Valtier Tempranillo Bobal Reserva

Wow, what an opportunity! It ain’t everyday you can land a Reserva quality label, perfectly aged Spanish red for peanuts. Valtier is a label sourced and imported into NZ by Master of Wine Steve Bennett. Steve’s decided to drop it from his portfolio and offered an extra deep cut discount to move the last of it. This is a stunner!

Produced from 40 year old vines in the Spanish region of Valencia, it’s a 50/50 blend of Tempranillo (pronounced temp-rah-knee-oh) and Bobal. Bobal you say? Wasn’t he the hobbit from Lord of the Rings? You’re thinking of Bilbo (small dude, hairy feet) – Bobal is a grape variety native to this part of south-east Spain.

After 18 months aging in American oak barrels they give it another 18 months to age in the bottle before release. Now sitting as an eight year old wine this still has the potential to go another 2-4 years!

So, what does it taste like? Medium to full bodied and oh so smooth. Velvety, silky smooth. A beautifully mature, richly flavoured red with a touch of spice. It’s simply stunning for the money. The fancy gold wire wrap around the bottle seals the deal – this looks and tastes like a $20 red! An awesome food pairing to red meats, game meats, pasta dishes and a variety of cheeses.