On a scuba trip to Catalina Island, my other half and I attempted to hit up a wine bar on the main drag. But by the time we got inside, we were kicked out because turns out, the wine bar was actually part of a hotel and only open for guests. Boo.
We asked the Australian concierge where could two folks like us get a bottle of wine at 10 p.m. and not have to go to a Tiki bar or listen to someone sing karaoke. He suggested a fancy restaurant down the street and we gave it a shot.
We sat at the bar, which was nicely backlit with moody colors shining through a wall of wine bottles and ordered the 2009 Marques De Riscal Proximo Tempranillo Rioja. This Spanish red tastes earthy and has cherry notes. It’s very spicy, and warms the soul–and the tongue as it burns a bit at the finish. Yet, it still felt a bit flabby to me, but not enough to downgrade it too much.
The wine delivers round tannins, so we didn’t have that super-puckery mouth feeling.
Nuts & Bolts:
- Winery: Marques De Riscal
- Type: Tempranillo
- Origin: Spain
- Vintage: 2009
- Price: We paid $30 at the restaurant, but wine-searcher.com has the price falling closer to $10. That’s what you get when you drink at a restaurant.
- Alcohol content: 14%
- When to drink: If I paid $10, I’d buy this bottle again, but not if it cost more. Have a friend with a fire pit. Light that baby up and bring a bottle of this with you. Ghost stories aren’t included.
Just for fun: Here’s me under water 🙂
