Wines of the Quarter:
Two Great Reds
QRW Tasting Team
Some of the most fun at QRW is searching for “Wines of the Quarter.” These are wines sent to us, which we taste blind, as we do for every tasting. Every day, for perhaps a week or more per quarter, we taste a six or seven wines. They are bagged and numbered, only separating red from white. There is no regard to price, there is no advertising or commercialism involved. Of the 41 global red wines tasted this quarter, we found two wines you need to know.
Argentina
2007 DiaAmdes Gran Reserva, Mendoza (70% Malbec and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon), $35. This is a Michel Rolland wine, one of the best winemakers in Argentina, and wine consultant to the world. Ripeness is the operative word for the wine, with a ripe floral nose and ripe and generous flavors of earth, subtle cassis, cedar spice tones, and cherry. There are enough chewy tannins to cellar for a few years as well. Generous and long with soft finish that will be even better with decanting. This is what serious Malbec can become. Delicious.
Oregon
2008 Home Place, The Grande Dalles, Rock Flour Hill (70% Tempranillo, 28% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 2% Cabernet Franc), Oregon, $60. Even from some of the best Spanish examples, we have not tasted a better expression of Tempranillo in many years. The fact it’s so young and from a fine Oregon vintage speaks to an even finer future. Seductive aromas and flavors of ripe raspberry, with cedar tones, gentle spice, and delicious and embracing jammy notes. Elegance abounds here. There’s a whisper of oak, as it should be for finely composed Tempranillo. It’s mouth watering, engaging, meditative, sophisticated. Fabulous wine, a special event wine for important moments. Currently only available from the Grande Dalles: www.thegrandedalles.com
