2009 Holiday odds and ends, part 2

Yessirree. We caught some bigguns over the Holiday. We also learned what to serve with paella…Spanish wines. Chad – sales guy extraordinaire from local emporium Woodland Hills Wine Co – played Santa’s elf and made sure we chose the right wines. We embellished with a couple sweeties and some cheeses only a Mouse would know about. All is reported below. This entry finishes the review of wines tasted over the 2009 Christmas and New Year holiday. Looking back, it must have been pretty good. This set was tasted under one roof on the same evening.
2001 Vi√±a Busconia $32: Tempranillo from Rioja. We do not have that many Spanish wines but the hostess served paella so…The wine was extraordinary. Delicate, lightweight as some Riojas can show. Leather up front then pure red fruit. Polished wine. Very impressive. A great match to the food. [ed. New year resolution: more Spanish wines]. 13%
1990 Vi√±a Tondonia Reserva $40: Same producer as above, R. Lozes Heredia Vi√±a Condrian. Both bottles were wrapped in that light gold colored, Catholic memory, cross hatch wire. Not impressive at first. Kind of flat and waxy. 15 minutes later it was the best complement to the paella. Grapes are Viria and Malvasia. Shows tropical flavors like pineapple and lychee. Won the tBow palme d’or that evening. 13%
1994 Kopke Port $19 (on release 1997): A lesser house from the major region. Port remains fairly unfashionable. Like bow ties you have to love them to indulge. This is spicy at 16 years, with hint of cilantro, nutty flavors like filbert, and red fruit. Just terrific. 20%
2005 Royal Tokayi 5 Putonyos $20: A bargain bin purchase from winecommune.com. More apricots but these are sweet and rich. The wine is young so there is also a steely quality that keeps it live. Somebody in a swoon says “like a first kiss.” [ed. New year resolution: spend more time on winecommune.com] 19%