Bodega Dominio Buenavista Vino de la Tierra Contraviesa Alpujarra Veleta 2007

Though with a fairly modest bit of barrel ageing this has a distinctly smoky note on the nsoe with toffee and vanilla tones accenting the pear fruit.There is a distinctly sweet floral tone coming from the Viognier in the bland that gives this a rather curious character. Cool and crisp in the mouth this performs better than the nose would indicate having fine vibrancy and rather classic Chardonnay fruit yet with a very floral inner mouth perfume. It would benefit from a bit of time to allow the oak to integrate a bit but is certainly distinctive. 86pts

December 2008

Smoky and fairly oaky on the nose with paraffin, dried fruits and hints of blond tobacco with an off putting dried meat tone even. Surprisingly light in the mouth with a very fresh feel, the oak is well integrated and the fruit crisp and pure, if slightly small scaled. This turns oakier in the glass with a toasty wood quality as opposed to a more buttery, vanilla laced quality. It is aromatically complex with a very fresh feel but the oak is a bit too aggressive. 82pts

October 2009