Spain

I bought this on the recommendation of Wes at the local wine store.  Good call.  It was my tasting group's WOTN (#2 for me).  And for $25, a pretty good value.  Closer to $18 for those in other states with less restrictive laws.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose is initially tight but opens with air.  Cherries and some dark cherries with a nice dusty quality.  On the palate, this has a juicy and lush texture.  Medium tannins.  Plenty of black cherry fruit.  Good finish.  A bit more modern in style but not full blown.  This works on its own and will work well at the table too.  

Sadly, this was badly corked.  A shame as it was my last bottle.  

This is a very modern take on Rioja.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose is tight.  With air it shows black cherries and black raspberries.  Also some spice.  On the palate, this is deep and delicious.  Firm tannins.  Bright black cherry fruit.  Blind, I would have probably guessed California Grenache.  Still, it is delicious and inexpensive (under $20).  It would make a great party wine.  Not sure how well this will age.  It might be fun to lay a bottle or two down.  

Ruby in color with slight browning.  The nose has spice, clay and cherries.  It also has a ton of dill which was off putting to some.  The dill does carry thru to the palate, so be warned if that is a sensitivity.  Others liked it.  Firm tannins.  Nice black cherry fruit.  Good balance.  Works better with food than alone.  Pretty classic Rioja in style.  

From one of my personal favorite wineries of Ribera del Duero.  Inky purple in color.  The nose has cherries and a slight bell pepper note.  Also some spice.  On the palate, nice black cherry fruit.  Very tannic and youthful.  Good balance.  It needs time and air.  More modern in style.  Needs bigger foods.  Should last a decade more with ease.  At one time, these bottlings cost over $100, so shop around.  A quick perusal sees pricing from $38 to $70.  In this particular blind tasting of Tempranillo's, this was my WOTN.  

Ruby in color, slight browning.  The nose has dusty cherries with slight dill notes and some vanilla.  On the palate, this has tart acidity.  Tart cherries.  It works though as it wakes up the palate.  It really demands some food but should work with a wide variety.  Good finish.  Plan on drinking in the next five years or so.  

Purple in color, magenta at the rim.  The nose has nice cherry fruit along with some dill.  Also dusty.  It did take some time to open.  On the palate, this has bright cherry fruit.  Not a ton of depth at this point.  Lighter tannins.  Good balance and acidity.  This will work well at most dinner tables if the price is within one's budget for an "everyday" type of wine.  Very classic and old-school in style.  

Sadly, this was horribly corked (TCA).  The note is included to see if this is a random episode or something others should be aware of.  

Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose has a lot of barnyard on it.  It does partially blow off with air.  There is also some pine which is both interesting and distracting.  And finally, some nice cherry fruit.  On the palate, there is some cherry fruit, both fresh and dried.  Some pine carries thru as does some barnyard.  Slight but drying tannins.  The group I was tasting with liked this more than I did.  It did get better with air as the night went on.  Certainly a nice wine and worth drinking.  Food friendly.  

These are very interesting wines made from unique grapes in northern Spain.  They typically have a bit of fizz to them.  This one is made from the Hondarrabi Zuri grape.  Light golden green in color.  The nose is nice with a steely lemon/lime quality.  On the palate, there is a very slight fizz to this on the attack (likely faded a bit with age).  Slightly oily texture.  Nice lime fruit.  The wine is tart and slightly sweet at the same time which is very refreshing.  Great acidity.  Nice finish.  These don't age all that well and this one is starting to show some but is still quite nice.  D