Bodegas Los Astrales Ribera del Duero Astrales 2019

97 POINTS! Spanish tempranillo ready to ROCK your world at by far and away the BEST price in the USA!!! 

Dumbstruck. Noun, the sudden loss of the ability to speak. Sounds about right…’cause I’m too busy sipping away at this simply STUNNING Ribera del Duero to even contemplate speaking. Sure, it’s a quiet Sunday, and we don’t have much of this to go ‘round, but still – if you were drinking what I’m drinking right now, Lady Wisdom should be whispering in your ear and telling you to FLY and grab as much of this as you possibly can.

It’s that good. Crafted by the iconic Spanish wine whisperer, José Hidalgo Togores…if you don’t know him already – he wrote the book on Spanish winemaking (literally, he’s a revered professor and author in addition to winemaker…just kind of a HUGE, ginormous deal in Spain). The revered Ribera del Duero is of course a paradise for the greatest tempranillo on earth, and this gorgeous wine (again, at this wildly low price) just NAILS it. The nose SOARS out with luscious black cherry compote, creamy dark chocolate truffles, this fantastic minerally blue fruit, and that intoxicating flourish of candied violets…heaven! Plenty of age-worthy structure, with a rich, full, and spicy palate – anise, menthol, crushed rocks, exotic cedar – all culminating in a long, toasty, minerally finish. Pour this for anyone and the reaction will be: "Dang...what is THAT...?!" BUT...we didn't get much...and at the very best PRICE IN THE COUNTRY – well, we’re thinking we’ll be saying “Adios” to this beauty before long. 97 POINTS, people!

While it lasts!

** First tomatoes of the season for me! Yes!!! I thought I hated the damn things, until I moved to Napa, and tasted perfectly ripe, in season, heirloom tomatoes (never refrigerated!) with a crack of pepper, some sea salt, and a drizzle of good olive oil. Now…I’m obsessed! **