2005 Dominio de Atauta Valdegatiles
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Tasting notes
The 2005 Valdegatiles is sourced from a single site on the estate with ungrafted vines over 100 years old. The wine was aged in French oak, 33% new, for 18 months. Notes of cedar, saddle leather, mineral, blackberry, and black cherry are enticing. This leads to a wine with huge structure but excellent balance. The wine is intense, layered, and very long but it demands 12-15 years of cellaring. However, this is a case in which patience will be rewarded. In short, this is not a wine for those unable to delay gratification. This is a true vins de garde that will require much patience but in the end, it will be rewarded. Dominio de Atauta was established in 1999 with the first vintage the following year. The vineyards are 100% Tinto Fino, most of them ungrafted vines of 60+ years of age. The estate is biodynamically farmed and all wines are bottled without fining or filtration. Importer: Manny Berk, The Rare Wine Co., Sonoma, CA; tel. (707) 996-4484
Critic scores
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Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
Aged in 1-year-old oak. This is Atauta’s ‘Madrid’ wine if La Mala is their ‘Barcelona’ – ie more traditional, less fashionable. Sweet, ripe dark plums, slightly pruney but there’s meat there too. Complex blend of all these things with a herbal note as well. Pretty serious but fruit is still to the fore. Tannins are powdery and mouthcoating at the moment. (JH)
Glass-staining violet. Vibrant, explosively aromatic bouquet of spicy red fruits, fresh flowers, Asian spices and pungent minerals. Juicy cherry and cassis flavors are enlivened by zesty minerality and gain sweetness with air. Gentle tannins rein in the fruit but don't get in the way of this wine's enormous sex appeal. Finishes with outstanding clarity and persistence.