Wine Competition 2013
One of my favorite reasons for volunteering for the Rodeo's Wine Committee is the wine competition. This is my third year on the committee and every single year I get to taste some amazing wines.
This year, I had my first Peruvian wine (that's right, PERU!) and discovered a grape that I had not heard of or tasted before, the Tannat grape. I like firsts and this was also the first wine I tried during the competition that really caught my attention.
The wine is Intipalka Valle de Sol, No 1, 2009. It is a blend of Tannat (45%), Cabernet Sauvignon (45%), and lastly Syrah (10%). This wine with it's relatively high level of alcohol, 14.8%, is very balanced with fruit, tannins and the alcohol. It has a wonderful full mouth feel, deep dark red fruits, and stays on the palette well after you've swallowed.
After blind tasting it, I had to find out more about this wine and soon learned it had a grape called the Tannat grape. Here's what I learned...
Tannat is pronounced "tah-`not" with the accent on the second syllable. Tannat is the official grape of Uruguay and is also known as Harriague. It also grows in the Basque region of France near the Pyrenees, California, Texas and a few other places.
Tannat produces wine with high tannins, which helps it will age well, high alcohol, and medium to high levels of fruit. Tannat, because of it's high tannins is usually a blending grape, but you can definitely find it going solo. I know that Intipalka makes one. Tannat is also known to create some full bodied and very fruity roses.
I'm always pleased to learn something new within the wine world. I learned about a new grape, had my first Peruvian wine and was introduced to Intipalka winery.
I would recommend this wine to those that like their wines fruit forward, balanced, and with a good finish. This is an excellent wine to drink on it's own.
Guest Post by: Hank Greer
This year, I had my first Peruvian wine (that's right, PERU!) and discovered a grape that I had not heard of or tasted before, the Tannat grape. I like firsts and this was also the first wine I tried during the competition that really caught my attention.
The wine is Intipalka Valle de Sol, No 1, 2009. It is a blend of Tannat (45%), Cabernet Sauvignon (45%), and lastly Syrah (10%). This wine with it's relatively high level of alcohol, 14.8%, is very balanced with fruit, tannins and the alcohol. It has a wonderful full mouth feel, deep dark red fruits, and stays on the palette well after you've swallowed.
After blind tasting it, I had to find out more about this wine and soon learned it had a grape called the Tannat grape. Here's what I learned...
Tannat is pronounced "tah-`not" with the accent on the second syllable. Tannat is the official grape of Uruguay and is also known as Harriague. It also grows in the Basque region of France near the Pyrenees, California, Texas and a few other places.
Tannat produces wine with high tannins, which helps it will age well, high alcohol, and medium to high levels of fruit. Tannat, because of it's high tannins is usually a blending grape, but you can definitely find it going solo. I know that Intipalka makes one. Tannat is also known to create some full bodied and very fruity roses.
I'm always pleased to learn something new within the wine world. I learned about a new grape, had my first Peruvian wine and was introduced to Intipalka winery.
I would recommend this wine to those that like their wines fruit forward, balanced, and with a good finish. This is an excellent wine to drink on it's own.
Guest Post by: Hank Greer
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