It Was The Label That Got me - 2005 Bodegas Solar de Urbezo

Hello readers and thank you for stopping by. 

I have been on a bit of a Spanish kick the past few years and the 2005 vintage of various regions of Spain has been spectacular.  If you find one, buy it.  I think you will be greatly rewarded with 5 years of aging. 

A few years ago, I purchased a 2005 Bodegas Solar de Urbezo Cariñena Urbezo Crianza at the Liquor Store.  It was the design on the bottle that caught my eye.  The label was a piece of artwork (see footnote).  It was beautiful to look at, so in my mind I thought the wine had to be as beautiful as the cover.

2005 Bodegas Solar de Urbezo Cariñena Urbezo Crianza

The Review

My rating is 90 out of 100

I cellared this bottle for a little over 2 years and just recently came across it.  I guess it was fate, so I decided to pop the cork.

This is a blended wine composed of 40% Tempranillo (traditional variety),

30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 10% Syrah.

In the glass, this wine was dark purple.  The colour of wine that was beginning to show some age.  The legs on this rich blend were long and there was a bit of an overpowering aroma of alcohol.  After a 30 minute decant, the alcohol dissipated and left behind the smell of rich grapes. 

I poured this wine through my Vinturi Essential Wine Aerator to speed up the aeration process.  It worked and after a bit more time in my glass, this wine really began to smell delicious.  In my mouth, I felt a bit of sharpness at the back end of my gulp.  Once again, that dissipated with a longer decant.

The wine’s more prominent flavors were a touch of toasted oak along with ripe dark berries.  Some hints of smoke and vanilla were also present.  This was a really nice wine that needed at least an hour or two to breath.  The older a wine gets, them more air she needs.

I wish I had more, so my hunt begins…