WBW #2 - 1999 Yllera (Tempranillo)
When Alder emailed me saying he was interested in hosting round 2 of Wine Blogging Wednesday, I was thrilled. I love his site, Vinography, and I also loved his theme…Spanish Reds.
Why was I so excited about the Spanish Reds?
Because I had one bottle of straight-from-Spain red that Nena brought back this summer after her singing tour of Catalonia. The other bottles she brought back ranged from mediocre to amazing…and this bottle, a 1999 Yllera, looked interesting so I saved it…just for this occasion.
It’s made of 100% Tempranillo, which actually means “early”…because it ripens earlier than most red varietals. I’ve had Tempranillo before, but only blended in the popular Spanish blends from Rioja. In Rioja, it’s usually blended with Grenache…but this is a 100% Tempranillo…my first.
Anyway, on to the tasting…
In the glass, it was dark red, but not the purple color one might expect from Spain’s answer to Cabernet Sauvignon (it’s often referred to as “poor-man’s Cabernet” as well). It didn’t distinguish itself in the glass…
On the nose, it was a little earthy and I picked up on some berries, more blackberry than anything else…but it was mostly a raisiny/dried plum kind of aroma…Not usually my cup of tea…but for WBW I carried on…
I took my first sip and it was definitely reminiscent of dried plums and very rustic…concentrated and powerful, but without many tannins at all, which was disappointing. I expected a bit more “pow.” Nena wasn’t a fan at ALL…to the point that she wouldn’t even drink it anymore.
I finished my glass…and decided to let the bottle sit until the next day to see what would happen…with nondescript results. The intense fruit was largely gone the next day…and that, with tannins still on hiatus, led to a less that spectacular tasting.
Overall, I didn’t care for this wine all that much. While it was extremely concentrated with some fruit, it’s lack of tannins was disappointing. It just seemed out of balance to me…
I wish I could remember how many Euro Nena paid for this…but I don’t.
Hopefully other people had better luck.
OH NO!
I missed WBW #2. Ugh.
Well, maybe not. It's still Wednesday, right? I can find a Spanish wine over lunch, drink it over dinner, and blog about it in post Spanish wine haze!
Well, now I know what my lunch plans are ;->
Posted by: Irene | October 06, 2004 at 10:54 AM
It's funny, I don't think of Tempranillo as the answer to Cabernet. I always think of it as much more akin to Pinot Noir in terms of profile.
Posted by: Derrick Schneider | October 06, 2004 at 12:43 PM
where can i buy this\wine in england, as wehave just been to spain and loved it///
Posted by: jane wheatley | October 28, 2006 at 01:58 PM