Today has been an exciting wine day. In part because I tried Osborne Solaz Tempranillo Blend for the first time (yummy). But that’s not all. The Wine Blogging Wednesday #35 roundup was published (with my first appearance) and the topic for WBW #36 was announced — Let’s Get Naked.
No that’s not what you think. The theme is Naked Chardonnay. You know, the un-oaked kind. I swear the planets are aligned for me lately. As you may know, I’m right in the middle of my Chardonnay Challenge and they throw this one at me, what fun. I get to drink chardonnay naked… er, um naked chardonnay.
So I stopped at one of my favorite wine shops on the way home from work to see what I could find. I looked around for a bit and I found one, but I always like to try a few within a theme. So I asked the “expert” employee if they had any others and got a peculiar look when I asked for naked chardonnay. He ran all over the store looking, telling me they didn’t have any (meanwhile I found two more) then he made a phone call and tracked down a fourth one for me. So I’m ready to go.
But on to today’s tasting.
I promised to follow up Tasting Tempranillo, my review of six pure Tempranillos, with a review of some Tempranillo blends. Tonight I tried my first one and it was fantastic.
Osborne Solaz 2004, a blend of 80% Tempranillo / 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. I mentioned in my Tasting Tempranillo post that I thought tempranillo would be better in a blend and is a great example of what I was expecting.
This wine is simply delightful and at $8.99 it’s not a bad deal. It comes from the Tierra de Castilla region of Spain.
This wine has a nice complexity to it. I found it downright exciting. Cherries and berries fill your palate, accompanied by woody/earthy undertones. The finish is dynamic too with smooth silky tannins and a crisp, peppery snap on the tip of your tongue.
The nose was a bit subtle, which is why I only gave it an 89. But it is an exceptionally enjoyable wine that I will buy again.
I may have join in on your wine blogging wednesdays! 😉 I mean, on my own blog of course, but Wednesday is a great excuse for wine! I mean, they both start with “w” right?
Great blog, I look foward to reading your reviews!