cottonmouth. The effect is sort of like raw potato in the mouth, or the cottonmouth you get after swallowing over-brewed cold black tea. As nice as the wine was otherwise, this one factor got on my nerves. It might help to pair it with some kind of fatty/oily food.

Oh, and I found an article about Spanish wines that reviews both this wine and also the Condesa de Leganza, the traditional crianza mentioned above. Incidentally the article also mentions fellow wine-blogger Hugh Johnson of Huge Johnson's World of Wine. So, if you want to read a second opinion on the wines, check it out.

(Editor's note: A mistake was made in this entry. An incorrect abbreviation was used to describe the origin of Spanish wines. Please go here for a full explanation.)