March 04, 2008
Parker Issue 175 Spain & Rhone!

'Rhone- Now that virtually all of the 2005s are in bottle, this is a vintage of structured, masculine wines with high acidity as well as high tannin. The finest red wines possess enough concentration to stand up to their structure and tannin…' ~Jay Miller Vintage Profile Issue 175

Rene Rostaing Cote Rotie 2005 Cote Blonde – 96 pts
Rene Rostaing Cote Rotie 2005 ‘Classique’ – 92 pts
Rene Rostaing Cote Rotie 2005 la Landonne – 94 pts
Rene Rostaing Condrieu 2006 la Bonnette – 89 pts

'Spain - Spanish wines continue to be en fuego in a highly competitive wine market. Most of the wines for this report are from the 2004, 2005, and 2006 vintages. While Spain is a large, diverse region in which it is difficult to generalize about vintages, in the principal regions 2004 and 2005 are highly regarded with 2006 considered very good to excellent. To the extent that generalizations are possible, 2004 seems to have produced riper, more aromatic wines while the 2005s are more structured and should have longer drinking windows. 2006 was a cooler and wetter vintage resulting in wines with lower alcohol and more elegance than power. Rioja was the most affected by rain with many producers cutting production dramatically.' ~ Jay Miller Vintage Profile Issue 175

Dominio de la Atauta 2005 Ribera Del Duero– 92 pts
Dominio de la Atauta 2005 La Mala – 95 pts
Dominio de la Atauta 2005 Llano del Almendro – 96 pts
Dominio de la Atauta 2005 Valdegatiles – 94 pts

Descendientes de Jose Palacios 2005 Corullon Las Lamas – 92 pts
Descendientes de Jose Palacios 2006 Petalos del Bierzo – 91 pts

Bodegas Olivares 2004 Dulce Monastrell – 92 pts
Bodegas Olivares 2006 Altos de la Hoya Monastrell – 90 pts

Alvaro Palacios 2005 Finca Dofi – 95 pts
Alvaro Palacios 2005 L’Ermita – 98 pts

Pingus 2005 – 99 pts
Pingus 2005 Flor de Pingus – 96 pts