Here are two more reds after our brief foray into the world of whites in the last blog. These are not cut price candidates, but are from outstanding vinicultural areas and deliver some really good flavor and depth. In our opinion both are worth the money. They are:
Wine: 2011 Gratallops VI de la Vila Black Slate Priorat
Winery Location: Priorat, Spain
Tasted By: Neil & Cheri Date: July 2011
Tasting Notes: Priorat is one of our favorite regions in the world for red wine, and runs neck and neck with Rioja for our favorite Spanish wine. It tends to produce wines of power and complexity. They are usually age worthy and I believe this is no exception. It is young, being a 2011, and time should be kind. Right now the wine is deep purple red out of the bottle. The nose is reserved, with some dark fruit but a sense of restraint. Medium bodied+ on the palate you get that same sense of power being held back. It is tannic at this point, and should round out after some time in the cellar. It is still very good now, and certainly approachable, but I would put this down for a while and return later. For the money it is a good value.
Price Point – $18
Would We Buy It? – Yes. We love wines from the Priorat (pronounce pree-or-rat) and this is going to get very good with some age. Recommended.
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Wine: 2006 Geyser Peak Reserve Meritage
Winery Location: Alexander Valley, Sonoma County, California
Tasted By: Neil & Cheri Date: July 2013
Tasting Notes: This is dark purple/red to the rim. Gobs of dark fruit, some bacon fat and a touch of wood hit the nose. Swirl it and the glycerol is evident as the wine comes down the glass in waves. It is full bodied, tannic still but not in a bad way. Actually it is delicious. The wood is there on the palate but it is harmonious with the fruit. It is very, very long. I actually let the glass sit for a while to see how long it was, but I gave up after ten minutes. Personally I don’t think I’ve ever experienced a wine with this length before. This is a big time wine and we absolutely loved it.
Price Point – $29 on wine-searcher.com
Would We Buy It? – Absolutely. This stuff is fabulous. At under $30 it goes on the value list. At under $40 it would be going on the value list, maybe even in the under $70 category. Yummy, yummy, yummy!
There you have it. Two wines to consider, both worth buying in our opinion. The Meritage is truly exceptional, but I would hold out final evaluations for the Priorat until it gets a chance to round out. It might be excellent as well.
A votre sante!
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