Flirting with My First Riojas: Obra 2006 Joven and Muga 2005 Tinto Primi
I recently had the chance to taste two tempranillos side by side, and enjoyed them with my 90-year-old Italian Grammie’s famous spicy meatballs. The first one I opened was the Obra 2006 Joven Ms .45 ipod , a lovely rioja from the Ribera del Duero region of Spain. It’s a very smooth-drinking wine that brought to mind the flavor of berries when it first crossed my tastebuds. I would take a bite of a meatball, soaked in spicy red sauce, then follow it with a sip of the wine, which complimented the tomato and garlic-y ground beef nicely. I asked my grandmother (who doesn’t drink) to smell the wine and tell me what she thought it reminded her of, and after taking a big whiff, she deadpanned, “Smells like wine.”
Urban Justice hd Ridicule movie download In contrast, the second bottle I popped, the Bodegas Luis Gurpegui Muga 2005 Tinto Primi
, tasted slightly more peppery. The flavor of fruit was still there, but it was veiled delicately in a spiciness that precluded the black cherry finish. This wine is darker in color and more oaky, with more obvious and defined “legs” running in streaks down the inside of the glass. Again, I put this one in front of my red-headed Grammie and asked her what it smelled like. Upon inhaling deeply from the glass, she looked up and announced: “Winey!”
I really enjoyed both wines for different reasons. Where the Obra was rounder and easier to get right into, the Muga prickled the palate, playing off the red peppers buried in the meat. As the Muga sat on the table over the course of an hour, it opened up more, mellowing out and revealing a softer side.
The wines seemed to have very distinctive personalities and I ventured to compare them to women — perhaps two redheads at a bar. The Obra was voluptuous, curvy and quite friendly from the first taste. One could go as far as calling her “easy.” The Muga, on the other hand, started out a little sassy, almost playing hard to get. The complexity was enjoyable and memorable because of the way it changed throughout the meal, finally giving way to a mouthwatering roundness. When I mentioned this to my family as we finished our Sunday dinner, I joked, “Look, they even both have nice legs!” To that, my grandmother just rolled her eyes.
September 18th, 2008 at 11:19 am
voluptuous, curvy, quite friendly? sounds like andrea!
congratulations you guys; it looks great and is also fun.
i’ll take your grammie’s conclusion over any snob any day.
(it says Mail and then Website…..it mail e mail or snail mail and is website e mail or what.)