The Inside Story from Italian Wine Merchants

Celtics & Veleta Tempranillo

Posted on | April 28, 2010 | Written by Tida Lenoel | 1 Comment

Last night was game five of the first-round series Boston Celtics vs. Miami Heat, with the Celtics up 3-1 in the series. I’m from Boston, and therefore I’m a devout fan of the Celtics. I wanted to make this night special. While it would have been great to actually be in Boston and feel the vibes of the proud and stubborn Boston fans, I knew that a bottle of wine in my small apartment in New York City would have to do. I chose the 2002 Bodega Dominio Buenavista Veleta Tempranillo, which was recently in one of our Cellar Selections offerings that featured Spanish wines.

A blend of 90% Tempranillo, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Merlot, this vintage can only be found in New York City at our store and some of the top restaurants in the area. I didn’t get the chance to try it at the blind tasting at IWM, so I definitely wanted to bring a bottle home. And after tasting it, I agree with my colleagues that it is a great value because the depth of flavor and balance made it taste more like a $50 bottle, rather than a $30 bottle.

It was really interesting to try a Tempranillo based wine that had some age on it. I have only previously had young Tempranillos that shone with forward bright fruits, but this aged one displays much earthier characteristics. If I were to compare it to an Italian wine, I’d say that it tasted similar to a funky Brunello. When my boyfriend took a big sniff into his glass, he exclaimed, “It smells like fertilizer!” I certainly agree that there was a barnyard quality to it, but I think it was well balanced with some dark dried fruit flavors. Overall, I thought it had such interesting flavor profiles and complexity for its price and would definitely get it again.

But, really, the wine was just the backdrop to the basketball. As I was sipping, the wine in the bottle was dwindling. But by the fourth quarter so was the Miami Heat! Ray Allen knocked down four out of five 3-pointers in the second half alone making his 3-point shooting percentage 54% for the series! Celtics won by 10 to move on to the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals to face the Cavs.

Keep your fingers crossed for me for that series and feel free to suggest another bottle for me to try during the series opener on Saturday!

Category: Italian Wine Merchants
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Comments

One Response to “Celtics & Veleta Tempranillo”

  1. Shelley
    April 29th, 2010 @ 8:20 pm

    I too love Pinot after years of indulging in Cabernet Sauvignon. I will most likely buy a Pinot before any other grape.

    While watching “Sideways,” I found myself wanting a glass of Pinot almost to the point of feeling like an ex-smoker who needed a pack of cigarettes.

    Hats off to Pinot Noir!

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