Resalte Ribera Del Duero Crianza 2005

Considering how much I love the wines of Spain - and that it was an Iberian tasting event that got me into wine in the first place - I don’t feel that I have Spanish wines often enough.  It’s not for lack of loving them, it’s just that I do a lot of specific tasting that always seems to take me to some other wine corner of the world.

A sample from Bodegas Resalte came to me recently via the nice folks at TGIC Importers in Southern California, who kindly made it available to me.  It's the Resalte Ribera del Duero Crianza 2005.

Resalte has only been in existence since 2000 in the village of Peñafiel in the Ribera del Duero region, a mere babe in the woods in a place where wine has been around since Bacchus was an apprentice.  They must have learned quickly - their ‘05 Crianza made Wine Spectator’s Top 100 Wines of 2010 list.  It came in at number 26, which made it the top Spanish wine on the chart.

It is, of course, a 100% Tempranillo wine.  It spends 15 months in oak barrels, 80% of which are French and 20% American.  The alcohol content is a whopping 15% abv.  It would seem to have been crafted specifically for the American palate.

The wine’s bouquet is extremely rich, with big dark fruit and lot's of tar.  The palate is equally dark and rich.  The tarriness that drapes over the plums and cassis flavors is just exquisite.  Fine tannins, just a little bit toothy, will make this one a good choice to serve with steak.  It’s also good with the black beans and rice in casamiento.  The BBQ tofu was a little lame for it.  I'm embarrassed that I even tried that, but I’ll write it off to experimentation.  This is a great wine, full and inviting, and deserving of a nice cut of meat.