Need More Old World in My Life
I’ve had this bottle of 2004 Pago de los Capellanes Ribera del Duero hanging around for about a year, bought for a tasting group that’s no longer active. Last week we were had a dinner that was calling out for Old World. And I was embarrassed at how heavy on California my wine cellar is. The thing is, working at a winery has some benefits: wine to take home, which I try to trade as much as possible, and very good discounts when visiting other wineries. Therefore, when I go winetasting (which is fairly often) I buy or trade quite a bit. It seems the only time I go out to buy wine from stores is for my study group, for Wine Blogging Wednesday, or to stock up on bubbly. No Italian except for dessert, a handful of French, and after this bottle, only one Spanish. Oh, I can’t believe I’m admitting this here to you, readers and drinkers. But I vowed to BK to get more Old World wines. And the last time I told him I wanted to get more Oregon wine, he got me a couple!
As for this wine, it had all kinds of good info on the back label. 80% Tempranillo, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot. 5 months in French oak barrels with medium toast. Clay-calcareous soil. It was richer than expected but quite dry. There were mushrooms, blackberry, and pepper that went up to tickle the nose, then lingered long after. I meant to go back and retaste the next day but that somehow slipped my mind.
Gotta get to it with more.
i had the same realization several months ago and have been on an old world kick since… there are some great deals out there on old world wines also… you can get some great 2003 and 2005 (which are considered superb vintages) bordeaux for less than $15…. or some great wine from the rhone region… i have a few whites from austria and germany and i bought a croation white the other day for $12.. you should stock up now on your old world wines as the prices will start inching up because of the weak dollar…
Sounds like a great wine, especially with the amount of Tempranillo it has. Do you like Tempranillo in general and do you have a favorite.
On a different note, could you recommend a good Malbec, Pertite Verdot or Cab Franc?
i came to the same conclusion a few months ago and have been buying a lot of old world wines lately… you can get some really good deals on old world wine right now, too…. you can buy some great 2003 and 2005 (considered amazing vintages) bordeaux right now for under $15… there are some great rhone wines out there too for about the same price… i have also bought some austrian and german whites lately and actually bought a croatian white the other day for about $12… you should get these deals now though, since the prices of old world wines are gonna start creeping higher with the fall of the dollar against the euro…
Doug, You’re right. I need to get out there and start browsing. Just don’t know where I’ll put the bottles! Any particular Bordeaux you recommend?
Dave,
This was good. But my other study group found that one of our favorite regions for Spanish wine using Tempranillo was La Mancha. Super cheap and tasty.
For Petit Verdot, i love the Escafeld ($20) and for Malbec, I found an interesting Italian Malbech at Trader Joe’s for $5, though I’ve been happy with most of the ones from Mendoza in Argentina. Cab Franc–I like Thomas Fogarty’s (where I used to work, but it’s a small production) and one I ordered from New York from Konstantin Frank’s second label–Salmon Run.
Cheers!
2003 chateau greysac from the médoc or try the 2005 la cour d’argent from bordeaux… i find that k&l wines has a great selection of bordeaux for around $15…