TN: 2007 Pazo de Señorans Albariño Rías Baixas & 2005 Aalto Ribera del Duero AAlto

  • 2007 Pazo de Señorans Albariño Rías Baixas - Spain, Galicia, Rías Baixas (6/28/2009)
    Soft and pleasing melon notes on the nose, paired with a nice floral sensibility. On the palate, this initially appeared a somewhat delicate white, offering traces of fresh citrus zest, white flowers, and a pleasing mineral touch. As it warmed in the glass, it steadily became more assured and confident, resonating in a longer finish and overall more complete wine. Nice effort. (90 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

  • 2005 Bodegas AAlto Ribera del Duero AAlto - Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero (7/1/2009)
    From the nose alone, I would have probably guessed this was a new world Grenache vs. Tempranillo, as a moderately concentrated blast of spicy oak laden cherries, road tar, and tints of fresh herbs (as it evolved in the glass tea oak subsided quite a bit). Dark and concentrated, this clearly has a modern polish and feel to it, offering copious amounts of ripe, dark fruit, very lush and clean with the oak notes repeating from the nose. Dips somewhat on the on the mid palate, but I liked the way the chewy tannins balanced out the front half of the tasting experience. My intuition would guess that a couple of years might bring out a little more personality than it’s present state, so patience might be advised here. (89 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

The Pazo is always a highlight for me but not cheap in these parts. $28 Cdn.

Thanks for the TNs, these are both excellent wines. The Aalto will need several years, though.