Back to the occupation

Back in 2009 I started blogging to keep track of wines I had tried. After a few months, I realized that I could remember all the details that were interesting to me about all those wines.. so why bother writing it down?

Well, yesterday I bought a bottle of $12 Ribera from one of my favorite wine merchants. Its a total wash, tastes like an oak chip soaked in vanilla extract. Tempranillo? It might as well be any varietal. And yet the write-up from the wine merchant was rather glowing (ok, naievete, I know, they are merchants..)

So here I am, new forum, old habit, new motivation: Help other wine lovers avoid the burn of buying $12 cooking wine. I've bought waaay too much.. and though I no longer feel rage when I get burned, I can't shake that wistful exhalation that proclaims a bottle filled with erstwhile promise to be, in reality, filled with swill.

So lets sort out the ground rule of this blog: modest means, big dreams. I am not the 1%, but I am saving up for a Porsche. And yet I love wine. This fixes me rather squarely in the ~$12 bottle category. Occasional deviations could be expected.. like, um, that bottle of Terrasse du Diable I could not say no to a few weeks back.

And without further ado, the review:

"La Planta" D.O. Ribera del Duero (Spain) 2009
varietal: Tempranillo
cost: $12
verdict: Avoid

If you love wine, do not buy this bottle. If wine is something you drink only when you go to a party, or when you throw a party.. well, you might like this. It has a warm, toasty mouth feel, sort of like dark rum. At 13.8% abv, it will not scald your esophagous. But forget about aromatics or the flavor of the vigne..