I love a good glass of red wine. It doesn’t have to be with a fancy dinner or paired with a charcuterie board; I just sometimes get the notion for a large glass of ruby wine. But ask me what my favourite label is, my favourite wine or vineyard - I just can’t say as there are so many wines out there that I adore and so many ones that I have yet to drink.

REVIEW OF EMILIO MORO 2019 AND MARTINET BRU 2020 SPANISH RED WINES

So I am delighted to have teamed up with Vinissimus, an online wine store that has a catalogue of Spanish and World wines from the most famous wineries in the world but also authentic bottled landscapes, wines with soul, fruits of the earth and the sun, expressions of the terroir that honestly reflect the profile of each vintage.

I have been sent two bottles of Spanish red wine to taste and review; the Emilio Moro 2019 and the Martinet Bru Priorat.

EMILIO MORO 2019

Grape variety - 100% Tempranillo

Vineyard : Emilio Moro www.emiliomoro.com

Region : Ribera del Duero, Castilla y León, Spain

Tempranillo grape is Spain’s #1 grape variety. It has similar qualities to Cabernet Sauvignon in that it is full bodied with dark fruits but black pepper and tobacco are also evident. Similarly, when Tempranillo is young its fresh and fruity, and as it ages, tobacco and leather come to the fore. These Tempranillo vines are aged 15-25 years so its no wonder that the tasting notes for this flagship Emilio Moro wine mention intense aromas of mature, ripe black plum fruits together with spices and intense black fruit on the palate with spice, vanilla and balsamic notes.

My thoughts : this wine most definitely benefits from being aerated for at least 30 minutes before drinking. It needs time to develop those big bold flavours. This wine was matured in French and American oak barrels imparting flavours of vanilla and smoke which I pick up on the back notes. Oak also provides the tannins to wine, and this maturing for 12 months, gives the tannins some good legs and it grips well to the glass. It’s a well balanced wine with big bold flavours that I love - cherries, raspberries, blackcurrants and plums with a hint of smokiness. Stewed or very ripe red and dark berries dance across your tongue leaving a trail of fruitiness right to the end.

MARTINET BRU PRIORAT 2020

Grape Variety : Cabernet Sauvignon, Cariñena, Garnacha, Merlot and Syrah

Vineyard : Mas Martinet Viticultors www.masmartinet.com

Region : Mas Seró, Serra Alta, Torroja, Spain

This wine comes from the most drinkable slope in Priorat; an area known for a south-west wind called garbinada, a humid sea breeze known for cooling the last hours of the hottest summer afternoons and helping to obtain slower and more extended ripening. Made with the best grapes from a multitude of vines, with Syrah and Carinera grape varieties making up most of the wine.

Syrah gives this wine its rich brooding flavours of blackberries with a hint of spice and liquorice notes whilst the Carinera provides cherries and spice; and those big tannins and body.

Tasting notes on Vinissimus’s website mention aromas of undergrowth and liquorice whilst on the palate it's intense and flavoursome but sweet.

My thoughts - another wine that requires aeration prior to drinking. It’s quite acidic on popping the cork but that soon mellows to leave a very dry but deep flavourful red wine. For me this is a complex wine, with each sip ever changing. My initial sip was pleasant with the aroma really hitting me first - an underlying vegetal aroma perhaps of mushrooms or a forest floor but that slowly gives way to matured dark fruits. On the palate its cherries, some anise, maybe some leather and dark chocolate even charred meat for me. It’s well balanced with a hint of acidity but juicy and has a nice long finish.

Two very similar wines, both Spanish, both red but one very complex and one very very drinkable. For me the Emilio Moro 2019 receives my thumbs up. It’s juicier and not quite as dry as the Martinet Bru.

Both wines are available to purchase online at Vinissimus

Emilio Moro 2019 - £21.55 - www.vinissimus.co.uk/en/wine/emilio-moro

Martinet Bru 2020 - £24.40 - www.vinissimus.co.uk/en/wine/martinet-bru