1988 Quinta de la Rosa

[Tom Archer]

A landmark year for Rosa, as it was their first vintage to be marketed independently under their own name.

One of half a dozen bottles, I selected my victim for having a very low level - top shoulder - while all the others had levels in neck. Yet their was no sign of seepage.

Drawing the cork was a bit of a struggle - the top of the cork was so tightly compressed, it was hard to get a corkscrew into it, yet below the top half inch it was soft and slightly decayed, eventually coming out in four pieces.

However, as the top of the cork showed no sign of wine penetration, I concluded that this was a bottle that never got properly filled in the first place.

Decanted at 1pm - almost blood red, the wine looks very well extracted. Modest amount of fine purple sediment - rather like a Vesuvio.

First sip:

No bottle stink, and immediately approachable, fine bouquet that reminds me of Offley, but on the palate much more like a Vesuvio.

Ten hours on, and a glass proper:

A strong fresh fruity bouquet, no longer aping another house's style.

On the palate it is noticeably youthful, with a developing fire that doesn't catch you straight away. A touch watery perhaps. While there are similarites with Vesuvio, this also has it's own distinctive signature.

I'm wondering whether to score this now, or wait until tomorrow.. I think I'll wait, as the biggest de-merit (the fire) may well integrate.

Soon after my last post, a further glass revealed the sudden disappearance of the fire - very odd!

Now a day on the wine is very respectable given that it comes from one of the least successful years of the eighties.

To score:

For immediate gratification the wine is good but a little raw - a little short of the median, so I give it a 4.

Where's it going? This wine is still well short of mature, and will probably need another decade to show it's best - it has the substance to show much better given time.

My score is 4-6

Note to me - re-visit in five years

Tom