Abacela, Tempranillo, 'Umpqua Cuvee', 2006
We've been fans of Abacela for a long time. They're in the Umpqua valley. No, this is not the Willamette Valley. This is close to Roseburg, not Dundee -- in the southern part of the state (most of the Pinot is more towards the north). These guys do some very interesting blends (see the other reviews), and perhaps surprisingly, they do very nice Tempranillos. We've had some of their reserve Tempranillo (and still have a 2001 stashed away for a special occasion). However, this was not that.
The nose was first vanilla (oak). But really (and seriously), it smelled like hard cherry candy -- in-between a Luden's cough drop and a cherry Jolly rancher. I'm not kidding -- literally. The taste was a plum and red cherry mix -- along with some stem taste thrown in there, and vanilla again. That vanilla was just slightly sweet, but not overly so. Not much taste really. The body was medium. The finish was quickly cherry (sort of sweet), and then went into pomegranate (just slightly sour). Denise said the finish was "twiggy" -- no, not the 60's model; for her, that stem-essence remained.
We drank this again the second day, and had it side-by-side with a Spanish Tempranillo (that review will be posted tomorrow). It's always fun to compare them directly; you really can easily taste the differences. On that second day, the vanilla was gone and was replaced with cedar! Really strongly pungent. In addition to that cedar was a nice lavendar. However, that vanilla remained in the taste and the finish. This wine had a lot more body than the Spanish one.
Personally, I think this wine would be better with some age. The Spanish usually don't release Tempranillos (like Rioja) for at least a few years, and usually more like five or more. I bet this would be a lot better after five more years of sitting. That vanilla sweetness would assuredly mellow. In my opinion: hold 'em if you got 'em.
Cost:
Rating:
6.0(Tempranillo)