Vina Pomal – Compromiso 2015

Most of you might know my taste in wine is varied and experimental, so when a wine appears on the tasting table and I have no idea how it might taste or elaborated interests me even more!

It’s the joy of being a Wine Correspondent and Wine Educator challenging my palate with diverse flavours, bouquets and textures.

The wine that is now sitting in my glass is exactly one of those wines hailing from the fabled Rioja in Northern Spain. My first look at this wine tells me its deep colour and……stop!..……more of that later as its elaboration comes a very close second to its classical origins as you will see.

The name of this wine is Vina Pomal Comromiso 2015 and claims to be aged in the worlds first Tattooed Barrel!

But before it becomes an aged wine it has to be created by fermenting with selected grapes and in this case it uses five varietals in total. The names will indicate this wine is a Rioja Tinto as grapes such as Tempranillo, Garnacha, Graciano, Mazuelo and Maturana Tinta are historically part of this region.

After harvesting from selected vineyards the grapes are fermented and aged separately in different vessels (oak, concrete or stainless steel) for each individual wine. This is a 14 month process allowing each different grape (wine) to offer its true characteristics before blending and assembling in new Tattooed French and American 225litre oak barrels. See the picture!

Once this is completed the wine is bottled in a particularly stylish (Tattooed) bottle and labelled with homage to an historic retro label of distinction.

With all these individual creative’s you would expect the wine to be at least distinctive, elegant and hopefully memorable? This is what I found……

Swirling the dark fruited wine inside a large Riedel glass, the nose (bouquet) oozes floral over red and black fruit that jumps out of the goblet! I keep swirling and nosing for four or five minutes and note the wine becomes more concentrated (balsamic) as I allow the wine to slowly develop.

Time to sip – not once but twice looking for the promised structure that’s lurking in the glass!

It was all there within the body of the wine, red and black spicy fruits (cinnamon, cloves, and black pepper) moving seamlessly into a textured mass of luxury!

This is a special wine that requires decanting an hour or so before serving, this will bring it to temperature suitable to finish in one sitting with chosen friends perhaps with Ribs of Beef or Roasted Leg of Lamb with all the usual accoutrements.

In short “keep it simple” with the accent on matching this fine wine with quality dishes! If you are to wish just one great red wine for the Christmas holiday period this could be the one. I would love to know?

 

Now available on-line via Uvinum

Go to www.uvinum.co.uk  £29.28 for 75cl.

Or at selected restaurants such as Hispania (London)

 

2019-01-10T10:44:01+01:00