Tinto y Blanco » Penedes

Torres Artium Melot 2006

Dave Worthington — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 00:33:05 +0000

These Torres wines are difficult for me to review for a couple of reasons, but mainly due to the fact that they are quite good, enjoyable wines, but they aren’t very Spanish. It was quite trendy in the late 70s and early 80s to plant things like Cabernet and chardonnay in your vineyard to try and sell to the mass market. There are still plenty of companies that make good money doing this, and it serves a purpose (making money for the shareholders seems to be the main one, but I have nothing against that). Personally I would rather see a garnarcha blend that reeks of Spain (such as Sangre de Toro, which really is Torres’s best wine for me)…

Deep cherry red in colour, with a nose of earthy, jammy plums and spice. A little vanilla as it opens up. Very generious mouthfeel, it’s lush and rounded, very easy to drink and full of flavour. More jammy plums with some blueberry and vanilla, a touch of green herb in there too. Overall, its plesant drinking. Drink now. 86 Pts.

Source: Negociants Australia RRP: $21 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.torres.es

Torres Gran Vina Sol 2006

Dave Worthington — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 22:55:40 +0000

Its good to see some Torres gear still hitting the shelves, they seem to have been forgotten in many parts and relegated to the bargain bin. Torres tend to use a high proportion of ‘international’ varieties such as Cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay, while I am not too keen on this I do think that many of their wines are good drinking and good value. I have a couple of their wines in at the moment, including their new Priorat venture.

This wine is based on chardonnay with 15% of the native parellada, then a portion goes into Limousin oak for fermentation, then rest into stainless steel. The resulting wine is fresh with a nose of melons, lemons and cashews. Quite toasty, yet fresh with plenty of sunny fruit. This isn’t your full on style of chardonnay, it’s more fun and seafood focused. The palate mirrors the nose for the most part, but adds a little butter and creaminess. My only gripe is that it isn’t all that Spanish tasting, but a good drink for the price. 87 Pts.

Source: Negociants Australia RRP: $21 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.torres.es

Torres Gran Coronas Reserva 2001

Dave Worthington — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 00:20:53 +0000

Torres make a number wines under their 'Gran' label, basically these are Reserva versions of their younger brothers. So, here we have Gran Coronas (I had a look at the 03 Coronas here), a blend of 85% Canbernet and 15% Tempranillo that sees 12 months in french an eastern European oak, 30% of which is new.

I also notice that the Gran Coronas is labeled as D.O. Penedes, while the Coronas is labeled as the broad D.O. Catalunya.

A deep red core with purple at the edges and some great aromas of concentrated dark fruit with vanilla, oak and spice. Full flavoured in the mouth with more concentrated dark cherry and plum with a bit of complexity. There is a fair bit of tannin here as well, but it is are smooth and round. A medium length, jammy fruit finish. I liked it, well fruited and in balance. 87 Pts.

Source: Boccaccio Cellars RRP: $23 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.torres.es