Monday, March 23, 2009

Artesa 2005 "elements" (California)

This wine is all about deductive reasoning. With no information on the back label about what grapes are in the bottles I decided to look it up on the website. There they spoke about Tempranillo and Syrah from Sonoma and Napa counties ... so one is lead to believe those are the grapes ... but then under winemaking notes they state, "This wine is a blend of the major grape varietals of three of the Old World’s most famous wine regions – Bordeaux, Rhone and Rioja." ... this leads me to believe there is at least some Cabernet Sauvignon in the bottle, or maybe some Merlot. Because, if Rhone is Syrah and Rioja is Tempranillo what else could Bordeaux be? Anyway, after popping the cork and tasting the wine the whole question became moot! Who cared about dissecting a wine when the wine is this tasty. The first thing that hit was the spiciness of the nose - big whopping spices ... followed by vanilla, cinnamon, sweet glazed cherries and some violet notes. On the palate I was struck on the first sip by an abundance of chocolate plums, juicy fruit, big spice and pepper followed soon after. A virtual banquet of yum in the mouth, and totally enjoyable. I bought this one in the US for $14.99, and even with the exchange it comes out under $20 ... and well worth it.

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