Bloody Tempranillo - Volver 2005,Tempranillo from La Mancha Spain

I've seen this wine everywhere and it looks like a very decent wine, the label is clean and cute without being too cutsie. It's a pretty substantial feeling bottle too - what do they say about not judging a book by it's cover. No - in this case it's completely a matter of personal taste.

I cracked this open a few days ago and the moment I sniffed it, my expectations plummeted. I PERSONALLY cannot stand a very particular iron/bloody aroma that also is expressed on the palate too. I let it stand for an hour and it was still there. I was so annoyed - here is an $18 bottle and I can't even drink it. I gave a glass to David to try and he smacked his lips and exclaimed how much he loved it -- especially the "bloody aftertaste". Go figure! That just shows you how different people's palates are. This wine has scored a solid 90 points with Steven Tanzer and with the Wine Spectator. Neither of them mention the iron-y taste or the bloody taste that I found so overwhelmingly pronounced. Maybe it's just me!

However, 4 days later the iron scent was gone! Hallelujah! At to show how well made this wine is - 4 days later it was drinking really nicely!

At any rate, this is a well made wine. Even though I didn't like the aromas or the flavor profile, I thought that it was extremely well balanced and had nice acidity for a wine region that is supposed to be sun-baked with Don Quixote running around windmills and the like. You can see from the wine map above that La Mancha is the deep purple region smack in the middle of Spain. It's the largest DO in Spain and it is supposed to be the next big thing in Spanish wine even though less than 20% of the grapes are red. Tempranillo here is sometimes called Cencibel, but on this particular wine is says Tempranillo.

color: dark ruby

nose: plum, sweet spice, cherry coulis (upon opening -- very irony and bloody)

palate: smooth, rich, lush more black cherry and tart blackberry. nice acidity and medium to full bodied.

My suggestions - buy it - I think you can find it on sale for under $15 dollars - but decant it and let it breathe for a few hours unless you're a vampire and like the taste of blood.