The Desert Wine Guy - 2009 Vino Egui, Tempranillo Reserve

2009 Vino Egui, Tempernillo Reserve

   Today I am excited to once again be reviewing my absolutely favorite varietal of wine. For those of you who aren't regular readers of this wine blog I'll go ahead and tell you that the varietal I am talking about is that of  the Tempranillo, which means "early one" due too it's early ripening. Today's wine review is on the 2009 Vino Egui, Tempranillo Reserve from Spain. Let's now go ahead and discuss a little about this varietal as well as it's growing in Spain. By the way this wine was purchased at Costco for $7.99.

Tempranillo Grapes On The Vine

   The Tempranillo (Tem-prah-nee-yoh) grape is native to Northern Spain with the area of Rioja being the preferred area and further South the area of Ribera Del Duero being the preferred area. Tempranillo is the most widely planted grape in Spain and is used in blending other varietals such as Port. Tempranillo makes up for approximately 75% of Riojas Vineyards. Although Spain is famous for their Tempranillo, California has been growing the varietal since 1996 and originally named it Valdepenas up until 1996 when the BATF officially chose the name of Tempranillo. So, that is a little bit about the grape and I hope I was able to she some light on it for those of you who might develop a sudden interest in the grape after reading this review. It is now time to move on to the main body of this review. 

Different Styles Of Tempranillo

Valdepeñas

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Copyright © Wines & Vines

Valdepeñas

Read more at: https://www.winesandvines.com/template.cfm?section=features&content=50428
Copyright © Wines & Vineshas been planting this varietal for around 100 years the grape is best known and grown in Spain. There are usually three different labeling requirements for Tempranillo, here is a breakdown of the three. The first one is "Vin Joven" These Tempranillos are released while they are young and meant to be drank right away. These are usually not seen outside of Spain. The second is 'Crianza". This Tempranillo requires 2 years and 6 months in Oak. The third is "Reserva" our review wine). These Reds are aged for 3 years with 1 year in Oak. The last is called "Gran Reserva". These reds are aged for a minimum of 5 years with 18 months in Oak. The Tempranillo varietal is also known for it's strong Tannins and high acidity that add to the wines complexity and body.

   From the beginning I will put it out there and tell you that this wine is seriously impressing me. I gave the wine no time for Decanting due to the fact that I originally had no intention of actually tasting this wine but was sort of forced into doing a tasting of it as this was actually a substitute bottle that I opened in place of another wine that I had originally planned to review. That wine I originally had opened and intended to review was the 2012 Supper Club Cabernet Sauvignon. That particular wine was Decanted for approximately 1 hour and tasted. The wine didn't last 5 minutes in my glass before the entire bottle went down the sink, good bye!. Thankfully the replacement bottle is our review wine because simply put, this wine is great. This wine is why my preference / appreciation for a Spanish Tempranillo (especially from the La Rioja region) has developed and why I would choose the Spanish version over an American version which to me seems a light lighter and does not seem to have as much complexity nor that peppery note that I have grown to appreciate and look for in the varietal. So, let's go ahead now and discuss the Bouquet of this wine because this is truly where the greatness begins. A super and intense note of  dark spiciness on the nose makes your senses come alive. Simply by what I am getting from the nose is making my mouth water. The nose also presents a good amount of French Oak and lively dark Licorice. An ultra wonderful note of earth is incredibly blasting its way to the mouth of the glass but stopping just short enough to allow for complimenting of the other notes without overpowering them. There are notes of black fruit that are escaping the

La Rioja Wine Map

glass as well and the overall result is a Bouquet that seems to never want to stop showing the wine off. There very simply is a lot going on here folks and just enjoying this Bouquet could almost be enough to satisfy me. Continuing on the nose is also a superior note of smoke as well. Once again I cannot say enough great things about the nose on this $7.99 (later to be $4.99) wine. In fact I'm going to go on about the great Bouquet if you don't mind. The notes of Vanilla and rich berry across the nose really made me breath deeply in the glass in amazement. Topping it all off is a smoky Tobacco note. Folks I am telling you that this wine delivered an aromatic meal to the nose in a simple breath. If this wine review ended right here it would simply be a tease and I wouldn't do that to you. The wine deserves to be explored fully not only for it's own sake but for you, the readers sake. You don't want to miss this wine.
   Well, now it's time to dig a little further and go beyond the Bouquet and allow you to discover what I am discovering and that is just how truly amazing this wine is. As you read this please keep in mind that when I review a wine I will move between wine magazines to music DVDs and than back to writing notes on the wine in review. Between these things there might be 20 minutes that lapses. Of course these times will give me time to really taste a wine. O.K, let's move on now. I have been hoping for some time now since I first experienced the Bouquet that the wine, when on my Palatte wouldn't disappoint me. I have previously had wines that had really nice Bouquet but unfortunately simply failed miserably in presenting themselves well after that point. I am left wondering and

Varietal Characteristics

worrying, could that be the case here?  It's time to now find out. On the Palatte this wine is straight forward a true Spanish Tempranillo. Spice galore, Oak galore, Earthy galore, Tannins / acidity galore here even though this wine is 7 years old at the time of this writing and sold fairly recently for $7.99 and at this minute for $4.99, this wine has held up beautifully. On the pour I had (and you might have as well) some reservations due to it being a fairly light Red in the glass. I know I was somewhat concerned that this wine might fall flat on it's face.  I have previously tasted wines that do not show well in the glass only to turn out to be a wonderfully surprise when it came to the Palatte. I can tell you after tasting this wine that you should have no worries because this wine is in deed a powerhouse of a wine guys. This also is one of those wines that exhibits on the Palatte all of what it exhibited in power and finesse on the nose and more! Sensory overload here anyone? There is almost too much to talk about. I just want to scream out  "just get the wine" but I know that simply wouldn't suffice nor do any justice to this wine so lets move ahead. Dark spicy Oak on the Palatte is to be noted here and is expressed in a simple yet effective and straight forward way. Actually all the notes in this wine express themselves in a simple and effective way and that way is to simply blast those note onto your tongue and say "here we are" and they simply leave it at that for you to accept or not accept. Ripe, spicy, dark fruit are in abundance as well. To me the spice (peppery, earthy) in a Tempranillo is a must and decides whether the particular wine lives or dies in my view. The originators of this varietal designed the Tempranillo that way, this is a big component of the varietal and once you taste it you will understand. Simply said,  I can't have as Tempranillo without spice, lots of spice. The Oak in here when blended with the dark and earthy spice is, as Ralph Kramdon of the T.V show The Honeymooners always said is "to the Moon", not with Alice (his Wife on the show) this time but with flavor. This is a super dark (on the Palatte) Tempranillo and if you are not into this kind of wine don't waste your time. If however, you are into this type of Tempranillo than you have to hope you can still find a bottle. Folks the smoky Tobacco note that is on the nose displays itself here on the Palatte like a juicy steak.

A serious note of baking spice also envelops the Palatte along with the other dark notes mentioned to create a wine here that is almost as close to perfection as I have ever found. If you are wondering where the Tannins are don't worry because along with a crazy note of acidity come are the Tannins. The Tannins are powerful and very serious and they mean business. One last note I must talk about is that dark Cherry that is almost to the point of being no good BUT hasn't really gotten that far and is still at the height of flavor. Those of you who love Bing Cherries like the stores sell in the produce section at certain times of the year know what I am talking about. To me I don't like those cherries in that context when they are at that particular point mentioned of being ALMOST overripe HOWEVER, when I taste them in this nice deep red I loved it and feel that it really sets the wine off and in a way also gives it that smooth type note of powerful cherry. This wine is like a meal in a bottle folks with all that it has to offer. No shyness here in this wine at all. I think that the wine forgets that it sells for $7.99 instead of $100 wine and is not supposed to get this kind of a review. If you thought I was done with what this wine has to offer you would be wrong. This wine exhibits probably the darkest, purist Blackberry that I have ever tasted. Now I don't know if you are putting this all together in your mind as to what this wine is offering but let me tell you this, this wine is over the top in boldness, flavor, complexity and body. With all this being said, and I know it is a lot, let's go ahead and wrap it all up for you.
   Let's me start off this wrap up by telling you that as mentioned earlier I paid $7.99 for this wine. About 1 year later I came across it at Wine of The Month Club (http://www.wineofthemonthclub.com/product/c0816r1is/wine-shoppe) for $4.99 if it is still available when you read this. You read that correctly, $4.99. Needless to say I purchased 6 more bottles of the wine and three ended up in my wine cellar. In answer to your next question, yes, I do believe that this wine will continue to develop and only get better. With acidity levels at above average for the varietal. With a Blackberry note that is the deepest and purist level that I have ever tasted. With an earthiness that is unmatched. With Tannins that manage to stop just before the point of over doing it. With the darkest of dark Bing Cherry that you have ever tasted. With dark spices that take claim and ownership of the wine as they should, this expression of the Tempranillo classic is what all other Tempranillos should strive to beat. An expertly crafted Tempranillo from Spain that will make you stay away from all other countries versions of this wine forever. In closing I will tell you that the highest rating that I have ever given a wine is 97 points for the 2011 Peju Cabernet Sauvignon (http://desertwineguy.blogspot.com/2014/05/2011-peju-cabernet-sauvignon.html) but I have to tell you guys that this wine came super close to tying that rating. On The Desert Wine Guy rating scale I am putting this wine at a big, bold 95 points.

                                                                                                                 The Desert Wine Guy

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