TN: 2005 Bodegas El Nido - "Clio" (Spain, Murcia, Jumilla

WINE TALK
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I can see how some enjoy the outlandish approach

That’s got to be one of the best lines ever regarding a wine. Excellent!! [worship.gif]

First time I had one of those I just about choked, thinking WTF? Over time I’ve accepted them. They are what they are. I still wouldn’t buy them. You want a high scoring wine? Get Ringland to make it for you. But then you may as well buy the least expensive of them, because they’re usually the most palatable.

Mostly tho I agree w Brian - the mood you’re in has a lot to do with things and it’s great to have a wide variety of styles to choose from. There’s a lot of posturing in wine where people decide to disdain something that’s got real fruit in it or conversely, something that’s not fruity enough, and so on. I wonder sometimes if those people really like wine in all its diversity or just want to create a kind of identity. I suppose if someone poured me a glass of the Clio I’d drink it, because even tho Brian G pretty much nailed it with the description and the score, an 83 is still a drinkable wine. I bet it would be good in sangria too.

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So this is the MollyDooker of Spain then?

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I’ve actually enjoyed the couple low-end MollyDookers that I’ve had – one of 'em was even double blind.

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Yes and no. The wines are as big as the MDs, but one thing that sets the Clio and El Nido apart for me is the acidity. Both have pHs that rival Burgundy (3.4-ish). That keeps them from being syrupy to me. I think one of the things that turns people off is the oak. Maybe it’s because I stick my nose into a lot of new oak barrels all year long, but I find the oak to be beautiful - kinda like Brian Catnip flirtysmile I’d soooooooo rather drink the Clio and El Nido than I would any Napa Cult Cab, not even considering the price. In some ways I think they’re more in line with some of the bigger Syrah’s from Cali (Saxum, SQN, etc) than MollyDooker. Of course, I do like the MDs too [drinkers.gif]

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[rofl.gif] [rofl.gif] perfect description

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So this is the MollyDooker of Spain then?

What Brian said and they’re also completely different grapes. Mollydooker is shiraz and I think he does some cabs too, where this is a monastrell/cab blend.

But stylistically, I guess that’s not a bad analogy. It’s one of several Mollydookers of Spain actually, that are made by the same Australian winemaker. I guess he just adds more acid than Sparky does.

Incidentally, I had one of the Marquis Phillips wines recently and it was actually aging! Not falling apart into a disjointed mess like I thought it would, and still big stuff, but developing and the wood wasn’t as obnoxious. That’s the wine that finally convinced me there’s such a thing as too much oak, so who knows - maybe these Clios and Nidos etc., will turn into something. Don’t know why you’d keep them intentionally tho - if you like the style they’re drink-now wines.

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Minus the over the top part but I’m fine with silly, I love these kinds of wines and drink them all the time. I guess great taste is subjective though, eh? I wanted a wine that just plain was fun and easy to drink and delicious tonight, so I have a Thivin Cote de Brouilly…

28

I looked back at my notes on CT regarding different vintages of Clio, and realized that a couple years ago I gave this wine a 92. In my successive tastes, my rating has continued to decline as my tastes have dramatically shifted to leaner, more subtle wines. So interesting to see how tastes change.

29

Believe it or not, the acid is natural. It has to do with the soil, which keeps the pH in the grapes really low. We see the same thing in the Cab and Mourvedre we get out of limestone soils in Paso. The brix is often north of 30, but the pH can be 3.1-ish. And even after ML we see pHs around 3.4 (and that’s without acidifying any water we add). Crazy stuff.

30

Would it be possible to plant different varieties here with lower acidity? I understand that this is the site expression and style you are looking for, and Cab has a built in market to boot. But Cab S and Mourvedre are late ripeners to varying degrees, so they seem more likely to retain acidity until late in the season. Just curious about possibilities or if you’ve tested other varieties.

What kind of TAs are associated with these pHs? I read on the Tablas Creek blog that limestone can lower pH without resulting in very high TAs.

31

This is what happened to me. I bought this bottle a couple years ago when my tolerance for oak was greater than it is now.


Greg D., a mini-vertical of Clio at Berserkerfest II proved to me that Clios do not age well (I think we had '02-'05 or '06).

32

The '03 was one of my favorites, but they seem to get more oaky every year since. Why do that? It just isn’t necessary.

33

Ha, Brian, I hope you’re not buying all these supper ripe, heavily oaked wines with your own money! :slight_smile: Very surprised you liked the Veraton. Haven’t had an aged example but I love these on release. Diversity baby! Some days I want a salad, some days short ribs. We’ve got wines for all moods. Thanks for the note.

34

Thanks, Jeb. As for the Veraton: fwiw, I’ve always thought it shows significantly better on Day 2 than it does on Day 1; the Veraton, to my palate, has been a low-90’s wine.

35

Get some Juan Gil 2007 for $12 and you’ll have a fruity, smooth 100% monastrell with little obvious oak from the same winery that’ll just sing with a juicy burger. Great cure for oak allergies.

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I will do that, Victor. I know exactly what wine you’re talking about, although I don’t think I’ve ever tried a bottle. Thanks for the tip — the $12 price-point is nice, too! [basic-smile.gif]

37

I bought the 2003 and 2005. I tried a bottle of the 2003 and found it revolting. I hated it. It was 200% of everything I don’t want in wine. I returned my remaining bottles.

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Sorry, sorry, Ive been distracted. Grafstrom you need a new palate! [snort.gif] That good enough Carrie?
Tex STFU wheres that picture of the STFU cup when you need it :wink:
Loring, [highfive.gif]

In reality, the last 05 Clio I had seemed to be missing some fruit which made the oak almost unbearable. Either they are falling appart or that particular bottle had something wrong with it. (yes, yes insert your favorite bashing here “all the bottles are bad” or how about “there is something wrong with you!”) I know my palate is not maturing because I wont let it, so Ill just open anotherone tonight. Say something bad about the 05 El Nido and I will steal your hubcaps.

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A couple of vintages have been a bit ripe for me but I have definitely found Juan Gil to be the best readily available inexpensive Mourvedre / Monastrell out there…