Bodegas Valdemar Inspiracion Maturana 2005

Winery: Bodegas Valdemar

Varietal: Tempranillo

For millennia, the Tempranillo grape varietal has been esteemed and revered by winemakers in their native Spain. These grapes are packed full of intense and fascinating flavors, often rewarding wine drinkers with notes of tobacco, leather, plum and herbs alongside their spicy and full bodied character. Their thick, black skins result in their wines being very deep red in color, and often high in tannins. As such, Tempranillo grapes are usually blended with other fine varietals to produce exceptionally balanced and delicious blended wines, such as those found in La Riot and other important wine regions around the world. Despite them being a notoriously tricky varietal to grow, their popularity continues to increase, and winemakers continue to impress the world with this excellent example of a red wine grape.

Region: La Rioja

Spanish wines have always been packed full of character and tradition, making Spain a fascinating country for any fan of Old World wines. By far the most beloved and well known wine region in Spain is La Rioja, a lush and fertile region in the north of the country, famed for its superb single variety and blended red wines, usually made from Tempranillo and Garnacha varietal grapes. These two key grape varietals have been cultivated in this part of Spain for centuries, and are capable of expressing not only the rich, delicious fruit flavors they carry, but also the finer features of their terroir. La Rioja's terroirs are fine ones indeed, with a range of mineral rich soils, and climatic conditions which are ideal for viticulture, resulting in wines of real character and distinction.

Country: Spain

From the deep and intense Rioja wines, or the dry and refreshing Ruedas, from Tempranillos to Verdejos, the range and quality of Spanish wines is always going to impress and fascinate. With several thousand years of traditions and expertise leading the way, Spanish wineries are currently producing some of the most flavorful and interesting wines to come out of Europe, striving to overcome the reputation problems the country suffered in the mid to late twentieth century. Despite being one of the largest producers of wine in the world, with billions of bottles being filled each year, Spanish wine producers are more interested in quality over quantity than ever before. The results of this are some truly world class wines rivaling even the finest produce of France in regards to balance, character and flavor, gaining new fans and enthusiasts every day.