Today has been an exciting wine day.  In part because I tried Osborne Solaz Tempranillo Blend for the first time (yummy).  But that’s not all.  The Wine Blogging Wednesday #35 roundup was published (with my first appearance) and the topic for WBW #36 was announced — Let’s Get Naked.

No that’s not what you think.  The theme is Naked Chardonnay.  You know, the un-oaked kind.  I swear the planets are aligned for me lately.  As you may know, I’m right in the middle of my Chardonnay Challenge and they throw this one at me, what fun.  I get to drink chardonnay naked…  er, um naked chardonnay.  

So I stopped at one of my favorite wine shops on the way home from work to see what I could find.  I looked around for a bit and I found one, but I always like to try a few within a theme.  So I asked the “expert” employee if they had any others and got a peculiar look when I asked for naked chardonnay.  He ran all over the store looking, telling me they didn’t have any (meanwhile I found two more) then he made a phone call and tracked down a fourth one for me.  So I’m ready to go.

But on to today’s tasting. 

I promised to follow up Tasting Tempranillo, my review of six pure Tempranillos, with a review of some Tempranillo blends.  Tonight I tried my first one and it was fantastic.

Osborne Solaz 2004, a blend of 80% Tempranillo / 20% Cabernet Sauvignon.  I mentioned in my Tasting Tempranillo post that I thought tempranillo would be better in a blend and is a great example of what I was expecting.

This wine is simply delightful and at $8.99 it’s not a bad deal.  It comes from the Tierra de Castilla region of Spain. 

This wine has a nice complexity to it.  I found it downright exciting.  Cherries and berries fill your palate, accompanied by woody/earthy undertones.  The finish is dynamic too with smooth silky tannins and a crisp, peppery snap on the tip of your tongue. 

The nose was a bit subtle, which is why I only gave it an 89.  But it is an exceptionally enjoyable wine that I will buy again.