Tar and Roses Miro 2004

You may have seen a story about this wine in Epicure if you're in Melbourne, perhaps on theage.com if not. If not here's a quick summary: Don Lewis of Mitchelton fame and his partner, Narelle King, scored a gig making wine for Merum Priorati and in 2004 could get their hands on some fruit to make this wine. And its a beauty, and one of the most cost effective ways to introduce yourself to Priorat from the very good 2004 vintage. I've gone with with my raw tasting note here, it just seems to work for this wine.

Nose: Soot, blackberry,raspberry, roasted meats. Light nose, but well flavoured palate. Juicy fruit on the palate: blackberry, raspberry, rosella, mint, liquorice jelly beans, cocoa, fine dusty tannins good length and acid.  Pepper. Smooth mellow and refined, chilled out rather than tough and manic. Medium bodied.  Needs at least a couple of hours in a decanter to show its best. A great value intro Priorat. 91 Pts

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

Alvaro Palacios Finca Dofi 2000

 The second of my Priorat auction purchases went much better. One of the problems with buying wine at auction is you never really know whats happened to it before it got to the auction house.  I've had good luck so far and have usually picked up very well stored bottles.  While there is still a very small amount of Spanish wine sold at auction, it is growing and the prices seem to be quite good.

The nose is almost non-existent on pouring, a lot of vigorous swirling bought it up a bit, however I think it needed more time in the decanter. A touch of rose, raspberry leaf, ripe red and black fruits with some hot rocks. In the mouth its a glorious drink, plenty of soft, refined tannins, well structured and balanced with an acid backbone. notes of dark cherry, raspberry and plum with black pepper, sage and loads of minerals. A long finish with more of those lovely minerals. Right in its drinking window now, but will last another 5 years in the cellar with no problems.  

Source: Auction Price Range: $55-$70 Closure: Conventional Cork

Clos Mogador 1996

I picked up this wine and a bottle of 2000 Finca Dofi from auction to see how they were looking and to test the theory that these wines from Priorat can age well and develop additional complexity. While there is quite a bit of old vine material in the region, modern methods have only been used in the last 20 years, so its a fairly young region that's in a constant state of innovation. Plus its not an easy working environment: the hills are all shisty rocks on steep slopes and it can be bloody hot here so keeping everything from the picked grapes to the bottles in the cellar cool is very important. I have noticed that from around 2000 onward there has been a big jump in quality from many producers, so I was interested to see what this bottle looked like.

Opened up quite mousey and earthy, a touch of old raspberry leaf with subtle red and black fruits. None of the classic soot character. Disappointing, there were a few questions about TCA on the nose, but I don't think so. A touch of brett perhaps. The palate is much better showing some trademark minerals and rocks, raspberry, dark cherry and plums. A touch of old leather and barnyard but really quite simple.  Quiet pleasant to drink but nothing special. I went back to it a couple of hours later and it was looking much better, it had lost that mousy character and was not showing some mountain herbs, richer fruit and more complexity.  So if you've got some in the cellar, a couple of hours decant at minimum. 

Source: Auction Price Range: $55-75 Closure: Conventional Cork

Las Terraseas 2005

There has been a bit of discussion on some of the wine forum about the cellaring potential of the wines from Priorat lately.  The main question is do they gain complexity? or does the fruit just fade and they are better drunk young?.  They seem to have everything in place for a long life, but the area is fairly young and really the answer is that no one knows yet.  I haven't had the chance to taste that many older vintages, but I've got a couple lined up for some of Melbourne's leading booze artists in a couple of weeks. Well, see how they go.

Sooty, earthy and rocky are the first things I notice on the nose, this moves on to blackberry and spice with some raspberry and chocolate.  This isn't your supercharged, balls-to-the-wall blockbuster, its very subtle and suave.  Tightly wound at the moment with a spine of acid and sandy tannins that keep it humming along. More dark and red fruit on the palate with a touch of pepper and herbs, clove and liquorice. It looks like 2005 will be good in Priorat, as expected.  Better than 2004?  Who knows, but two good vintages are better than one.  92+ Pts.

Source: The Spanish Acquisition Cost: Around $60 Closure: Conventional Cork

Other vintages: 2004 

Capcanes Lasandal 2005

This is a real go to wine, its great drinking shows real character and doesn't break the bank.  The 2005 is the best to date and has a great mix of flavours and is just serious enough for your wine geek mates to be impressed, but not too serious or expensive for the non-wine geek to get into. 

Coffee, earthy raspberry, a touch of mint, hot rocks. Smooth and supple in the mouth, balanced and savoury with a tart fruit finish. Good concentration. Sour cherries and raspberries on the palate with sage and other mountain herbs and roasted meat juices. Some sappy plums and white pepper from the syrah. You can almost taste the hot summer days in the quality of the fruit. Light dusty tannins show up on the finish. A joy to drink. 91 Pts.

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

Web: www.cellercapcanes.com

Other Vintages: 2000, 2004

Palacios Remondo Propiedad 2005

So, back to business.  Well, drinking actually.  I've been lucky enough to have a look at this wine twice in the last two weeks, a full bottle last weekend and another taste yesterday.  The wines from Palcios Remondo seemed to have moved into a very serious mould.  Both this wine and La Montesa are pretty serious wines from the 2005 vintage the need some chill out time in the cellar.  I double decanted the full bottle and drank it over 5 hours.  Of course the last glass was the best.

A classic nose of earthy undergrowth, cherry, raspberry, spice, mocha and pepper. Showing its youth at the moment, but showing loads of potential.  Very tight it gives up some nice tannins and a spike of acid. On the palate its very primary: mulberry, cherry, and raspberry with some dried herbs.  One for the cellar, but it will open up to be a beauty in a couple of years..  92+ Pts. 

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

Web: www.vinosherenciaremondo.com

Other Vintages: 2001, 2003, 2004

Mas Donis Tinto 2006

I couldn't wait for the screwcapped version of this wine, so I've had a crack at the cork version for now.  I'll have a look at both in the next couple of week.

This is the entry level red wine from Capcanes, made from mostly Garnarcha with a dollop of  syrah from the lower, stoney soils of Montsant.   A quick dunk in american and french oak for 3 month actually works quite well for this wine.

Classic nose of raspberries and raspberry leaf with some rocky minerals and a touch of herbs and pepper.  Well balanced with some fluffy tannins and good acid on the finish.  Highly drinkable.  The palate shows bright shiny fruit, mostly raspberry with pepper and spice.  Perfect with food, but great just on its own.  A good way to look at a quality garnarcha at a low price.  89 Pts.

Source: The Spanish Acquisition Cost: $23 Closure: Syth Cork

Web: www.cellercapcanes.com

Capçanes Mas Donis Rosat 2006

In addition to a reading about a really good rose, this is a tale of two alternative closures: synthetic cork and screwcap.  I had the opportunity to taste this wine under both closures recently and the results were very interesting.  I have a bottle of the tinto for a similar test next month.

A bit about the wine first.  Its made from 80% Garnarcha with equal parts Syrah and Merlot grown in the stony soils of the lower areas of Montsant.  The wine has 10 hours of skin contact and is left in stainless steel for 4 months before bottling.  The result is a winey rose with a brilliant pink colour.

Cork: very aromatic with strawberries and raspberries followed by some subtle mountain herbs and rocks.  In the mouth there is excellent balance with a glycerol feel.  Dry and long.  The palate mimics the nose for the most part but adds some pepper and apple notes.  89 Pts. 

Screwcap: This really shows off the great fruit used this wine.  As above for the most part but a step up in all respects.  More alive and vigorous on the palate, its fresher and direct with great fruit impact. Also shows a mineral aspect on the palate.  The kind of wine you could drink by the jug on a warm day. Regardless of what you think about screwcap for red wine, its perfect for this style. 91 Pts.

Source: The Spanish Acquisition Cost: $23 Closure: Syth Cork/Screwcap

Web: www.cellercapcanes.com

Coto de Hayas Tinto 2006

We are coming into BBQ season at the moment and this a good wine to kick things off.  Grab some lamb chops and a bottle of this to kick off a quiet night at home mid week.  Maybe some a salad if you want to be healthy.  This is a joven wine, made mostly from Garnacha but with a bit of tempranillo, syrah and cabernet thrown in for good measure.

Quite dark in the glass, ruby out on the rim.  Aromas of sunny black and red berries, mostly raspberries with some raspberry leaves and pepper.  Fairly smooth, firmly in the middle weight class with some light tannins.  Raspberries, a bit of mineral and some herbs.  Good length on the finish.  Good BBQ fare.  86 Pts.

Source: Toro/Woods Wines Price: Around $15 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.bodegasaragonesas.com

Coto de Hayas Crianza 2003

An interesting blend of 60% Garnarcha and 40% Tempranillo from Campo de Borja.  It gets 8 months in French oak. I seem to prefer the straight Garnarcha wines from this region more, but this was a good mid-week glug for the price.

Deep, dark red in the centre of the glass, with some purple moving towards the edges.  Highly perfumed on the nose with plums, dark cherries, some raspberry leaf, pepper and some purple/blue flowers.  With a bit of time, a wack of coffee oak starts to dominate the nose.  In the mouth the wine is rich, open and shows good oak tannins.  The palate for the most part mirrors the nose, the fruit looks a little baked however.  There is a bitter herbal note on the finish.  Well made, but seems a bit all over the shop at this stage.  86 Pts.

Source: Toro/Woods Wines Price: Around $20 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.bodegasaragonesas.com