It’s kind of a random thread though, isn’t it? Unless you break it out like Jose, you get a random list of very different wines. For example, the Moncayo - it’s made by Chris Ringland from Australia for Jorge Ordonez and designed to get big points from WA - really really ripe, sweet, and slathered in buttery oak. The big brother the Aquilon is more of the same, although I’ve tended to prefer the Moncayo. If you like that sort of wine, and why not, then you may as well look at all the rest of their wines - Clio, El Nido, etc. They’re all pretty much the same style - big, ripe, oaky, and built for 95 - 120 points. The fact that they are monastrell, garnacha, cabernet, or whatever is not particularly relevant. In the same vein would be something like Numanthia or Termanthia from Toro - different winemakers but big, ripe, oaky, sweet. Those are wines that would likely appeal to someone who loved big Australian grenache or shiraz as well and of course, they get the 98 - 100 points from certain critics, as well as projected lifespans of decades or more, notwithstanding the fact that the wineries in most cases aren’t even a decade old. And from time to time, I do like those wines, so I’m not knocking them. But they’re of a type. If I were a retailer and someone asked me for a Mollydooker and I didn’t have it, I’d show them some of these wines or Turley zins.
Somewhat different are the “modern” style wines that are from places like Rioja and Ribera del Duero. Jose listed some of those - I guess the Ordonez-design might be Sierra Cantabria or Calvario. Not knocking those either, I actually drank the Sierra Cantabria crianza with dinner tonight, even tho it’s the competition. But I prefer those wines anyhow, probably because Mr. Ringland isn’t involved, at least as far as I know, and those still taste like they might be Spanish. They’re not as alcoholic or over the top as the earlier ones, and in fact may turn out to be really long-lived too, which I kind of think the others are not going to be.
Toned down a little bit is one of my favorites - Bodegas Roda. Their top wine is Cirson, but it doesn’t merit the price IMO and the wine formerly called Roda I is just outstandingly good. Modern in that it’s drinkable fairly young and has really approachable fruit, but has a long life and it’s tempranillo-based so it’s going to be good when it’s old. They’re nearby to Lopez de Heredia which is the opposite in all respects. That’s the wine people love to trot out, probably because it’s one of the few they know, but it’s worth a mention. Traditional in style and probably the closest to what people used to drink back in the 1800s when they drank claret. Very high in acidity and light in body, and when aged maybe reminiscent of something like barolo, but the acidity is not as fierce as it is in nebbiolo and the wine really does unfold for hours, showing layers of nuance that not many wines can match. In that vein, Marques de Murrietta is a wine that if you’re lucky, can hold on and develop for many years, and so can the CVNE wines and I’ve had Monte Real from the 1980s that is just outstanding. But these are a world apart from the Aquilons and such - you can actually see through the glass, whereas the others are dark, inky, and light just disappears into them.
And there are many many more. In Ribera del Duero for example, there are wonderful wines that don’t get much hype. If you rely on a critic to clue you in, you better pick a critic who has tasted broadly.
And there are many good whites as well.
![[thankyou.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/d/df165fe9c1593d19166ae7e1ffe5e272089cc07b.gif "thankyou"){kind=small}