TN: SOBER goes to Spain

"DaleW" wrote in news:1174484455.458677.126410 @y80g2000hsf.googlegroups.com:

I have never managed to like this wine. Too oxidized for my taste.

The region is D.O. Somontano. Retails here at 4,5 euros and is a wine to be consumed young.

I have had a wonderful bottle of a prior vintage. I am not very fond of very strong wines from Priorat and thought this Salanques had an elegant character. The wine I tasted would be a solid A for me.

I cannot understand this trend to make overwines (over-ripe, over- extracted, over-oaked). They are trying to impress professional tasters instead of providing pleasure to wine drinkers. Terroir gets lost and all you taste is syrup.

Please, do not take me wrong, but the only think you should be drinking with gazpacho is a good Manzanilla or a good Fino. Pairing a gazpacho with wines from Toro or Ribera del Duero does not make much sense to me. Sorry if I seem harsh, I do not want anybody to think I want to set an offense.

I have had Numanthia in the first vintages (1998 and 1999) and never liked it. For me it is yet another overwine.

I have been following this wine for all its history. It started in 2000 with a wonderful wine, which was even better in 2001. 2002 was somehow difficult (and I passed) and 2003 I thought it was too hot (self- suggestion?) but I had the higher expectations for this 2004. I had a bottle and thought it was not very expressive. Correct but not the enjoyable wine it had be in 2000 and 2001.

In 2002, the winery played the game of taking the best parcels out of the basic wine, and started bottling "Valdegatiles", "La Mala" and "Llanos del Almendro" as single vineyards. I have been lucky enough to have drunk a great bottle of La Mala 2002 and an astonishingly good "Valdegatiles"

2003. But the basic "Dominio de Atauta" 2002 and 2003 were not as good as they should.

I have another bottle of 2004 to be tasted in the next weeks and have purchased two bottles of Llanos del Almendro 2004 for a special occasion.

BTW, the enologist for the winery is from Chinon (Bertrand Sourdais) and the vineyards of the winery are in Soria, as east in Ribera as they can be, and at a very high altitude, which explains why DOminio de Atauta is usually fresher than the typical Ribera del Duero.

I have enjoyed this wine, and would say B+/A- ;-)

This is surprising. Oloroso with chocolate!!! Was it a sweet oloroso? (oxymoron, some would say).

Best,

Santiago