Palacios Remondo 2005 La Montessa Rioja

*Bottle #72: Palacios Remondo 2005 La Montessa Rioja
*Price Tag: $18
*Running Tab: $1,003

The romantically epic adventure movie and fond memory of my adolescence, “The Princess Bride,” has many fantastical and fanatical characters, my favorite being Inigo Montoya, the skilled swordsman who is out to avenge his father’s death.

His catchphrase and soul purpose in the movie was to say: “Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.” In the same voice, in the same tone, every time.

Rightly so, when reading this week’s bottle selection, I kept thinking: “Hello. My name is Palacios Remondo La Montesa. You killed my father. Prepare to die.”

Yes, it’s a little bit longer of a name, might be a Spanish wine over being a Spanish pirate and borderline stereotyping but it still manages to roll off the tongue as efficiently as the original phrase.

And roll off the tongue and into my belly it did. This juice was good!

For this juice, I was on the prowl for legitimate Spanish Tempranillo. This juice was good but also not what I was told it was when I purchased it. And I can’t blame the wine shop guy – the label’s obviously in Spanish and nowhere does it give any detailed information about what exactly is in the bottle. I did a little research and found this red blend to be Garnacha (55%), Tempranillo (40%) and Mazuelo (5%).

Here’s some Spanish for you, that I learned not from Senora Kurtz in junior high school. Oooh, bad memories.

I’m familiar with Tempranillo, which was why I was out for it – I wanted something with good acid, juicy and full-bodied, traits Tempranillo is typically known for. It is the main grape in Rioja, which is a wine and a region in Spain that the wine originates from.

Garnacha – or the better known Grenache – I know and love. Spicy, juicy yet light berry tones and is one of my favorite blending favorites because it adds good structure and acidity to wines.

Mazuelo? Translation in French: Carignan. Translation with descriptors: Tannic and acidic, used mostly for blend.

Here’s some more Spanish/label translations:
Palacios Remondo: The winery/producer.
La Montesa: The organically farmed hillside vineyard sourced from varieties around the Palacios Remondo estate.
Alvaro Palacios: The winemaker, the man, the legend.

My sources tell me this juice aged for 14 months in French (75% of the time) and American (25%) oak, only 10% of that oak being new so the impact from the barrels is mostly for structure than an overwhelming tannic presence. Which is always nice.

The 2005 La Montesa was easy on the eyes with a dark and hazy purple, looming mysteriously in the glass and clinging to the walls with viscosity.

On the nose, red currants and plum carried the fruit profile, with something from the earth came in the form of cedar chips, clove and white pepper.

And then there was eucalyptus, which is one of my favorite traits to pull out of a wine. I love it because you can’t really find it unless you witness real eucalyptus trees. For me, circa Fall of 2007, Santa Barbara, CA. That is a smell you do not forget and a serious nostalgia aroma, which are definitely the best kind of memories.

The palate brought out the involuntary white-trash, small-town girl in me where I exclaimed: “Wooeeey, this tasty!” Yeah, I have no idea where that came from but it’s definitely not Spanish.

Bright with a sweet fruit attack, plum and acids are the first to greet you as you take in this wine, with a dark and juicy midpalate that is full-bodied and having very subtle tannins, if any. The finish dropped off just a little bit but the wine still upheld a pleasant balance of fruit and acidity in the end.

Memories, misty water-colored memories, can influence your perception of wines. Be it through a name/culture you’re probably unintentionally mocking, a heinous Spanish teacher with hairy legs or one of the most beautiful places in the states, wine allows its consumer to make a connection.

It’s, like, beautiful or something.

Score: 9.