Events

Vintage Cellars Tasting

Last Wednesday night I took a short trip out to Camberwell to taste through most Vintage Cellar’s Spanish and Portugues range. Its quite a big range and it’s fairly much all come about in the past year, increasing from about 7 wine to around 30 with more on the way. A few Tinto y Blanco readers came along for the fun, which was great.

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.