Sunday, September 9, 2012

2001 Vina Sastre 'Pago de Santa Cruz' (Ribera del Duero)


Importer: De Maison Selections

Source: PJs

Consumption Date: 9/9/2012

Notes: Fairly intense aroma of deep sweet, ripe fruit with notes of warm spices and dried leaves/wood.  Full bodied with loads of bright fruit (blackberry, plum, and, perhaps, black currant) framed with more warm spice and dried leaves/wood with a faint hint of bitter herbs.  Moderate finish of dry wood with some spice and a faint mineral tang.  Moderate tannins.

This wine is certainly a different take on Tempranillo than the Rioja Gran Reserva I drank a few days ago.  It is much more fruit forward (in a brighter/more acidic style) with less overall complexity.  This strikes me as being more in the “modern” style than I really prefer (though not in the “fruit bomb” style of modern Rioja) and the hint of bitterness, while subtle, is not a characteristic I typically enjoy in wine.  I am also wondering if this would have been better served a few degrees cooler (than 71°F) and/or a few years younger.

Value: Slightly below average

No comments:

Post a Comment