Sorry folks, my sniffer has been out of commission for over a week, a cold has sapped my energy and my sense of smell. I had my first beer in a long time last night, I couldn't taste a thing, just bubbles and the cold on my tongue. We often forget how integral the nose is to smell.
I finally had the opportunity to test out the 2005 vintage of the Onix in my last post. What a difference a year makes! Each growing season vintners are faced with new challenges in weather, pests, soil condition, etc. A hail storm one year wiping out most the crop and the next year drought; you never know what mother nature is going to do! These variables also reveal themselves in the wine. An unusually hot year will result in a grape with a lot of sugar, a cooler year would produce a wine with more acid. A vintner could also make an acid heavy wine in a hotter year, he would just pick the grape sooner. It's truly an art form and labor of love.
The Wine Advocate gave this review: "The unoaked 2005 Onix is the best vintage of this wine to date, a blend of old-vine (average age 55 years) Garnacha and Carinena. The wine has a lovely nose of mineral and ripe cherries, nicely layered and intensely flavored, with a lengthy finish."
I got the cherries on the nose but I also got a hint of sweet saddle leather, which I found intriguing because it was unoaked. The finish was lovely, it coated the mouth and went on a good 5-6 seconds. If you see either the 2004 or 2005 in the store, pick up both and hold a tasting. I think you'll be surprised at the contrast.
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