Nice less than $10 Tempranillo on WTSO right now

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

Ok. I opened a bottle at 8:30. I'm really glad to have read this thread because it was disappointing out of the bottle. By 9 it was already better and at 9:15 is really starting to open up nicely.

There were a couple of other tempting reds up today.

I have found some younger tempranillos in restaurants that were good out of the bottle. One in particular that I can remember was a 2006 - I know the restaurant but didn't pay attention to the name of the wine. I liked it so much that I ordered a different one at another restaurant the following week, but it was a 2008 and really too young.

9:35: still improving!

10:45: It's really very good. A bit dry on the finish. That's my glass for tonight, I'm taking it easy. I don't have to worry about wasting the bottle at this price

A really good buy, thanks for posting it.

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

Ok. I opened a bottle at 8:30. I'm really glad to have read this thread because it was disappointing out of the bottle. By 9 it was already better and at 9:15 is really starting to open up nicely.

There were a couple of other tempting reds up today.

I have found some younger tempranillos in restaurants that were good out of the bottle. One in particular that I can remember was a 2006 - I know the restaurant but didn't pay attention to the name of the wine. I liked it so much that I ordered a different one at another restaurant the following week, but it was a 2008 and really too young.

9:35: still improving!

Two hours breathing time is pretty typical of what I find most good Spanish reds need. I'm glad you stuck with it; most people don't and consequently many Spanish reds are great bargains in the market.

My wine appreciation is advancing. I've reached a place with tempranillos and grenaches, though, to have reached some general conclusions about styles of wines.

Some of them are made to be drunk right away. Those are usually very fruity initially, but don't have a lot of depth behind the fruitiness. They're pop-and pour wines - if you don't finish them off within an hour they fade very quickly. They can be good with very spicy foods, but as a wine to enjoy while you sit around chatting, they don't cut it for me.

Others need time to age. These are wines that are denser and richer. Sometimes I can taste the stems and the seeds in them; it's like eating a Tokay grape and biting into the seed; the tannins such the moisture out of your mouth and leave a bitter taste.

But if they're done right I can appreciate them; the tannins smooth out and add a texture to the wine. And with aeration after aging the fruit elements come forward Most of the time with tempranillos the predominant flavor to me is cherries.

But if they are well crafted, they are dense and they don't work coming out right out of the bottle. They simply must be given time; as I mentioned above I've had many that I thought needed hours to really open up.

Through experience I've learned that if a tempranillo or grenache tastes good right out of the bottle, drink it quickly because it's going to fade.

But combining a couple of bottles of good tempranillo or grenache with the company of good friends is an evening of delight.

*****

BTW - if you give them time to aerate they're much less likely to create aftereffects, such as hangovers.

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

And then there are some more expensive wines that are great out of the bottle (or after a short time decanting) but keep getting better and better over a few hours regardless - if you can keep them around that long....

I think it's more of a challenge in this price range, but it's easy to spend $30 or $40 on something that isn't great. So much easier to experiment at this price point. At a retail liquor store I can usually manage to find something nice at $20 or under - we have been really enjoying a couple of nice Malbecs recently.

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

And then there are some more expensive wines that are great out of the bottle (or after a short time decanting) but keep getting better and better over a few hours regardless - if you can keep them around that long....

I think it's more of a challenge in this price range, but it's easy to spend $30 or $40 on something that isn't great. So much easier to experiment at this price point. At a retail liquor store I can usually manage to find something nice at $20 or under - we have been really enjoying a couple of nice Malbecs recently.

At the price point for this wine and knowing it's a 2004 their obviously clearing it out because it didn't sell. The question is whether the glut is because it's crappy wine that they overpriced or good wine that just didn't sell.

Based on independent information it was clear this was a decent to good wine that just didn't sell (unlike a bottle of 2005 Columbia Crest Syrah I had about six months ago; after tasting that it was clear why they had a glut of it.)

****

I know exactly what you're saying about the $30 bottles that don't deliver. I'm actually more confident going into a deal such as this one than I am with many higher priced wines. I was almost certain this was a good offering; far more so than when I sit down in most restaurants (where the wine list is often loaded with inferior, easy-drinking wines).

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

At the price point for this wine and knowing it's a 2004 their obviously clearing it out because it didn't sell. The question is whether the glut is because it's crappy wine that they overpriced or good wine that just didn't sell.

Based on independent information it was clear this was a decent to good wine that just didn't sell (unlike a bottle of 2005 Columbia Crest Syrah I had about six months ago; after tasting that it was clear why they had a glut of it.)

****

I know exactly what you're saying about the $30 bottles that don't deliver. I'm actually more confident going into a deal such as this one than I am with many higher priced wines. I was almost certain this was a good offering; far more so than when I sit down in most restaurants (where the wine list is often loaded with inferior, easy-drinking wines).

Based on what hit me when I opened it, I'm not that surprised. At this price, I don't how many people decant...

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

Based on what hit me when I opened it, I'm not that surprised. At this price, I don't how many people decant...

So here are some similar offerings that you might want to jump on if they show up again on WTSO:

• Andres Valiente e Hijos Valencia Pasamonte. I've picked this up twice for $12 - $12.50/bottle - once the 2005 (CT link) and once the 2006 2006 (CT link). I'm sipping a glass of the 2005 as I post this; intitial pour is fruity, but not well balanced. Tannins hit after a couple of minutes. This is my third bottle in this set, and I know that after an hour or so it's going to come into balance and will finish quite nicely. I can put a Vacu-vin in it and have the rest tomorrow and it will be splendid.

• 2006 Bodega Luzdivina Amigo Bierzo Viñademoya (CT link). This was about $11 per bottle.

Both are good buys. Again, give them plenty of time to breathe.

******

[added note] 3 hrs later as I'm working late tonight. Still sipping the Pasamonte. At this point it has really come together. I could (possibly will) continue sipping this all night.

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

I've had a couple of these now, and they are almost exactly as I expected them to be.

Like most tempranillos I enjoy, decanting is necessary, one hour is not unreasonable. After opening up, you get a nice combination of fruit flavors combined with some deeper layers of flavor. I like tempranillos because I find them not quite as heavy and deep-fruited as most syrahs and cabs - that's just a matter of personal preference. There's also enough free tannin left that I think they will improve significantly with a couple of years more aging if one were so inclined.

The last couple of bottles I've had took significantly less time to open up - that may be a matter of overcoming bottle shock from shipping.

At $10/bottle this was an excellent buy. I'm glad I bought a case and I will be in for more if it reappears.

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

This was up again at WTSO and I missed it while I was outside working in the yard and then having dinner. If I had seen it I would have been in for more.

I picked up a case in the last go around and I find it it to be an excellent sub-$10 bottle of wine. As I stressed above, like most solid tempranillos this needs a good amount of time to breathe. Given enough time it is fine and sturdy red, not nearly as intense as cabs and syrahs but a nice drinker that stands on its own or pairs up nicely with a nice variety.

I've also found that the bottles I've opened over the last couple of weeks have not needed nearly as much breathing time as the first bottles I've opened. Might be a situation of recovering from bottle shock.

Would be interested in hearing from Frank and Glitter on their observations of the other bottles they received.

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

The Rachel Ray Oreial Montelchino was up Friday for maybe an hour. I put 6 in my cart but as I logged in they sold out. I was lucky to call them and get 6 emergency bottles from them that they keep in case of breakage. They seem to be having a lot more wines daily. You have to Check in a few times a day. About 2 weeks ago they had Silver Oak up at a steel but sold out in record time.

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

I used to have their Droid app enabled so that I was notified of each new offering. I turned it off to protect my wallet.

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

At $10/bottle this was an excellent buy. I'm glad I bought a case and I will be in for more if it reappears.

BTW and FWIW - almost all of the bottles I've opened so far have had wine diamonds.

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

Another one of those less than $10 dry spanish reds available right now at WTSO:

Bodega LuzDivina Amigo
Vina De Moya
Mencia 2006
90 Points RP!
originally priced at $21.99 and available now for only $9.99.
Ground shipping is free with your purchase of 4 bottle(s).

I've bought this twice before and enjoyed it greatly. If I weren't overflowing with tempranillos right now I would be buying more.

*****

[added note]: and now WTSO has moved on to another offering.

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

Back again on WTSO right now. If it weren't for summer shipping I'd be in on this.

Vinedos de Villaester
Taurus
Toro
Tempranillo 2005

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

I still have a few bottles left of the Taurus. I may get more if I run out next timme they sell it

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

Back again on WTSO right now. If it weren't for summer shipping I'd be in on this.

Vinedos de Villaester
Taurus
Toro
Tempranillo 2005

I still have a few bottles left of the Taurus. I may get more if I run out next timme they sell it

It's back again at WTSO right now. Since summer hot weather is almost over I got some more. Just to be safe as regards temps, I specified an October 11 shipping date.

This is a great less than $10 tempranillos. As with almost all of these old-world style tempranillos and tintos, plenty of decanting is greatly recommended.