El Guia Tinto 2011 Campo de Borja, Spain
3.99
100% Garnacha from vineyards situated at an altitude of between 350 - 700m on small slightly rolling hillsides, on the terraces of the Huecha river and the Llanos de Plasencia, making up the Somontano del Moncayo. The small widely-planted bush vines are on brownish-grey limey soils, terrace soils and clayey ferrous soils with searing heat and little water so are naturally low-yielding. Fermentation took place in stainless steel tanks at a controlled temperature of 22 - 26°C with 7 - 12 days maceration. Winemaker Inigo Alberto. Suitable for vegetarians. Alc 13.5%, TA 5.5g/l, pH 3.55, RS 0.64g/l. Available from Waitrose Wine Direct and 214 branches.

Sweet and fruity nose. Fruity and lovely taste. No oak at all.  Good.

Tierras Coloradas Old Vine Carignan 2010, Montsant, Spain
10.95
90% Carignan and 10% Grenache from vineyards around the village of El Masroig in Montsant in the north-east of Spain. The vines are 20 - 40 years old, planted at an altitude of 150 - 350m and grown on mostly unfertile red clay with some slate, sand and chalk. Grapes were harvested by hand into small baskets. At the winery, they were placed into stainless steel tanks for a cold maceration lasting a few days before being crushed and then macerated and fermented for a further 10 days. A natural malolactic fermentation took place in the stainless steel tanks after which the wine was aged in tank for 5 months. Winemaker Carles Escolar. Suitable for vegetarians and vegans. Alc 14.0%. Available from Waitrose Wine Direct and 20 branches.

Dark fruits on the nose. Fruity and ripe and with no oak at all. Nice.

Finca Labarca Vendimia Selecciónada Tempranillo 2010 Rioja, Spain
7.49
100% Tempranillo from vineyards planted on calcareous soils with some sand on small hills in Rioja Alavesa. Vines are over 25 years old and planted at a density of 3,000 - 3,500vines/ha. Most of the grapes were hand-harvested in mid-October in the early morning with a yield of 45 - 50hl/ha. Gently pressed in a pneumatic bag press, then cold-macerated at 12ºC for 48 hours. Fermented with selected yeasts at 25 - 30ºC for 5 - 8 days. Malo in stainless steel tanks for 15 days at 18 - 20ºC, then matured for 4 months in
100% American oak. Winemaker Gloria Molinet. Suitable for vegetarians and vegans. Alc 13.5%, TA 4.6g/l, pH 3.71, RS 1.3g/l. Available from Waitrose Wine Direct and 255 branches.

A little sweet oak on the nose. Fruity and with a bit of oak.  Not very inspiring. Perfectly fine, but no more.

Baron de Ley 2007 Reserva, Rioja, Spain
12.29
100% Tempranillo from the Baron de Ley Winery who have always specialised in Reserva wines. The vineyards are located in Rioja Baja and planted on alluvial soils, rich in clays and limestone. The grapes were harvested in late-Sept by hand. Fermentation lasted for 14 days at 29°C in stainless steel tanks followed by a 10 day malolactic. Aged in new American oak barrels for 20 months, followed by 24 months in bottle. Winemaker Gonzalo Rodriguez. Suitable for vegetarians and vegans. Alc 13.5%, TA 5.9g/l, pH 3.66, RS 2.1g/l. Available from Waitrose Wine Direct and 230 branches.

Wonderfully rich and spicy nose. The sweet American oak is a beautiful aroma. The taste is perfect.  Can this producer do no wrong? Don’t mess around with other producers. Baron de Ley do wines at every age and price and they’re all good.



Muga Selección Especial 2006 Reserva, Rioja, Spain
22.49
70% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha, 10% Mazuelo and Graciano. Bodegas Muga has remained a family-run winery since its creation in 1932. The soil in the vineyard is clay/calcareous and alluvial. This wine is only produced in good vintages and the grapes are hand selected from bunches which have been manually-harvested with a yield of 3,000kg/ha. Matured for 26 months in 80% French and 20% American oak and a further 12 months in bottle. Suitable for vegetarians. Alc 14.0%, TA 5.8g/l, pH 3.5, RS 2.5g/l. Available from Waitrose Wine Direct and 142 branches.

Ridiculously heavy bottle. Complex and interesting nose. Beautiful taste. Had had a row of sweet fruity wines and felt like the whole world of wine had become fruity over-night but this is beautifully savoury.

Blasón de San Juan 2009 Crianza, Ribera del Duero, Spain
12.99
100% Tinta del Pais (Tempranillo) with a combination of bush vines and guyot trellising. Vines are 25 - 50 years old and planted at an altitude of 850m on pebblestone and sand with a diurnal temperature difference of 18 - 20°C producing wines with excellent colour and acidity. Grapes were hand-harvested between the 7th and 23rd October into 18kg boxes. Fermented in stainless steel vats for 10 - 12 days followed by malolactic in barrel. Aged for 12 months in 90% French oak and 10% European barrels and bottled without filtration. Winemaker José Spisso. Suitable for vegetarians and vegans. Alc 14.50%, TA 5.30g/l, RS <1.50g/l. Available from Waitrose Wine Direct and 21 branches.

Stinky and unappealing.  The taste is good, though. The alcohol too hot. Overall – no.

Scala Dei Cartoixa 2006 Priorat, Spain
30
40% Grenache, 25% Cariñena, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Syrah. Established in the 12th Century, the 90ha Scala Dei is the oldest winery in the prestigious Priorat region. Their vineyards are the highest in Priorat at 800m above sea level with unique llicorella slate soil. Temperatures can reach up to 32°C during the day and drop to 12°C at night. The 60-year-old gobelet vines were hand-harvested with a low average yield of just 12hl/ha. Grapes were cold-soaked then fermented in small open concrete and stainless steel tanks with natural yeast for 18 - 21 days. Natural malo and matured for 14 months in French and American oak (80% new and 20% 1 year old). Winemaker Ricard Rofes. Suitable for vegetarians. Alc 15.0%, TA 5.65g/l, pH 3.4, RS < 1.0g/l. Available from Waitrose Wine Direct and 5 branches.

A glorious aroma. Really inviting. A great big, full-flavoured, oaky, smooth, rich, blockbuster of a fabulous wine.



Casa de Casal de Loivos 2009 Douro, Portugal
30
70% Touriga Nacional, grown on slate soils with lutte raisonnée. Grapes were hand-harvested and then foot treaded in open granite lagares. Alcoholic fermentation took place in 5,000kg stainless steel, temperature-controlled fermentation vats. Manual remontage and matured in 225l 2nd-fill French oak barrels for 21 months. Winemaker Cristiano van Zeller. Alc 14.5%. Available from mid-June. Available from Waitrose Wine Direct and 3 branches.

Dark red fruit on the nose. Sweet, rich and with violet flavours. Good, but £30 is steep.

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