It's funny, if Vintages can't find international (ie. American) tasting notes for a certain wine, they'll either scrounge up some local nitwit to come up with a few lines, or better yet, publish notes under the Vintages panel moniker. But then again, I want to be one of those nitwits. Can't possibly be that hard right? Anyways, here's the tasting note they used for this wine:
Deep garnet. Aromas of plums, coconut wax and lipstick follow through on a soft, brisk entry to a dryish light-to-medium body with cranberry and roasted pepper notes. Finishes with a dusty, tangy tannin fade. Needs a good flank steak. Highly recommended. Score - 88.
Promising, no? If only. That bit about aromas of coconut wax and lipstick is laughable, but just downright sinister if they were being serious. And we all know how seriously wine people take themselves. I don't know who's tasting these wines and writing the words, but that is not that wine. No chance in hell. As a 90% tempranillo, 10% garnacha wine, the Spanish should be absolutely ashamed of themselves. And to have the fucking audacity to label this as a Gran Reserva? Unbelievable. A modern wine in every sense, with loads of oak that doesn't really go away and will never truly integrate. Jammy sweet fruit to complete it all. Interestingly enough, I included the phrase Undignified but not undrinkable - the bottle age has oddly helped settle the wine down a bit.
So what have we learned from all this? That the Spanish are willing to sell their souls to create wines fitting an international ideal of what sells? Or that most self-proclaimed critics are full of shit? In any case, no help to the consumer, and worse, a slap in the face to true winos.
DF
No comments:
Post a Comment