Sancius Ribera del Duero 2005: from bad to brilliant over 3 days (WBW47)
Posted on July 8th, 2008
Saved in Red wine, Sour Grapes recommends, Wine, €10-€15
This month’s wine blogging wednesday #47 is being hosted by Erin & Michelle over at grape-juice.ca
Brought to you by the letter “S”: a Sancius Ribera del Duero
Like a closed flower, some wines can blossom or bloom a little while after opening. This one is a good example. “Closed” (smelling of nothing in particular) when first opened only to reveal itself quite a few hours after opening.
Day 1: Started off badly
After opening, with about two hours in a wide-bottomed decanter I had this to say (via a Review on Loudervoice.com):
Nasty green stalk taste. Bought in Louis Albrouze which normally delivers a lot more.
Disgusted, I popped a stopper in the top, put it in the fridge (yes, you should do this with your unfinished red wines) and forgot about it for two days and tried it again last night.
Day 2: A bit better
I poured half a glass from the fridge which I allowed to get to room temperature (18°C).
I wasn’t expecting much but it had changed considerably after opening with two days in the fridge. It was far softer and more pleasant: a bit of raisin, a good deal of spiciness and none of the horrible green stalkiness that was there two days before.
Day 3: By Janus, this is pretty damn good
Three full days after opening and all I can is, this is bloody good - a full volte face from day one.
Out of the fridge, into a wide-bottomed decanter for two hours and it was really impressive.
Very rich raisin, cinnamon, leather, liquorice, cigar, and a bit of mintyness and some coffee going on which went really well with some Comte cheese I had left over.
It’s definitely a rich, full bodied wine not for the faint hearted - but I really got to like it and I’m glad I did this experiment rather than chuck it down the sink.
Moral of the story
- “Prejudice is a great time saver. You can form opinions without having to get the facts”.
- “Fat bottomed girls make the rockin’ world go round”
- In other words, give young red wine (and this one in particular) at least four hours in a wide-bottomed decanter before serving and it will make all the difference
More on the Sancius Ribera del Duero Roble 2005:
- 100 % Tinta del País, or Tempranillo
- 6 months in oak (American & French)
- Made in a traditional process which can leave sediment
- Costs about €15 from Louis Albrouze, Leeson Street, Dublin
Lar,
I had something similar (a cheap bottle of Cabernet) and I was going to make red wine vinegar from it. So I left the bottle out for 3 days and when Carol came on the third day, we poured a glass…..and wow, we didn’t stop until the bottle was empty. It was nasty to begin with but after the 3 days, it was fruity without being sweet and the smell was of summer berries….very impressive for a cheapy…
Elke
[...] a bit of a tangent, grape synonyms are quite common in Spain. The Sancius Ribera del Duero I did an about-turn on this week is made from Tinta del País, which goes by Tempranillo in other [...]
[...] title to Sour Grapes’ review of the 2005 Sancius Ribera del Duero (that’s extra points for Spain as well), says it all “From bad to brilliant over 3 [...]
I dig the wine stain on the label.