On March 12th, the Sons of Bacchus, plus one Daughter of Dionysus, assembled at Kevin Pogue's for a tasting of Tempranillo wines. Most were from Spain, but there were ones from the U.S. as well. Here are the most interesting wines tasted, with my notes and scores.

2001 Domino de Atauta Ribera del Duero - This comes from Northern Spain and it showd a deep ruby color and an intense smoky classic Tempranillo nose, with perfumes of black roses. The black fruit flavors were deep and assertive, with notes of crushed pepper, minerals and a long, dry finish. I correctly identified this as a Ribera del Duera. 19/20 points.

2001 La Rioja Alta "904" Rioja Gran Reserva - I picked this wine to take to the tasting to see if it was as good as Robert Parker's Wine Advocate rating of 96 points. It came out in the middle of the pack. It offered a medium garnet color and aromas of dried fruits and rose petals, with dryish maturing flavors. It faded a bit on aeration. 19/20 points.

2010 Kerloo Cellars Tempranillo, Columbia Valley - Ryan Crane's Tempranillo (blended with 14% Grenache) was highly impressive. It showed a medium ruby-garnet color and intense aromas of black currants, dried roses, tobacco and chocolate. The flavors were deep and penetrating, with some tannins to shed. 19+/20 points.

2007 Cayuse "Impulsivo" Tempranillo, Walla Walla Valley - This was quite different from the other Tempranillos. Kevin Pogue was sure it was the Impulsivo, and he was right. It possessed a deep ruby-garnet color and a sultry, smoky nose of sweet-dry fruits, followed by a sweet-dry mid palate and roasted berries and nuts and a long finish. On its own merits, I gave it 19/20 points.

2006 La Cueva del Contador Rioja - This showed a deep color and a distinctive nose of black fruits, perfumed, pepper and incense. The intense dark fruits were well focused, and the sweet-dry tannins turned smooth on the long, ripe finish. 19/20 points.

2001 Vitis Terrarum "Zincara" Tempranillo, Tierra del Castilla - This came out in the top of the last flight. I found it to be a rather bold and direct Tempranillo, with a deep ruby color and a smoky, peppery nose and medium full bodied flavors, with notes of cocoa and green tea. My score, 18.5/20 points.

Thanks to Kevin Pogue for hosting this fine tasting.

Coming Up: Next week's Review Blog will go on line on Sunday, March 22nd with an article on "The 2012 Vintage Enters Full Cycle." There will also be an advance notice that the April issue of the Review of Washington Wines will go on line on Thursday, the 26th.