Bodegas Portia's Impressive Tempranillo

Its been a long while since Pris and I had a wine so good that we just cruised through the whole bottle in one setting.  Thanks to Bodegas Portia's 200 Tempranillo, we rediscovered how easy it was to polish off a bottle in one setting.  Pris first saw the 92 point Spanish Tempranillo from the Ribero del Duero region of Spain offer by Jones Liquor on a post on their Facebook wall on Tuesday.  She asked me to swing by and pick up a bottle, and always looking for an excuse to shop for wine, I decided to drop by.  I picked up a bottle of the Portia and noted a couple other wines on hand that we've been looking for before I headed home.

We wanted to crack open the bottle earlier in the week , but decided to wait to the weekend when we could fully appreciate the wine.  Last night we opened the Portia up and let it breathe for a good couple of hours before serving.  This was a wine that was dark, hearty, and delicious.  The Portia had a great full nose loaded with spice and berry fruit.  On the palate the Tempranillo offered a solid body with good fruits and a touch of spice.  A nice toasty oak provided a subtle balance to the hearty fruit.  This Tempranillo was well balanced with a fairly substantial body to it.  The wine does tend to end rather abruptly, and does not offer much in the way of a finish.  However, this did not detract from the full set of flavors that were displayed very well. 

This was a good wine on its own, and a great wine with food.  We paired the Portia Tempranillo with beef, olive, and garlic stuffed empanadas; a cheese, chicken, and poblano stuffed crepe; and tocinetas-- all from Gazpachos.  After the food was gone and we returned from walking the dogs I cut up some manchego cheese and skillet fried a couple slices of Spanish chorizo to go with a little more wine.  Everything went perfectly with the Tempranillo.  The salty and savory of the empanadas, the salt and spice from the cheese and chorizo.  Everything worked solidly with the wine.  I even added a few pieces of a milder cheddar cheese, which generally needs a bolder wine, and it work well.  Not as well as the salty manchego, but well enough.  This a great wine to eat with, and ultimately nothing beats the combination of a great wine paired with great food.

We purchased the 2006 Bodegas Portia Tempranillo at Jones Liquor here in Brownsville.  At about $50 a bottle it is on the higher end of our buying scale, but it was worth it.  In fact I've already secured another bottle for the future.  I'd recommend this one for a special meal, or just to open up when you feel the need for a solid and delicious red.  You can find out more about Bodegas Portia at: http://www.bodegasportia.com/index_portia.asp