September 11, 2020

MARQUÉS DE CACERES Gran Reserva Tempranillo 2011

(Rioja, Spain) $27

“Spain continues to be the source of older wines at fantastic prices. Wonderful dry earthiness with notes of mushrooms and soy sauce.”

90 points KM

Available at Total Wine & More

Which of the following terms in Australia is given to the oldest vines?

A. Old Vine

B. Survivor Vine

C. Centenarian Vine

D. Ancestor Vine

Ancestor vines must be at least 125 years old and are considered living tributes to Australia’s European settlers. Penfold’s famous Kalimna “Block 42” (source of both the heritage cuttings planted in Penfolds’ Paso Robles vineyard in 1999, and the cabernet sauvignon blended into the California Collection in 2018) was planted in the Barossa Valley in 1888 and is thought to be the oldest cabernet sauvignon the world over. Given that many of the world’s oldest vines live in the Barossa Valley, it’s fitting that winemakers there were the first in the world to codify what “old” means. For the record: Old Vines are at least thirty-five years of age; Survivor Vines are at least seventy years of age; and—you guessed it—Centenarian Vines are at least one hundred years of age.

National Ice Cream Month

With July being National Ice Cream Month, the pressure’s on to answer a fundamental question: what wine is best with ice cream? Being something of a traditionalist, I’m going with vanilla ice cream and PX… Continue reading

MARQUÉS DE CACERES Gran Reserva Tempranillo 2011

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