The wine was one of three bottles of 1996 Roda I Reserva that have been sitting in the cellar for more than a few years. No need to delay things - this wine was phenominal.
There was a tri-tip roast with a Romesco sauce and some stir fried paella style rice for dinner so it was time to try one of these bottles.
The wine was a mature, medium garnet color in the glass and the nose was mostly blood and raw meat laid on top of some dark fruits. After much sniffing and thought I got raspberries, both black and red and just a touch of earth and oak. I would immediately fall in love with any woman who dabbed on this stuff as perfume.
Those black raspberries were in full force in the taste, along with a slight touch of strawberries and just a suggestion of tart, red raspberries. The fruit was sitting on top of a taste of dry earth and the hint of the red raspberries brought out a perfect touch of acid to balance things out. The tannins were fully mature and integrated into the earthy taste. The finish was lengthy and left the mouth refreshed and ready for the next sip of wine.
The tri-tip roast was seared in a cast iron skillet along with whole almonds, grape tomatoes and garlic. Once the roast was browned and the tomatoes, almonds and garlic slightly blackened the roast finished in the oven while the tomato mixture was pureed in a processor with sherry vinegar, smoked paprika and olive oil.
The Romesco sauce was suitably smoky from the smoked paprika and suitably tart from the sherry vinegar. It was an almost perfect match for the wine.
The last remaining decision for the evening is whether to save some of the wine to sample tomorrow. No way will I hurry this wine, but it is such a pleasure to drink that I'm not so sure I can force myself to save it for a second day taste.
I still refuse to score wines - but in this case I will rate the wine and meal a 98 on the experience meter. Great stuff.
The photo is the beginning of the meal, the roast, almonds and tomatoes charring in the skillet.
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