Viñedos Ithaca

(click for full label)

2003 Odysseus Tinto

Type: Aged Red

Tasting Notes: Another Puig classic! Blackberry, kirsch and red apple skin, are beautifully integrated with floral notes, licorice and chocolate. Also present is an attractive meaty, earthiness. Palate reflects the berries and earthiness found on the nose. One of the best examples of a balanced wine from Priorat.

Other Notes: The process to make the 2003 Tinto is the same as in years past: the wine is vinified in open 400 liter French oak barrels (60% Quercus Sessili / 40% Quercus Alba) on their ends and then, after pressing, the wine is returned to the same barrels to rest on their sides for 10 to 12 months.

However, the 2003 is different from the 2002 due to the hotter summer (providing an earlier and optimal level of maturity) and the blend.

This make up of the wine is slightly different from previous years and is composed of 30% Garnacha (Grenache) and Garnacha Peluda (local Grenache strain), 35% Cariñena (old vines on slate soil), 20% Cabernet Sauvignon with the remainder comprised of Touriga Nacional, Petit Verdot, Syrah and Caladoc. No filtering or fining before bottling. 1200 cases bottled in June, 2005.