Bigger Than Your Head: Aridus Tempranillo 2017 Wine Review
Bigger Than Your Head: A Case of Interesting and Diverse and Mostly Excellent Red Wines.
This post was intended to be the Weekend Wines Notes for the just completed weekend, but matters intervened, so I’m posting it today, not under that label. The point is to offer 12 red wines that depart somewhat from the ordinary run of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and pinot noir. The grapes in question range from alicante bouschet to zinfandel and make many stops in between, with prices from $15 to $65 — Something for Every Palate and Pocket Book! Geographically, we touch down in Piedmont and Tuscany in Italy; Beaujolais in France; Alentejo and Douro in Portugal; and in the good old USA, there’s Virginia, Washington state, Arizona and California — Lake County, Paso Robles and Santa Lucia Highlands. As usual in the Weekend Wine Notes, I eschew technical, geological and historical details for the sake of quick and incisive reviews designed to pique your interest and whet your palate. Enjoy, in moderation, of course.
These wines were samples for review.
Aridus “Limited Production” Tempranillo 2017, Arizona. 14.5 % alc. Dark ruby color; iodine and mint, spiced and macerated cherries and currants; hints of cloves and lavender; flinty graphite with dense, slightly powdery tannins; gains depth and dimension in the glass, reaching for roots in licorice and bittersweet chocolate, briers and brambles; lovely balance and integrity. Now through 2022 to ’24. Excellent. About $40.