A small but dedicated bunch turned out for the March installment of our monthly BAWE tasting Yesterday. Our theme was Tempranillo, and compared to our last monster tasting of Viognier and Zinfandel, this was a nice change of pace with 7 reds being poured. All wines were tasted double blind (except for the Chard). The top three wines were all excellent, and it was a close call for me to pick between them. Here are my notes.

1989 Stony Hill Chardonnay
I had picked this up on Winebid for $15 on a whim, thought it would be fun to kick things off – see if there was any life left at all. While this wine certainly won’t blow anyone away, it actually showed reasonably well, it was by no means completely dead – but certainly dying. Quite dark golden color, some fruit that was generally muted by more nutty, caramel notes. Short finish.

1996 Torre Muga Rioja
Bright dense red color, juicy, meaty nose showing some tart cherry notes, pepper, and game. Rich and full, good structure and balance, lovely wine. My #3 of the linup.
Votes:
#1: 1
#2: 0
#3: 3

1998 Baywood Vineyard Select Tempranillo
Young red appearance with purplish edges, this wine is soft, fruity, and friendly. Pleasant, not terribly complex, just a nice fun wine. I thought I sensed some residual sugar, but it may have been just the ripe fruit.
Votes:
#1: 0
#2: 1
#3: 0

1996 Marquis de Caceres Rioja
Ouch, heavily oxidized, we figured this to be the oldest wine in the lineup, what a shocker. Must have been badly cooked.
Votes: Yea, right!

1999 Turnbull Tempranillo
A dark bright red color with almost bluish edges. Great nose, showing spice, vanilla, and cherries. Velvety smooth on the palate with a good medium finish, shows American Oak, and really stood out from the Spanish wines. Terrific. My #2 of the linup.
Votes:
#1: 3
#2: 2
#3: 1

1991 Torre Oria Grand Reserva
Some age on this with light browning at the edges. Pepper, game, and jammy fruit carried and superb structure. Still tannic, this could use a little more time in the cellar, my #1 wine of the flight!
Votes:
#1: 2
#2: 2
#3: 1

2000 Vega Sindoa Navarra
Young dark red/purple color, Pyang immediately identified Lychees of all things (I have never experienced Lychees in a red wine before!), and he nailed it. This was a very odd wine, smooth tannins, jammy, but sweetish. Not bad, but different.
Votes:
#1: 0
#2: 1
#3: 1

1996 Marques de Riscal Rioja Reserva
Some age with light bricking, the nose is somewhat muted, but elegant. Soft fruit and a somewhat meaty edge, pepper, and dusty tannins. Nice wine, my #4 of the linup.
Votes: none

Eric, believe it or not, I rushed back in town just in time and headed to your place a few minutes late. I had cleared out all of my home email days earlier, so I didn't have the email with the address, so I had to go by memory. The problem is that I've been to many places around your area and could not remember the street, but everything looked familiar. I went on Marlboro, Foxboro, the main drive to Cal High, etc. and drove around the neighborhood for 20 minutes. I came home and my wife looked at me as if I lost my mind (which was not too far from the truth). I have no idea what a Tempranillo is, so I brought a Siduri Cargasacchi to see if anyone could tell the difference. Now I will never know.

I called directory assistance and I asked for you. They asked residence or business. I said residence. They connected me to a message that said you had blocked your number. I called directory assistance and they asked me the same thing. This time I said business. They connected me to a message that there is no Eric White under business. I realized that I don't really have anyone's phone number - just contacts through the yahoo.bawe emails. What a humbling experience. You are the closest one in the group and I couldn't find your house!

GATC -

Bummer! I will send you my full contact info so you can make a note of it, can't have this happening again!