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Tasted This Week*
2004 Dominio de Tares Mencia, Baltos, Bierzo, Spain $16.99/btl. (suggsted retail)
By now many of you have had seen me write about Dominio de Tares’ entry level red ‘Albares’, which is produced from the Mencia grape using no oak. Mencia is a hearty red indigenous to Spain’s Bierzo region. This wine, their second tier Mencia, shows slightly richer and more full on the palate and utilizes a small amount of both American and French oak. I found lots of wild red fruits, along with pepper, espresso, and mineral streaks throughout. Evidence that Bierzo is indeed producing some seriously delicious and complex wines.
2005 Zantho, Muskat, Austria $12.99/btl. (sugested retail)*
The muskat grape is grown on nearly every continent under similar-sounding names and is often used to produce intensely-perfumed sweet wines. Their naturally aromatic character and good acidity also make them great candidates for dry wines, such as this one from Austria. On the nose if provides a medley of flowery accents like jasmine and honeysuckle. The palate is bone dry and shows layered fruit like pear and apricot. A wine that it would take a dictator or a sociopath not to like.
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*note: quoted retail prices are based on averages in Portland, Oregon, USA |
