2008 La Linea Adelaide Hills Tempranillo

As with my previous post I love Tempranillo so as I was walking around my local Celebrations looking for a bottle to share with you all I couldn't walk past this one. A classic clear cherry red in the glass the look of this wine will not disappoint. No legs to speak of I was surprised to see 13.5% even on the bottle. On the nose you get the varietal strawberry and light dry herbs and spice. Lovely and light on the palate this wine shows again the traditional characteristics you'd expect from a Tempranillo, juicy red berry fruits, fine tannin structure and slightly dry there is a herbaciousness on the medium length finish that is intriguing but not necessarily desirable.

In short this is a dry but fruity red that should definitely be enjoyed with food and could probably do with some bottle age. More of a traditional style than the Mr Riggs i've reviewed earlier and much less approchable but overall enjoyable.

It received a 91 from James Halliday which i think is a little over stated and has definitely been dragged up by this wine being very true to the traditional spanish style. Unfortunately I can only bear to give this a 7 out of 10 at best and would steer most people toward the Mr Riggs Yacca Paddock unless they already know that they like the more traditional spanish style.

I purchased this wine for $26.70 from the Celebrations and have struggled to find this wine online. To be absolutely honest you can get a better Tempranillo and much more approachable for a lot less. Still good value for money really but only if you are looking for a dry wine.

Personally I'll be buying a Mr Riggs next time I'm looking for a Tempranillo but hey don't let me hold you back from trying something new. Although if you want to try something new there are plenty of other wines for the same price point that will treat your palate better.