Alfredo Santamaria Crianza Cigales 2008
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Parker
Robert
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2008 Alfredo Santamaria Crianza has an appealing nose of dark plum, black currant and red cherries with touches of spice and dried herbs, almost like a northern Rhone! The palate is well-balanced with crisp, supple black fruit and well-integrated oak. This is a harmonious, flavorsome Cigales red with a refined but generous finish that will leave you satisfied.
Spanish red wine is known for being bold, heady, rustic and age-worthy, Spain is truly a one-of-a-kind wine-producing nation. A great majority of the country is hot, arid and drought-ridden, and since irrigation has only been recently introduced and (controversially) accepted, viticulture has sustained—and flourished—only through a great understanding of Spain’s particular conditions. Large spacing between vines allows each enough resources to survive and as a result, the country has the most acreage under vine compared to any other country, but is usually third in production.
Of the Spanish red wines, the most planted and respected grape variety is Tempranillo, the star of Spain’s Rioja and Ribera del Duero regions. Priorat specializes in bold red blends, Jumilla has gained global recognition for its single varietal Monastrell and Utiel-Requena has garnered recent attention for its reds made of Bobal.