Very good Spanish wines, plus a terrific Alsace at Riverpark

[Ramon_NYC]

Wines drank with dinner at Riverpark in NYC last Sunday.

1989 Dom. Zind-Humbrecht Riesling Turckheim, Alsace
What a terrific bottle! Who says Trimbach’s got the monopoly on fine-aging Riesling in the neighborhood? Oooohs and aaaahs from around the table to the restaurant’s sommelier and wait staff whom we offered tastes of. Class, silky and elegant and with no hard edge. Medium bodied. If wine was royalty, this would be akin to the British Princess Kate (formerly Middleton). Pleasing to the last sip. Outstanding. A

1970 Marques de Murrieta Ygay Reserva, La Rioja Alta
This followed, and stood toe-to-toe with, the excellent Riesling we started with. A slight musty smell around leather and tobacco, then the wine morphed into an excellent and fine-drinking example that simply stated how elegant and complex an appropriately aged Rioja can be. This was not even the Gran Reserva edition! Did great with my Branzino dish. Lingering and delicious at the finish. A

1985 Marques de Murrieta Ygay Gran Reserva, La Rioja Alta
A big traditional Rioja that’s somewhat dominated by a very high level of acidity that masked the fruit and other components. It was decent tonight and, given our experience with the 1970 Reserva, may further improve with aging. B

2001 Bodegas y Viñedos Vega Sicilia Tinto Valbuena 5°
Drank from a decanter. Still showing oak, but with delineated black and blue fruit that's ripe and fleshy. Power and finesse all the way to the last sip. A full-bodied wine that needs plenty of air, and will go well with grilled steaks and or meat stews. Good length. A treat to drink now and can only get better with aging. These guys at Vega Sicilia are for real. A-