ONA on-a Friday

Anakena Ona, Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenere, Syrah, 2007, Rapel Valley, Chile.

Beautiful, velvety aromas of blackberry, blackcurrants with hints of violets. There are also some menthol and mint notes here too. The nose is full of warm juicy fruits. Soft palate with well constructed tannins. Dark fruit carries over. Palate is not as dense and thick as I was expecting. Nice wine but needs food. Would go well with a good beef dish (as it did with the grilled steaks we had tonight). Nice length and balance. 3.8/5 (13.5% abv) Oddbins £10.99

Back in Business

After a shockingly long dry spell it looks likes the blog is back in business! Life has somewhat calmed down again now to the point where I have time to think about what I am drinking - long may it last! So tonight I decided to break back into the routine with an easy drinking style wine - what a great start to a short work week.

Musica en el Camino, Rioja, 2007, Spain.

This wine is made from 100% Tempranillo and is produced by Bodegas Martin Codax - who incidentally also make a lovely Albarino. This wine is a great, vibrant, fruit forward wine full of plum and dark cherry aromas. The fruit is alive and supple. This wine has aromas of summer red fruits. When I smell this wine I automatically picture sitting in the garden on a summers day, eating BBQ'd lamb. There are some mild woody characters and hints of vanilla. The palate is soft and velvety. The fruit carries over. There are some oak characters coming through which provides structure. However, this is subtly oaked unlike a lot of heavily oaked Spanish wines. The palate also has some red currant flavours, wild raspberry and hints of mint. This is really good easy drinking Rioja. This will be ideal in the summer....when it finally comes! 4/5 (13.5% abv) Oddbins £8.99