Castillo Establés Gran Reserva 1999 (From The Northern Echo)

Castillo Establés Gran Reserva 1999

1:42pm Friday 19th September 2008

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The above wine has two significant features.

1. It’s 9 years old – which if it’s sound, which this wine is, gives it a bit of an acquired taste and complexity, which comes with age.

2. It’s a Gran Reserva – produced only in exceptional years, must be more than five years old before release having spent at least two years in wood and three in bottle.

It’s 100 per cent tempranillo grape, which the folk of La Mancha, central Spain, call Cencibel. La Mancha is the biggest D.O. in Spain on a plateau of average height 500 metres, even so, it’s very hot in the summer.

Not long ago it wasn’t rated highly in the wine world but that’s changing as you’ll agree from the taste of this wine.

Recommended with pasta and Asian dishes I thought it was excellent with beef mince.

The other wine I tried at Majestic was Ramon Bilbão reserva 2004 from the Rioja area.

Now reserva wines are usually from selected vats of the better vintages and aged in oak and bottle for at least three years.

This is Rioja at its best made from 90 per cent tempranillo grapes with graciano and mazuelo. It’s 12½ per cent alcohol, cherry red with a nose of blackberries, cocoa and roasted coffee beans. On the palate there are soft tannins and a pleasant complex taste. It has a long finish and will go well with red meat, game and flavoured cheeses. It’s £10.65 or £7.99 if two included in a case.

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