Moreno Wines Tasting
2^nd October 2006
Manchester

Prices shown are 2006 recommended retail prices.

• 2004 Guelbenzu Jardin Chardonnay (£6.99)
  A light, fairly fragrant nose.  Big, full, relatively simple palate.  86/100

• 2004 Penley Chardonnay, Penley Estate, Australia (£10.99)
  Nice full, round nose.  Very full palate with good depth but there’s a bit of a harsh note on the finish.  85/100
• 2004 Penley Hyland Shiraz, Penley Estate, Australia (£10.99)
  Quite sweet, plummy brambles on the nose – quite fragrant and elegant.  Very good palate.  Excellent balance.  Very elegant.  Very good fruit.  Nice structure with fine tannins on the finish.  Lovely after, with some cherry kernel flavours.  92/100
• 2004 Penley Phoenix Cabernet Sauvignon, Penley Estate, Australia (£10.99)
  There is forward cassis fruit on the nose, with a good oaked background.  This is a smooth, velvety, delicious cabernet with fabulous structure.  Beautiful finish.  Elegant and refined.  Excellent after.  93/100
• 2002 Penley Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Penley Estate, Australia (£25.99)
  The nose is dominated by oak initially, but after a bit of aeration lots of sweet blackcurrants come through.  Good palate.  Very structured, with very soft tannins on the finish.  Very Good Indeed.  89/100
• 2002 Penley Special Select Shiraz, Penley Estate, Australia (£25.99/12)
  This has a fragrant, sweet raspberry, blackberry and chocolate nose.  Very mouthfilling, with delicious fruit characters.  A good tannic structure appears towards the finish.  Very Good Indeed.  91/100

• 2003 Castell del Remei Gotim Bru, DO Costers del Segre (£8.99/12)
  Lovely nose with elegant black fruit.  Fairly simple on the palate with decent balance.  A big tannic structure makes itself known towards the finish and after.  Very Good.  86/100
• 2003 Castell del Remei ODA, DO Costers del Segre (£13.99)
  Quite a concentrated nose with some black fruit, though it feels a touch high-toned.  Lightish, unimpressive attack, but it fills well and finishes superbly.  88/100
• 2003 Astrales, DO Ribera del Duero (Anguix) (£21.99)
  100% tinto fino.  There is some sweet black fruit on the nose, but overall it feels a bit weedy.  Decent palate, which grows on me as I hold it in the mouth.  Decent elegance.  A bit too heavy on the oak.  87/100
• 2003 Sanfir, DO Utiel-Requena (£13.99)
  An attractive, if straightforward black fruit nose.  This is a very attractive wine: light and easy with a very good elegant structure.  Very good finish.  90/100
• 2003 Mauro, non-DO Ribera del Duero (Tudela del Duero) (£21.99)
  90% tempranillo, 10% syrah.  A very attractive nose: very concentrated fruit with a lovely perfumed violet floral aroma.  Silky and velvety in the mouth with nice ripe fruit character.  Excellent balance and superb finish round off a very impressive wine indeed.  Excellent.  95/100
• 2003 San Román Tinto, DO Toro (£23.99)
  100% tinto de toro (i.e. tempranillo), aged for 22 months in French and American oak.  This is a fantastic vibrant deep mauve colour.  It has a very tarry nose with sweet raspberry and blackberry fruit.  Very full on the palate.  There’s lots of tannic structure throughout, along with some very interesting fruit characters.  Deep and concentrated, with an intriguing bilberry fruit flavour.  Excellent.  94/100

• NV Moscatel Goya Clásico, Camilo Castilla, DO Navarra (£4.99, 375ml)
  This is made only from pure run juice, which is fermented to around 7% alcohol, before a neutral wine brandy is added to stop fermentation.  A mid teak colour.  Full, sweet muscat nose, followed in the mouth – unsurprisingly – be a full, sweet, very rich muscat palate.  This is a fairly simple Spanish sweet muscat, but enjoyable nonetheless.  88/100
• NV Capricho de Goya, Camilo Castilla, DO Navarra (£9.99, 375ml)
  A deeper teak colour than the Clásico.  A very refined, developed nose.  This has super balance and is much less obviously muscat.  It’s a bit richer and almost more madeira like.  89/100
• 1971 Don PX Gran Reserva, Bodegas Toro Albala, DO Montilla-Moriles  (£12.99, 375ml)
  A dark molasses colour, but a lighter texture than you might expect.  A big, raisiny nose.  In the mouth it’s rich, sweet and raisiny, though it feels a bit overdone with some slightly burnt treacle flavours alongside the raisins.  Not at all cloying, and in fact very mouthwatering.  Very Good.  86/100
• NV Pacharan Etxeko (£13.99, 700ml)
  This feels like an aniseed liqueur, but is apparently made with sloes.  Powerful, sweet nose.  Sweet anise flavours, and the overall impression is that it’s like a sweetened Ricard.

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Last updated: 09 July 2007