Life is too short to drink bad wine

Bought this bottle for half price at the wine shop! That does not happen very often! Dark purple colour. Complex smell of dark fruit and oak. Big solid taste with dark berries. The wine is crying out for an entrecote! Very good wine for 180 NOK, but for the original price 340 I am not sure. 100% Tempranillo and from Ribera del Duero west in Spain. Vina Mayor 2003 Gran reserva, Ribera del Duero Big dense wine perfect with red meat

During the Decanter wine fair in London in November quite some time where spent at the stand hosted by Pago de los Capellanes (siblings on picture). The most surprising element was the high acidity in these wines from Ribera del Duero where the day temperature can be up to 40c in summer and is still a hefty 25c during harvest time in October. They are however saved by the low night temperatures in fall (down to 5c). Their normal Crianza and reserva are both beautiful wines and further up the ladder is the enclosed El Nogal that comes from a special plot with just walnuts. 22.000 bottles are produced from this 6 ha plot with purchase price around 40€. This is a substantial wine packed with blueberries, dark fruit, coffee, chocolate and a super delicious well balanced taste with a great acidity. A masculine and big solid wine. Lovely stuff! Another one,   El Picon, is from a plot shaped like a bird's beak, thus the name. Same characteristics as for El Nogal with

Let it be said immediately: this is just a very lovely red from Ribera del Duero in Spain. It is one of these dark red wines perfect for cold wet autumn days designed to bring back the warmth in your body. We met with Pago de los Capellanes last weekend in London at the Decanter tasting and they have some other wines in the portfolio really worthwhile trying out. The colour is deep purple and the nose are just packed with warm delightful flashes of dark fruit, chocolate and coffee. Delightful stuff which just makes you want to take a sip. And you won't be disappointed. Perfect harmony between fruit, acid and tannins. Dark again. Smooth. Soft. Big. Elegant. Pago de Los Capellanos 2009 Ribera del Duero, Ca 20€ Very yammy indeed.

This blockbuster of a wine is a mix of several grapes. Syrah, Grenache, Cinsault, Cabernet Sauvignon and Viognier (white). It has become a bit of a cult wine and is a big success for the winemaker at Boekenshoutkloof at Cape the Good Hope. Deep dark red colour with a massive smell of dark berries, spice, plum, smoke, chocolate etc. The taste is big and fruity with lovely soft tannins and long well balanced after taste. Not widely available so if you get your hand on one consider yourself lucky. Chocolate Block 2010, Boekenshoutkloof, Cape, South Africa Ca 20£ Try with red meat, cheese and dark chocolate 

This is a lovely fruity Bordeaux from Lalande-de- Pomerol. In addition to be good and giving you a Pomerol experience it is also reasonable , ca 200 NOK (or 15€), which is not a bad price for a 2009 version. Deep dark red colour. Big seductive bouquet of ripe red fruit, with some earthy flavors, cedar, leather and plum. Firm solid spicy taste with hints of dark fruit and spices. A good mouthfeel which is nicely balanced. Vieux Château Gachet 2009 Lalande-de-Pomerol Red meat and cheeese

This is a massive Cote Rotie by a producer called Gangloff. It contains 7% Viognier with the rest being Syrah. The expression on the nose is floral, dark fruit, dark chocolate and dried herbs. A big opulent massive taste with great body and finish. A lovely and seductive wine, but also quite expensive (50£). Very limited quantities. Cote Rotie 2007 Gangloff Ca 50£

I am not really an expert in Austrian wine but this Gruner Veltliner by Domaine Wachau is ever so accessible. Straw yellow colour with a fruity and well balanced taste. Hints of minerals, dense, compact and very drinkable with a discrete acidity. Domane Wachau 2012 Gruner Veltliner Smaragd Wachau, Austria Low price Goes with fish, sushi and white meat

The sparkling wines from Spain called cava are improving, they are  maybe not of Champagne quality but at least made using the Champagne method with some time spent on the lees to bring more complexity. This cava made by Sumarroch, with the ridiculous name, is a mix of Parellada, Xarel-lo, Macabeo and Chardonnay. Bone dry cava with a fruity and well balanced taste. Flying Culinary Circus, Cava by Sumarroch from Penedes  Ca 150 NOK or ça 10€

This is a white wine from a small white wine district in Spain called Ruedo. The grape variety is 100% Verdejo which is typical for this area. Pale lime green colour with an attractive of nose of apple, citrus and tropical fruit. Crispy and fruity taste but lacks perhaps a bit of acidity to really be a top wine. Overall a very nice dry white that should go with seafood or on it's own as an aperitif. Flor de Vetus 2011 Rueda Ca 140 NOKor 6-7 €.

100% Tempranillo from Rioja of Reserva quality. Medium red colour with red rim. In your face earthy smell of red fruit, vanilla, chocolate and some spices. Smooth, well balanced and straight forward taste that perhaps lacks complexity. Should go with most types of meat. Iazadi Reserva 2007, Rioja 130 kr or 6€

Ok we are at the 4th bottle so things are a bit upside down…. Anyway, 90% Tinti Fino (Tempranillo) and 10% Syrah from a small area outside the town of Leon. Dark red colour which is followed up by lovely complex and big smell of dark fruit, leather and some spices. A great firm but fruity taste that goes on and on. Delicious! Mauro 2009, Castillo y Leon 300 NOk or 20€

This a wine from the warm climate of Ribera del Duero where also Tempranillo (Tinto Fino) is the dominating grape. Other grape varieties are allowed and thus this one is a mix of Tinto Fino, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep dark red colour and a lovely seductive bouquet of vanilla and red fruit. The taste is beautifully balanced and complex with a soft and elegant finish. A lovely wine indeed. Villacreces 2006, Ribera de Duero Ca 280 kr or 20€

Last, but not least, a big solid and complex wine from the llicorella soils of Priorat not too far from Barcelona. This is a "black" (dark) wine made from 75% Carinena and 25% Garnacha. Beautiful nose of ripe dark berries like blackcurrant, brambles, chocolate, vanilla and a bit of spice. A massive big taste; complex, long, fruity, big on tannins and alcohol but oh so smooth and elegant. A very concentrated wine which requires big solid red or wild food. Ferre Bobet 2006 Priorat Ca 360 NOK or 25€

A young and attractive Côte Rotie (100% Syrah) that is drinking very well already now. Perfect with game. Beautiful bouquet of brambles, some pepper and some dark fruit. Lovely balanced fruity taste and kind integrated tannins. A very nice Cote Rotie indeed.