2005 Baron de Magana

Before I talk about the wine, I have a confession... My name is Rebecca and I am utterly and completely addicted to Mexican food! It's pretty ridiculous! And, even though I can admit it, I still totally blame my mom for this obsession! : ) Clay and I eat Mexican WAY too frequently and this night was one of those many, many occasions!

The weather was horrible, we were lazy and all the pieces just fell together for a great and relaxing evening in! We had Mexican delivered to the house (Bulldawg Food delivery*= greatest idea/company EVER!), watched TV and had some wine. It was just perfect!

*Bulldawg Food is a new company in town. They've teamed up with tons of local restaurants and will deliver anything from the menu for $2! Seriously!? Why didn't I think of that!? They have an awesome website and have probably added to my increasing waistline the last couple months! : ) I may be their only customer (but I'm a good one!), so here's their website: http://www.orderbulldawgfood.com/ Enjoy Athenians! : )

Now, back to the wine!

2005 Baron de Magana

Navarra

Date tasted: 12/15/10

Purchased at: Shiraz wine store

Price: Normally $21.99, but $19.99 this month

Rating:

Rebecca: 8.5

Clay: 8

Sight: very dark, clear

Smell: slight fruit- raspberry, smoky, lead, slight hay/straw- interesting

Tastes: very dry, smoky, very strong, seems very acidic/tannic

This wine is 40% Merlot, 40% Cab. and 20% Tempranillo. I have been pretty vocal about my aversion to Merlot; however, I'm always willing to squash stigmas! The wine didn't drink like there was any Merlot! The Cab. and Tempranillo really did a great job of bringing out all of the Merlot's good qualities without showcasing the ones that I'm not super fond of! It was really, really good! I wrote in my notes, "YUM!" so that should say something! : )

I would definitely buy this wine again!

2009 El Posadero

Wow it's been a long time since I've posted! I have 4 additional posts after this one to get to as well... Oops!

So, after the UGA vs Colorado Basketball game on 11/16, Clay and I decided that we needed to celebrate the (much too narrow) Dawgs win with a glass of wine at home! I went to the wine fridge and pulled out a bottle that looked interesting. I poured a glass, took a whiff and did NOT like what I smelled!!! I then looked at the bottle again and had a flood of memories attack me! Emily: "Rebecca, you need to make sure that you decant this wine for about an hour before you drink it. I tasted this straight from the barrel earlier this year, so it's super young." CRAP! We didn't want to wait an hour and now I've already opened this bottle! UGH!

So, I poured it into our decanter in the most un-ladylike manner possible (to try and get as much air in there as fast as I could)! I swirled the decanter full of wine with power and determination! : )

So, here we are... trying to rush the process of aerating the wine! Well, it sort-of worked! : )

2009 El Posadero
Vinos de Madrid Denominacion de Origen
Date tasted: 11/16/10
Purchased at: Shiraz wine store
Price: $10.99

Rating: 8.5-9 (Clay: 9)

This wine is 85% Tempranillo and 15% Syrah and 100% DELICIOUS!!! You would NEVER believe that this was an $11 bottle of wine!!! This probably sounds stupid, but it seems like a really sophisticated wine! I would serve this or take it to a high-class dinner party and not worry at all!

Really dark in color, gets lighter at edges; very clear; beautiful deep Garnet color.

Smell: maybe cherry, not really jammy, almost flamed cherries!? (yes, I know that's weird... but it had a Cherries Jubilee type smell), some spice, maybe a little chocolate, coffee, pencil lead

Tastes: BIG, bold flavor, spices, acidic, tannic, seems like it may have a higher alcohol content than normal, but I don't know that that's true

We didn't eat anything with this wine, but I felt like we really should have! I almost felt like I was wasting the wine by not having a good meal with it!

It continued getting better and better as it had time to breathe. The last 1/2 glass was phenomenal!

I made a note that the smell throws the wine off a bit to me... Not that it smelled bad, but it tasted a lot better than it smelled to me.

I will definitely buy this wine again! Especially since it's only $10.99!!!
*Note: I did actually go back and get 2 additional bottles. Next time, I'll make sure to give it ample time to open up and breathe! And... I think we'll have a great meal with it too!

**I always talk about making notes, etc. Well, I have a wine book that Emily gave me to take notes, etc. about wines tasted. I usually just fill in the blanks on the pages, but this wine had me writing all over the page trying to fit everything in! So, I figured I'd take a picture of that as well! : )