Smokey thistle and fresh green leaves, apricot and peach with just a touch of lemon peel.More smoke, a bit of caramel, peach and apricot. Slight oily texture and very smooth. Minerally acid with plenty of length. A good bar wine with a few snacks. 88 Pts.

Source: The Spanish Acquisition Price: $25 Closure: DIAM Cork (?)

Other Vintages: 2005

The nose sparks a fair bit of interest: loads of tree fruits such as quince, pear, a touch of apple and apricot. As far as I know there is no botrytis used in making this wine, I think the fruit is dried for a little bit on straw mats before pressing though. Very well balanced in the mouth, plenty of sugar and flavour that’s balanced out by the acid. Not sticky cloying at all, it’s super fresh, zippy and zingy. More of the same flavours on the palate, with a bit of honey. A long finish that shows up some rocky minerals. I could see a bottle of this becoming something of a tradition on Christmas day …90 Pts.

Source: The Spanish Acquisition Price: $45 (500ml) Closure: Conventional Cork

So, a new year and a bunch of new wines.  I’ve got a stack of notes to get through over the next couple of weeks, then I’m off to Spain (with a quick trip to Poland on the way). Anyway on to the wine. I had a chance to catch up with Manuel Arias-Paz from Marques de Velilla late last year, a great guy, very passionate about Ribera del Duero and a real character (which you can see in this photo). They have embarked on a refresh of the vineyards and winemaking here, mostly along biodynamic lines but without the cow horn rubbish. Interestingly, the wine maker was in the Spanish rugby team and came out here. Who knew there was a Spanish rugby team?

The nose opens up with notes of vanilla coke, earthy red cherry and red currant, a bit of coffee grounds with some wild geranium and lavender. Tight and focused on the palate with juicy, juby fruit: blueberry and cherry, pen ink and sage. Lovely rustic, but fluffy tannins and a fine backbone of acid reinforcing the whole thing. This is right on the money. 90 Pts.

Source: Toro Wines Price: $40 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.marquesdevelilla.com

My note from the 2005 is fairly well spot on for the 2006 as well: Very pale in colour with plenty of bubbles, aromas of apples and pears, toasty bread and white flowers.  Good presence in the mouth, just the right amount of bubble and acid.  Pure apple on the palate with minerals and lemon sherbet on the finish.  Very cooling. This 06 seems to have a bit of mid palate sweetness, and a little more apple and less pear on the nose. Crunchy chalk and, as always, nice bubbles. 91 Pts.

Source: The Spanish Acquisition Price: $30 Closure: Conventional Cork

Other Vintages: 2004, 2005

The nose comes on strong from the start: cherry and cranberry with some hot cinnamon and smokey, earthy rocks. Structured and textured in the mouth, velvety smooth with good length and acid. It’s quite a full on wine, full bodied but with the structure and restraint to gain and hold your interest. This wine swamps your palate with more red fruits, a bit of beef stock and plenty of minerals. Very enjoyable and an ideal intro to what the Douro can do. These guys make a stunning Vintage Port too. 91+ Pts.

Source: The Spanish Acquisition Price: $50 Closure: Conventional Cork

This wine is more aimed at the and at the bar/bistro set, it’s fun wine to enjoy with your mates and a bit of food. The fruit is sourced from growers in Valle del Salnés (opposed to Castro Martin which is from estate owned vineyards).

Fresh melon and white peach on the nose, with a touch of honeysuckle and lemon. I get the impression of richness from the texture, but there is also a fair bit of rich melon and white peach in here as well. Being an 06 there is a not of minerals about, but enough acid to cut through some oily prawns and shellfish. Good length with a bit of white peach on the finish. This would be great by the glass with some clams. 88 Pts.

Source: The Spanish Acquisition Cost: $27 Closure: Synthetic Cork

Web: www.bodegascastromartin.com

I’m a bit over Priorat/Monsant garnacha at the moment (although I do have a bottle in the tasting pile): too expensive, too extracted, too hyped. I’m sure I’ll get over it soon, but it seems that the every time I buy or drink a wine from Prioratlately, I’m just a little underwhelmed. I find that I get much better bang for my buck in the Douro if I’m looking for something shisty. Anyway, this is a ripping wine that has filled the vacuum perfectly.

The nose starts off with some medicinal herbs, crush rock, raspberry and bright cherry and some pink musk stick. A bit of raspberry leaf and a touch of chocolate creeps in with more air. Medium bodied with light tannins, minerally acid and a touch of richness on the palate. The fruit is concentrated but well balanced. Meaty notes with more of that bright cherry and raspberry, with some spice and gentle wood notes. Some darck chocolate notes apear after a while, as does some sage. While it’s not cheap, it’s fine drinking for this time of year. Plus it’ll do a couple of years in the cellar. Easy. 92 Pts.

Source: The Spanish Acquisition Price: $65 Closure: Conventional Cork

Other Vintages: 2003, 2004

I’ve been waiting for a nice lamb dinner to drink this, it works so well with slow cooked lamb. This thing has just about every marketing/packaging trick known to man (or Riojan man anyway); a marble tinted bottle, gold wire, an iconic label with a huge painting of some dude with a hat. The wine is very good, traditional gran reserva with some very good fruit. Make sure you decant this puppy, Gran Reservas need at least 30 minutes of air time to really show their stuff.

The nose is smoky with a bit of nail polish, stewed cherry, winter green chewing tobacco and a bit of barnyard and cedary oak notes. Super smooth, plenty of stewed red fruits, black currant and blackberry, nutty and woody notes with an excellent backbone of acid, drying finish. Tannin Deluxe. 92 for the traditionalist, don’t bother if old rioja isn’t your thing. A touch of brett might put your nose out of joint…91+ Pts.

Source: Broadway Liquor Distributors Price: $60 Closure: Cork

Web: www.bodegasfaustino.es

A fresh and salty nose of orange peel, yeasty flor, dry chamomile tea and almonds. Very clean and fresh in the mouth, well balanced but bold. There is a bit of a mealy texture to it as well. Super savoury and dry, there is a sensation of sweetness on the mid palate that’s nice too. Long, long finish. A very tidy Manzanilla, well worth seeking out. Insane value 88 Pts.

Source: Outlandish Imports Price: $12 Closure: Cork Stopper

Web: www.grupoestevez.es

The nose opens up with plenty of lemon and bay leaf, just a touch of white flowers followed by some melon. Very tight and focused in the mouth, plenty of chalky acid and good length. Lean and fresh. On the palate things are more in the lemon, melon and underripe peach (in a good way) spectrum. I’d like a bit more ripe fruit here, some white peach etc, however it is difficult to get the fruit ripe enough yet keep the acid up in many areas of Australia. None the less, very enjoyable. 87 Pts.

Source: Rusty Fig Wines Price: $25 Closure:Screwcap

Web: www.rustyfigwines.com.au

Quinta do Vale Meao is the top table wine here, with Meandro de Vale Meao being the ‘entry level’ wine. What really enhances the complexity here is the different soil types on the Quinta, while it is all what would generally called schist, areas of slate, granite and alluvial gravel show very different characters in the resulting fruit. The high percentage of Touriga National (60%) also helps a lot. The remaining 40% is 20% Touriga Franca, 15% Tinta Roriz, 5% Tinta Barroca.

A really engaging nose of gun smoke, violets and wild flowers, blackberry, dark cherry and mulberry, wild herbs and hot tarmac. In the mouth it feels quite rounded at the start, gaining more more focus as it gets more air. Well textured with supple tannins, plenty of them too. Juicy and meaty, but smooth and very complex. Rocky/stoney minerals, cherry, blueberry and plum on the palate with plenty of complexity thanks to some spices, wild herbs and liquorice. An excellent wine, decant it for a bit to sharpen things up. The ageing is a question that is difficult to answer for these douro reds, they have only been around for 10 years or so, but this looks like it will improve over the short term, then go 15 years standing on it’s head. 96+ Pts.

 Source: The Spanish Acquisition Price: $140 Closure: Conventional Cork

I’ve put the note for the 2001 in the ‘From the cellar’ section, but it’s drinking very well at the moment. A few more years in the cellar and it will be a mighty drink. Comparing this wine and Roda Reserva is a bit like comparing a 2005 Burgundy (Roda) to a 2004 Chianti (Marques de Riscal), they are both excellent but different. I favoured the Roda slightly, it is giving a lot more enjoyment at this stage, but I would be very happy to drink either and will put some of both in the cellar. The 04 is the same price as the 01, that’s amazing given what has happened to wine prices in the past 2-3 years.

An almost identical nose to the 2001; cherry and blackberry with brambly herbs, some cigar box and pencil shavings, a touch of mocha. Inviting with rustic charm and complexity. The palate shows plenty of firm tannins and a fine balance between tannin and acid.  Savoury cherry and blackberry fruit on the palate with earthy spices: ground liquorice root, cinnamon and nutmeg. Some chocolate and sage shows up on night 2. Gutsy and robust, but also very enjoyable. Very interesting drinking this beside the 2001, they are very similar. Hold for 5 years, then drink over the following 10. 93+ Pts.

Source: Boccaccio Cellars Price: $44 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.marquesderiscal.com

Other Vintages: 2001, 2003

On the nose things haven’t changed too much. It was actually fairly difficult to tell the two apart, however in the mouth there has been plenty of movement. Very smooth and refined tannins create an excellent mouthfeel and the interplay between the tannins and acid is excellent. That lovely fruit is still firing and the wine fills out further with more air. Still a couple of years away from maturity, I’ll keep my orginional drinking window: hold until 2011 then drink for the following 10. I think I was a bit miserly with the points on this one, its a clear 93 Pts with room for further improvement. I should have bought more.

A nose of vanilla, strawberry and cherry compote and toasty oak. Very smooth with lush tannins and sparkly acid,. Very easy to drink, meaty and enjoyable. Cherry, mulberry and a touch of blackberry with a bit of coconut, vanilla and dark choclate on the plate. A long finish with plenty of herby goodness. Well priced too. 90 Pts

Source: Broadway Liquor Distributors Price: $37 Closure: Cork

Web: www.bodegasfaustino.es

This is the entry level ‘traditional’ wine from Faustino, 95% Tempranillo with 5% Mazuelo that makes a home in American oak for 10 months.

Sour cherry and strawberries on the nose, a touch of coconut and wild herbs. Gutsy and fresh in the mouth with some subtle tannins and good acid from front to back. More of the same on the palate, it’s well structured and firm, but easy to drink and enjoyable. I’m surprised at how good this is, highly enjoyable, plenty of savour fruit and a long finish. It would do well in the cellar for a couple of years too. 88+ Pts.

Source: Broadway Liquor Distributors Price: $20 Closure: Cork

Web: www.bodegasfaustino.es