Earth 2.0 Tempranillo 2006

A light purple wine. The nose is floral, showing violets and red roses. In the mouth, sweet red fruit mixes with flavors of dried flowers, leather and tarry notes.

Central to the Spanish winemaking philosophy is the belief that wine should be released only when it is ready to be consumed, and not a moment before. Spanish wine law focuses squarely on this issue: the terms Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva are highly regulated indicators of the amount of time a wine has aged prior to its release. In Rioja, Navarra, and the Ribera del Duero (which have the most stringent requirements) red Crianzas must be aged a minimum of two years; Reservas, at least three years; and Gran Reservas, five years. Of course, top producers will often age their wines far longer than they are required to - sometimes decades.