Ramon Bilbao Gran Reserva 2011

Made with grapes from 60+ year old vines this wine is matured in American oak for 30 months and a further 36 months minimum in the bottle.

I was looking forward to this wine as I really enjoyed the Crianza. Unfortunately it didn’t work for me.

It is a medium intense purple colour verging towards ruby.

Medium to pronounced scent with heavy mature fruits. Like dried fruit soaked in alcohol. Definite oak and you can tell it’s oak rather than just wood. Also a bit of lemon peel.

The tannins in this wine are not as balanced as the other Gran Reservas I tried. They were too high for me and I therefore got the usual mouthful of sour and had all the moisture stripped from my tongue.

I did get some of the mature berries and the alcohol soaked fruit. But it was too tangy for me. Good body and finish though.

I got the impression it had been open for too long. Couldn’t say why. It just didn’t seem right.

Shame really as the scent was very promising and it’s a great price.