EL PUNTIDO 2005 Rioja,
$35.74-$47.00, 93 points, and bought at the lower price was quite a good deal. Do you want a truly great wine from Spain? We all do, right! I'm quite sure there are better wines from Rioja, but I haven't tasted them.
100% Tempranillo, but silky and sexy, with bright tannin with hidden mint and floral notes, both on the nose and on the palate.
The color is deep magenta welling into black. There is early palate black olive and blackberries, but this is followed by pomegranate, licorice, plum, and a touch of tobacco. As the wine breathed for some time, hints of strawberry graced my palate as well; there are lots of subtle flavors encrypted here.
EL Puntido 2005 (One of the top vintages in almost a decade) is a quaff-er, with a medium to full bodied presentation, this wine is just beginning to unfold its magic.
The finish is long and persistent, having a white-peppered clove that neither over whelms nor departs unmemorable.
These are the dishes we so satisfyingly paired with this wine:
Index-of-reviewed-wines
Copyright 2011 Dennis Tsiorbas. All rights reserved
Curious as to the alcohol content, Den. Great review! Intriguing notes, especially the mint. I hope you enjoyed this sexy wine with some sexy company.
ReplyDeleteBen, good question.
ReplyDeleteOften I leave out such things when they are in the normal range, but in this case 14% is just a tad "tighter" than an everyday Tempranillo.
Ethan liked this wine very much, and I think he was in the 92 point range; on the internet it seems to average 91.5, but some "BIG" wine tasters were in the 94-95 range.