Talk-A-Vino

I was planning for a completely different post today. And then I saw a bottle of 2007 Emilio Moro Ribera del Duero. It was not possible to resist – I loved 2006, great wine, so getting a first sip of 2007 was extremely appealing.

Power. Fruit. Layers. Tannins. More Tannins. It will be a great wine – but it needs time. When you take a first sip, the wine is literally aggressive – there is tremendous concentration of tannins. This wine supposedly was aged in French and American oak – judging from the “tannin attack” concentrated right in front of the tongue, I would think it was mostly new french oak barrels – of course, this is only my opinion, not a fact.

When the wine has such level of concentration and tannins, it creates an interesting pairing with something sweet, like jam (of course chocolate and red wine is a classic pairing). I tried this wine with Sarabeths Strawberry Peach spreadable fruit, and it was delicious. And after about three hours, this wine managed to release itself a bit from the tannins hold, and started showing some fruit – but boy, does it need time… At present, I will give it drinkability of 8.

I also want to share my … I guess, frustration, with many of the wines from 2007 vintage. There is a claim of “greatness” associated with 2007 vintage, at least in a few regions – California Cabernet and Rhone wines from 2007 defined across the board as literally “vintage of the century”. I didn’t see similar claim regarding Rioja and Ribero del Duero wines, but 2007 is still regarded as good. And I find striking similarities in the taste of 2007 California cabs, Cote du Rhone and now Ribera del Duero – they all share this initial aggressiveness, which takes hours and sometimes days to mellow out. And at the same time, I find 2006 from exact same regions to have the same power and finesse, but a lot softer and more approachable.

Well, the time will tell. For now, I just need more space in my cellar, to store those 2007s… To Patience – friend and a suitor of a wine connoisseur!