Monday, May 23, 2005

2003 Bodegas Ochoa 50% Garnacha/50% Graciano (Navarra)

75. Very disappointing. The 2002 of this wine was very good, but the 2003 was marred by way too much old leathery scents, bordering on wet cardboard (lots of brett?). Rich, but lots of coarse tannin in the finish. If you see the 2002 on the shelf, it's a balanced, clean wine with lots of pure raspberries in the mouth and a nice minerally quality peeking through on the finish, if memory serves.

UPDATE (5/30): Just had my last bottle of the 2002, and it was still drinking beautifully. Ripe, focused, and concentrated fruit. Beautiful balance. Too bad it's no longer available.

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