El Quintanal Red, 2006, Ribera del Duero, Spain  Add/Read Comments

I ain't happy. I was charged £10.99 for this wine in one of the Oddbins stores in Oxford but It is listed at JUST £7.49 on-line. I realise on-line prices are often a little cheaper, but £3.50 cheaper? I don't think so, thank you very much.

One of my gripes with Oddbins is the high number of wines sitting un-priced on the shelf; doesn't that contravene some consumer laws or trading standards directive or something? This was one of those unlabelled, unpriced wines and yes, I did ask at the counter how much it was before buying.

Wine Tasting Note: El Quintanal Red, 2006, Ribera del Duero, Spain
Oddbins £10.99/£7.49 online.

Young, fresh nose - there's some hidden depths in there and what a lovely palate. Very soft tannins, ripe, dry fruit and a full expression of decent Tempranillo fruit (all ripe, crushed red fruits, spice and plums). An edge of lavender and herbs adds to the complexity. But it all seems rather subdued. For which read young. The colour too shows its youth, with a bright red rim to all that inky depth.

Yes you can drink it now - it went really nicely with a meat-packed Steak and Kidney Pie from Oxford's Covered Market and Oddbins recommends it with a Poached egg, Chorizo and roast pepper salad - but it could really do with some bottle age. Alcohol 14%. 100% Tempranillo.
Scribblings Rating - 88/100 [3.5 out of 5]

The El Quintanal project only started in 2004 and is the result of small cooperative of Ribera del Duero growers (80 ha, all Tempranillo) putting their best fruit in the hands of winemaker Oscar Aragón from the cult, family-owned winery Cillar de Silos. Their aim is to make a fruity and easy-drinking Tempranillo with just a touch of barrel ageing to soften the wine further and make it ready for drinking now."

UPDATE: The price difference could be due to a vintage change. I've just noticed the on-line listing is for the 2005.