Wine Number 19:

2004 Bodegas Sonsierra Crianza Vendimia Seleccionada Rioja

Lots of words to say this is a Tempranillo blend but that's what it is. I don't have the exact percentages, so we're only going with Tempranillo for my journey.

What really stinks is when you get a so-so wine from a huge region, like Rioja. It's like getting a Bordeaux having heard tons of things about it and having it fall far short of your expectations. Or what happened to me personally, I had an excellent dessert wine at dinner, tried to buy an inexpensive Sauternes at a local wine shop and found the result to be poor, thin and definitely undessertlike. Basically this wine was decent and okay. My wife thought it had some mediciney characteristics, I delved further and figured some Pledge but we couldn't place it. Other reviews had stuff like leather and paint thinner, suppose it could be either of those. [To be fair, this wine received various reviews on CellarTracker, including a couple 90s, I just wasn't feeling it.] Okay quaffer, nothing special, forgettable.

At any rate, sort of a disappointing Tempranillo, but I forge onward.

Got some interesting stuff coming up, including a Chilean Pinot Noir [already done PN and Chile but will review it anyway], Carmenere, and Nero d'Avola.

Wine Count: 19; Grape Count: 18.