The Young One had travelled to Barcelona a few months ago,
and we are still celebrating a coming of age, even though it has been over a
year. And with the arrival of Stew Pot
and Mitty, who divide their time between the Home Land and Spain, it was
appropriate to open a bottle from Spain that was put aside for The Young One.
On release the 2003
Contino ‘Vigna del Olivo; Rioja was a spectacularly tight and brooding
wine, black as the night with some unusual funky flavours that was attributable
to the 20% Graciano that bolstered the Tempranillo. A healthy dose of oaking merged it without
being intrusive, but showed just to let you know this was a modern way of
thinking, incorporating an indigenous variety of quality that had been
discarded in the past few decades. I
believed this would take Rioja into another place in the near future, and
indeed Graciano is beginning to thrive in the field and in the wine.
Opening this bottle, around half dozen years later, the
brooding mantle had dissipated, and the warmth of 2003 had begun to be
prominent. Not in a jammy way, but more
in richness, sweetness, smoothness and friendliness. The Graciano was truly funky, with a near TCA
cork-taint disturbing aspect, but the more it was tasted, the sweeter and
savoury it became. A little frightening,
but a wine to contemplate and ponder, and in doing so, you come to see the
interest it offers. At the end of the
bottle, we pronounced it delicious, and though initially suspicious, we relaxed
and enjoyed all the connections we had with Spain in the backdrop.
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