2015 Abacela Reserve Tempranillo

South East Block
Fault Line Vineyards,
Umpqua Valley,
Southern Oregon,
Oregon

250 cases produced

14.6% alcohol

Cork closure

Firstly, if you’re drinking this wine during its youth, decanting it for an hour or two will dramatically enhance this Tempranillo’s profile. That additional air exposure will allow it to open up, revealing its full potential. It’s built for aging, so don’t hesitate to lay a bottle or two in your cellar to enjoy in the next decade.

If you plan to enjoy it when it’s hot out, pour some into a glass, down to the bottle shoulders, and stick both bottle and glass into the refrigerator for a half hour or so. Not only are you decanting the wine this way, but also adding a chill, getting it closer to an optimum 55 degree temperature.

Color:

Deep blackberry

Bouquet:

This wine is overflowing with black and blue fruit aromas of ripe black plums, blueberries and blackberries, mixed with floral notes of violets. Earthy smells of fresh-tilled soil, gravel dust and meats fresh off the grill emerge beneath the fruitiness on my second whiff.

Palate:

Wow, is this wine complex! While it has many fruity flavors of tart black raspberries and those blueberries and black plums I smelled, they are balanced by really nice acidity and more unique notes of black tea, red licorice, cocoa nibs and powder. This Tempranillo is inky dark in color– but don’t let that fool you– it has a much lighter mouthfeel than I was expecting. The tannins provide an ever so slightly gritty texture, and a long, long finish.