A beautiful nose of currants, blueberries and blackberry with  woodsmoke and gamey, herby undergrowth notes. Very smooth and supple in the mouth, plenty of fleshy tannins that lend texture and body. Its a touch flabby in the middle, but the acid cleans that up on the finish. Fresh juicy, fruit: blackcurrant and blackberry with a twist of vanilla and a lick of sarsaparilla. Blackberry and minerals on the long finish. 91 Pts.

Source: The Spanish Acquisition Cost: $55 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.cillardesilos.es

Other vintages: 2004, 2005

A really enticing nose of wood and nuts, with a touch of raisin, coco powder and nutmeg. Creamy and intense in the mouth with notes of hot chocolate, dried fruit, hot cinnamon, orange peel and nice wood. Plenty of length here, with a warm, nutty finish. A real winner with a hunk of Queso Mahon on a cold night. 90 Pts.

The ATM Rosado Cava has been around for a while, but the rest of the range has just arrived and I am very impressed with this reserva. It’s from 30+ year old vines and spends 24 months on lees.

A nose of yeasty bread, green apples with a flinty, sea spray note. A vigourious bead in the glass, it’s tight and focused but still gives enough fruit and lees character to be a crowd pleaser. Tangy apples wizzed up with a bit of lemon, followed by a long finish of lemon sherbet and sea mineral tang. A classy bottle the could show a number of NV champagnes (at a higher price) a thing or two. 91 pts.

Source: The Spanish Acquisition Price: $40 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.agustitorellomata.com

Notes of dried fruit, mostly raisins, and wood with an almost malty, floral note. Quite nice really. But in the mouth it doesn’t follow through to the same extent. A burst of raisins and nuts on entry but it’s all too short. Viscus and kind of creamy in the mouth with some warmth on the finish. At this price you can’t really complain and Nana would love a sneaky bottle behind the cooking oil. 85 Pts.

Very similar in profile to the AN, but the intensity and complexity knobs have been turned up a notch. Smokey, earthy nose of dark cherry, blackberry, and currants with a sprinkle of spice and a shake of herbs. A bit of a gamey note too. Plenty to like on the palate, a smooth entry followed by soft fruit tannins and a uber long finish. More of the same on the palate, but with some added spice and a step up in concentration from the AN. Excellent stuff, but I’d probably buy two bottles of the AN for the price of this. 94 Pts.

Source: The Spanish Acquisition Price: $230  Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.annegra.com

A nose of sweet, robust wood and walnuts with a hint of raisins. The palate is a odd, a mild level of sweet raisins, but then a hit of savoury nuts and old oak, a bit of coco too. A short finish showing a bit of alcohol heat, but its smooth from start to finish. It’s well made, and the nose is OK, but it just doesn’t come together as a drink. 80 Pts.

I haven’t got a lot of information on these guys, but from the look of it 3 guys set out to turn a dairy farm into a winery by sourcing indigenous Callet and Montenegro grapes from old sites around the island (over 100 of them!). They spent a couple of years working out how to make the wine and now seem to be on song.  AN is a blend of mostly Callet with a dollop (5%) of Montenegro from 50 year old vines. Fermentation is mostly in concrete tanks, with a few oak vats used as well. Then into new french oak for 17 months.

The colour is deep and dark with violet on the rim. An intense, smokey nose of plums and mulberry with a bit of earthy dark cherry and wild herbs. Very clean and focused in the mouth, smooth with velvety tannins and plenty of acid for a clean, long finish. Scorched earth, cinnamon and nutmeg over the top of some juicy, meaty fruit: blackberry and mulberry with a core of ripe cherry. It drinks almost like an Italian wine, it has overwhelming smoothness and structure but there is something wild about it too. 93 Pts.

Source: The Spanish Acquisition Price: $115  Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.annegra.com

Oloroso Dulce is a blend of Oloroso and PX (ala cream sherry), it’s not one of my favourite styles but this does a convincing job.

Notes of dried dates, currants and raisins with some walnut and old oak character. It’s off dry in the mouth, not a sweet monster, with plenty of walnut oak, raisin, and toasty character in the mouth. Very smooth with extreme length and a welcome touch of warmth. There is a sweet/savoury thing going on that I like. Perfect for the cheese course. 91 Pts.

I got home last night and decided that a bit of cooked up chorizo and some mushrooms in cream and garlic was the menu for dinner. The mushrooms need a splash of sherry or wine, so what better excuse to open a bottle. Plus I have some Tio Pepe copitas I bought back from Spain years ago, so Tio Pepe was the drink of choice…

Very pale in colour (don’t believe the picture, photoshop has tinted the colour a bit darker when I converted from RAW to JPEG) with a fine nose of apples, a touch of lemon and orange peel,  almonds and light flor character. Long and lively in the mouth with plenty of nuts, a shake of salt and orange peel. Balanced with crisp acidity. Not as precise and harmonious as my last bottle, but still a great fino. 90 Pts

The focus is on quality wines at affordable prices, I found plenty to like here and there some real stand out wines from Ribera del Douro in the range. Here’s what I thought on the night:

DO Cava

Segura Viudas Brut Reserva NV ($13.99) - Bready and apply, quite fresh and refreshing. Looking quite good at the moment 86 Pts.

Segura Viudas Brut Rosado NV ($13.99) - Not sweet at all, dusty strawberry, quite pretty and light with something a bit herbal on the mid palate. 86 Pts

Segura Viudas Brut 2002 ($19.99) - The standout in this bracket, yeasty and nutty on the nose, cider apples and less character. Blanced fizz and acidity with plenty of length. 88 Pts.

Segura Viudas Semi-Seco NV ($13.99) - An off-dry style, sugared backed apples, a bit dusty but quite fresh. Mildly sweet. A bit simple and fruity with a clean finish. 85 Pts.

DO Rueda

Con Class Vendemia Excepcional 2007 ($17.99) - Grassy with passionfruit and a sweaty note (in a good way) on the nose. Nice and fleshy in the mouth, pear and apple. Plenty to like here. 87 Pts.

Con Class Verdejo 2007 ($11.99)- Fresh with plenty of fennel and pear on the nose, dusty and tangy. As I’ve said before, great for the cash. 88 Pts.

DO Rias Baixas 2006 ($16.99) - I didn’t take a note on this one, but still looking very good as per my note here.

DO Jerez-Sherry

Osborne Manzailla NV ($19.99) - Fairly classic manzilla notes of apples, sea spray, almonds and flor. There is something herbal on the mid palate that’s a bit odd at first but very enjoyable after that. 88 Pts.

DOCa Rioja

Aradon Joven 2006 ($9.99) - Juicy and fresh with bright cherry and blueberry. Earthy cherry and plum on palate with a clean long finish. A bargain at this price. 87 Pts.

Cosme Palacio Cosecha 2005 ($20.99) - Modern with lush fruit, plenty of cherry and plum with firm tannins and a touch of oak influcence. Solid wine. 88 Pts.

Glorioso Crianza 2004 ($17.99) - Here is a classic Crianza at a great price. A lovely nose of violets, plum and cherry on the nose with a bit of pencil shavings and earth. Traditional character with plenty of fruit. 89-90 Pts.

Glorioso Reserva 2003 ($27.99) - Subtle on the nose with some earthy cherry, plum and spice. The palate shows good fruit with some spice and slight coco. 88+ Pts.

Glorioso Gran Reserva 1999 ($45.99) - Surprisingly to me this was a crowd pleaser, normally people go striaght to the crianza or modern wines. Classic oak aged nosed of pencil shavings, mint/pine resin, strawberry and cherry with clove, nutmeg and cinnamon. A bit flabby in the middle, but some fine grained tannins and a very long finish. 90 Pts.

Bodegas Palacio Reserva Especial 2001($49.99) - A modern styled Super Reserva. Dark chocolate, espresso and ceadery oak over some dark cherry and plum fruit. The oak treatment is a little hamfisted, but there is some great fruit under there. I’m not sure if it’s in an odd place or just over oaked. 87 Pts.

DO Navara

Tandem Ars ‘In Virto’ Merlot Tempranillo 2005 ($14.99) - This opened up a bit reductive, but this blew off to show some chewy plums and cherry, nice chunky tannins and a generally soft friendly wine. A bit of sweetness in the mid palate, but it pulls it off. 87 Pts.

Tandem Ars ‘Nova’ Tempranillo Cabernet 2004 ($22.99) - Plenty of fruit here, but it’s earthy and savoury blue and red fruits. A bit juicy with nice fine tannins. 89 Pts.

Tandem Ars ‘Macula’ Cabernet Merlot 2004 ($32.99) - Soft, dry and plenty of flesh fruit tannin here. Nice plum and blackcurrant with some earthy herbs, but it doesn’t really grab me. 87 Pts.

DO Ribero del Duero

Vina Mayor Tinto Roble 2005 ($17.99) - A very well done roble with classic animale, cherry and blackberry with some herby bramble. Plenty of flesh tannins and well balanced acidity. 88+ Pts

Tabula Damana 2004 ($34.99) - These two next wines were the stand out of the tasting. This is all red cherry and mocha with some lavender and sage. Excellent mouth feel thanks to some refined tannins. Great length and character. Lots to like here and will cellar very well. 91+ Pts.

Tabula 2004 ($66.99) - Toasty oak over the top of blackberry and black currant with some violets. Juicy, meaty fruit with a shovel load of soft fruit tannins. Earthy and savoury with a core of perfectly ripe blue and black fruits. 93 Pts.

DO Priorat

Cims de Porrera ‘Solanes’ 2003 ($32.99) - An old standard that is back in Australia. pepper and spice, a little funky but very appealing. Nice plumy fruit with some pepper earth and herby bramble.

Portugal

Vinho de Mesa Rose NV ($8.49) - A little cheesy, but there are some fresh strawberry and raspberry notes. A bit too sweet for my tastes, but finishes nicely with some strawberry candy. 81 Pts.

DO Estremadura

Pink Elephant Rose ($11.99) - Musky, sweet strawberry with a good acid back bone, more in the winey style of rose. Designed for food and would be great with something spicy. 85 Pts.

DO Alenquer

Quinta das Setencostas 2005 ($14.99) - Fresh and spicy, savoury plums and blueberry. Plenty of texture and a lick of acid to keep things moving, a bit of mid palate sweetness that I’m not that keen on. 86 Pts.

DOC Porto

Taylors 10 Year Old Tawny Port ($49.99) - Nice aged characters on the nose, raisins and clove with a light sprinkle of mixed nuts. Very long finish with good integration of spirit. 90 Pts.

Taylors LBV Port ($39.99) - I didn’t catch the vintage on this, but will chase it up. Plum and cherry fruit with clove and nutmeg, a bit of hot cinnamon. Fleshy and well structured with plenty of vintage character. 88 Pts.

These mid-priced Douro seem to be were it’s at, I think you get the best expression for the price at around $40-60, with good value at the low end. The top end wines, while outstanding, are starting to get up there in price ($170 for the Meao top bottling, the new Vallado super deluxe job will come in over $300 here if it’s imported). It’s not that they aren’t great wines…

That classic sooty, rocky shist note kicks things off on the  nose followed by some juicy plum, blueberry and cherry with a bit a clove pepper. The acid level is quite high for a Douro red and gives a good balance to the meaty, flesh tannins. Savoury and flavour packed on the palate: plums and cherry, with a touch of rosella with subtle christmas cake spices and a mineral crunch. A generous long finish. Very moreish in this cold weather. 91 Pts.

Source: The Spanish Acquisition Price: $55  Closure: Conventional Cork

Fairly much text book albariño on the nose: freshly sliced lemons, a shake of white peaches, a bit of jasmine and lime blossom. A convincing mix of texture with a tight acid backbone, gives good mouthfeel. It’s very long on the finish with some rocky minerals and a lemon tang.   Clean, fresh, and direct, the palate mirrors the nose for the most part. A classy act. 90 Pts.

Source: The Spanish Acquisition Price: $35 Closure: Conventional Cork

The nose is quality monastrell: juicy plum, blue berry and honey with the trademark animal notes, a little dark cherry and nutmeg. Soft and rounded, but a few firm edges give interest as do the dusty tannins that are light and fluffy. It starts off all blueberry and violets on the palate, with some blackberry and plum with a touch of raisin. A bit of chewing tobacco too. Highly enjoyable, this one classy monastrell. Good value too. 91 Pts.

Source: Ce Soir Imports Price: $35 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.salvadorpoveda.com

Deep and intense on the nose, plenty of mocha, toasted bread and vanilla with earthy cherry and mulberry. Supple and rich in the mouth, textured by plenty of soft tannins and a cheeky bit of acid on the finish. Plenty of get up and go on the palate, fresh plum and cherry with some mocha and sage. The fruit stands up to the wood well. A highly likable wine that shows a different approach to modern Rioja. 90 Pts.

Anyway, here’s a tidy crianza from the 2005 vintage in Rioja. It leans towards the traditional in style and shows plenty of refinement at 13% alcohol. Its a blend of 82% Tempranillo, 14% Garnarcha and 4% Mazuelo that lives in oak for 12 months.

Mocha anise and cookie dough with some black berry and cherry fruit. Its friendly and well rounded, with some plush, juicy fruit. Plenty of savoury cherry and mulberry with bushy undergrowth. Some earth and anise thrown in for good measure. Solid winter drinking. 89 Pts