OMFG! 2006 Vina Sastre Pesus DESTROYS SQN/Levy&McClellan

WINE TALK
1

I spent the day drinking and eating in Ribero del Duero, even though I only visited two Bodegas. The first was new to me - Cillar de Silos. We were met by the brothers who own the winery, Roberto and Oscar Garcia. Super nice guys, and super tasty wine. We tasted a bunch of stuff, including one of their top of the line wines, Torre Silos (100% Tempranillo). The 2004 was amazing, and at 28 euro, one of the best QPR wines I’ve ever tasted. The current release is the 2006, which is equally worth seeking out. The 2007 vintage appears strong for them, despite some of the bad things I’ve heard about the vintage in general. And barrel samples of 2008 were slammin’.

Then it was off to Vina Sastre to meet up with winemaker Eugenio Bayon. After a quick look around and raiding their cellar, we headed to lunch - where I was told we’d be eating a lamb. Not eating SOME lamb. Eating A lamb. And I think we did. At one point I tried re-creating the animal from the pile of bones on the table… and truth be known, I think there was more than one animal consumed - and there were only 5 of us. Damn tasty.

The wines consisted of 3 from Vina Sastre (2006 Regina Vides, 2006 Pago de Santa Cruz, and 2006 Pesus) along with the 2001 SQN Midnight Oil and 2004 Levy&McClellan. The Regina Vides and Pago de Santa Cruz were awsome, and gave the two Cali wines a run for their money. Both the SQN and L&M were top notch - really exceptional wines. But the Pesus was STUNNING. S T U N N I N G. I had the 2005 Pesus last year when I was in Spain and thought it might have been even better than one of my all-time favorite wines, 2005 El Nido. The 2006 Pesus was easily as good as the 2005, and it made the SQN and L&M look silly. Just crazy good. It’s in the same style as El Nido - big, bold, lots of tasty oak… not a wine for the faint of heart. If you don’t like El Nido, you probably won’t like this. But if you do… you are going to LOVE this stuff! The 2006 isn’t officially released yet, and it’s very expensive (probably $500 in the US - if you can find it). So I apologize for telling you about something you probably can’t get. But DAMN IT’S GOOD!!!

2

Two more than Dr. Jay on his trip. [dance2.gif]

Pesus is very rare and ludicrously expensive, but I just sold my last mag of 2003 and a few btls of 2005.

3

Surprised the '06 was that good. Compared to '04 and '05, '06 is considered a lesser vintage. Good to hear. I have only had a few Pesus. The '03 was a ROCKSTAR btw.*




*'03 a lesser vintage . . . I love double talk . . . fit right here :wink:

4

Me too. Virtually every other 2006 I’ve had from Spain wasn’t as good as its 2004 and 2005 versions - including El Nido, Clio, and Numathia. Good, but not as good. But the 2006 Pesus was off the charts tasty.

5

You’re welcome! I guess you should disclose how much you make from my reviews now. [wow.gif] [rolleyes.gif] [berserker.gif]

6

There’s a new rating system in town, and I for one can’t wait to see what’s next:

GUST (Get You Summa This) 06 Keefer Ranch Pinot and OMFG 05 El Nido and 06 Pesus

7

Just like Miller’s. No tasting notes required for above ratings. [rofl.gif]

8

Thanks for the notes and sounds like a great trip.

The Cillar de Silos wines have been coming into some of the Australian markets for at least ten years now (a mix of their wines, including the Torresilo and the crianza) and have been some good drinking.

Dave Worthington, who runs the Tintoyblanco review site for Spanish wines in Australia went to a 10 year retrospective of the Cillar de Silos crianza recently. His notes are at:
http://www.tintoyblanco.com.au/wine/10-years-of-cillar-de-silos-crianza/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Dave’s review of the 2006 Torresilo is at http://www.tintoyblanco.com.au/wine/cillar-de-silos-torresilo-2006/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and sounds like something I should track down.

9

Priceless.

And you owe me a royalty on that OMFG. That’s mine. I patented over on eBob. Oh shit, never mind…

Bravo, sounds like some terrific wines. Do you actually drink things other than Pinot? Serious question.

10

Let me answer for Brian on the question of what he drinks other than Pinot. It really all depends on whether it’s Spanish and on the viscosity. (It’s gotta be above 20 weight.)

Brian!!! Dude!!! Sounds amazing!!!