WTNs: Aalto mini-vertical + Albarino & Dulce Monastrell

2005 Pazo di Señorans Albariño Rias Baixas 13%
Simple but lovely honey and pineapple nose followed by good body and reasonably good balance. A touch too much alcohol for the fruit at this point, perhaps this was more satisfying within the first two years. With cured goat cheese and bread.

2003 Bodegas Aalto Ribera del Duero 14.5%
Distinctive American toasted oak vanilla nose with plum followed by light tannins, high acidity, some saltiness and a tart finish. Too hot for my taste. With green salad with truffle oil and roasted pine nuts.

2002 Bodegas Aalto Ribera del Duero 14%
Barnyard nose with plum and overly noticeable alcohol. Mouth puckering and grippy tannins, with toasted oak and pepper. Prefer this to the 2003, but still not my palate. With shiitake quiche.

2001 Bodegas Aalto Ribera del Duero 14%
Plum and oak nose with some sage developing in the glass. Overly noticeable acidity and tannins, not in good balance. Somewhat monolithic, not sure if it will improve. With filet mignon roast beef with honey and mustard.

Bodegas Olivares Dulce Monastrell 2003 16%
Lovely molasses and eucalyptus nose, confirmed by the palate, with excellent acid/fruit balance. This has the most alcohol of any wine of the evening, hardly noticeable because so well integrated. My WOTN, by far. With coconut Panna Cotta with quince jam.

Perhaps I would like the much more expensive Aalto PS but the regular Aalto seems to be vinified more in the spirit of a Crianza, using a varying percentage of (less expensive) American oak. From this disappointing tasting, I can safely say that the regular Aalto is not for me. Not a positive conclusion, but at least a useful one. In this price bracket, I far prefer the Flor de Pingus.

[David M. Bueker]

Thanks for the notes Oswaldo.

I've had the Monastrell a couple of times. Once it was as you wrote below. The other time it was hot, soupy and very unpleasant. Hopefully just caught an off-bottle.

Price bracket? You can get more than two bottles of Aalto for the price of one bottle of Flor de Pingus.

Price bracket? You can get more than two bottles of Aalto for the price of one bottle of Flor de Pingus.

In the US, Aalto costs around $40 and Flor costs around $45.

Flor costs around $45.

No way! $90-$110 is more like it. Or more, quite often.

Flor costs around $45.

No way! $90-$110 is more like it. Or more, quite often.

Two months ago I bought a six-pack of 2001s in New York Wine Warehouse for around $50. They don't have the 2001 anymore, but have the 2002 for $49 and the 2000 for $45. Many other stores sell it for prices like this, just look it up in Wine-Searcher.

2002 is the weakest vintage of the decade in Ribera del Duero. 2002 wines are worthless in the market. Look up 2004 on Wine-Searcher, please. Then look up 2004 Aalto.

2002 is the weakest vintage of the decade in Ribera del Duero. 2002 wines are worthless in the market. Look up 2004 on Wine-Searcher, please. Then look up 2004 Aalto.

04 Flor is $59 and 04 Aalto is $45. Same price bracket.

Obviously you have a special edition of Wine-Searcher just for yourself. Lucky you! I'm green with envy. (And I thought I had the Pro version...) I'll let Peter Sisseck know, so he can buy back all that cheap 2004 Flor de Pingus. Thanks for the amazing tip!

Obviously you have a special edition of Wine-Searcher just for yourself. Lucky you! I'm green with envy. (And I thought I had the Pro version...) I'll let Peter Sisseck know, so he can buy back all that cheap 2004 Flor de Pingus. Thanks for the amazing tip!

Just regular wine-searcher.com pro!

I've heard good things about Pago de Caraovejas. Have you ever had it?

I had a lot of fun with your wonderful countrymen at a Leon y Castilla event held here recently, perhaps you saw the post.

Go back to Wine-Searcher, Oswaldo. Except for one outfit called Seattle Wine Co., which bills Flor de Pingus as a wine from Argentina (!!) and offers it for $58.95, the chapest 2004 Flor de Pingus available anywhere in the USA is $99.99 at DC's MacArthur Beverages. At Wine Commune in Berkeley, it's $145.

Again, this is on every other mortal soul's Wine-Searcher. Your private one may yield different results.

The Seattle store seems to list twice, as Spanish and Argentine. I'd guess they probably don't have it anymore, after a big WA score.
Still, Oswaldo never said "In this price bracket, I far prefer the 2004 Flor de Pingus." He said he preferred Flor de Pingus, based on his tasting the 2001, 2002, and 2003 Aalto. In those vintages, pricing was pretty close.

On Wine-Searcher: Aalto 2001, $49.99; Flor de Pingus 2001, $75.

Maybe we just have different understandings of the term price bracket. As Oswaldo stated, he bought the FdP a couple months ago at $50 (actually WS shows that NYWine Warehouse had it at $45). And as I stated, pricing on those vintages was "pretty close". A look at Cellartracker shows community average value (what people actually paid, not what a merchant asked) of Aalto as between $39 and $46, Flor de Pingus between $47 and $50. For me that would qualify as same bracket (or at least a lot closer than "more than two bottles of Aalto for the price of one bottle of Flor de Pingus"). I generally prefer Haut Brion to Mouton in the same price bracket. Of course, one can probably buy 5 '89 Moutons for 1 '89 Haut Brion, but to me that doesn't invalidate the notion of the wines generally being in same bracket.

My guess is after the big '04 score that FdP will be priced considerably higher than Aalto from now forward, although if they actually double the price my guess is it won't sell through in vintages without a score over 95.