We finished with a pair of pure Petit Verdot wines, a variety that is an infrequently successful “soloist.” My only complaint would be the unnecessary weight of the bottles and the limited production of just three barrels. The 2005 Petit Verdot is very pure on the nose, with lush blackberry and blueberry aromas cloaked in a judicious amount of vanillary oak. The palate is medium-bodied, with fine tannins and attractive purity as well as notes of blackberry, red peppercorns and a crisp citric edge towards the finish that would benefit from a little more cohesion. Drink now-2017. Abadia Retuerta is located just outside the DO of Ribera del Duero. It was once part of the Vega Sicilia estate and was revived when a Swiss pharmaceutical company purchased the land in 1991. They own 210 hectares of vineyard dispersed over 54 plots interpolated with pine forest, and the wines are vinified in a state-of-the-art winery. The premium wines spend 14 to 18 months in French and American oak (64% and 36% respectively). Importer: Christopher Cannan; www.europvin.com

Espresso, bitter chocolate and toasted walnut notes frame blackberry and blueberry flavors in this ripe, expressive red. It's viscous, but saved from jamminess by crisp tannins. Oaky but alluring. Best from 2009 through 2014. 30 cases imported.??–TM??Region: Spain / Vi?o de la Tierra de Castilla y León Select to Add

Inky purple. Dark berry liqueur, cherry-vanilla and oak spice on the nose, with seductive floral and bacon fat qualities adding complexity. Fat and juicy, offering sweet, concentrated blackberry and creme de cassis flavors, velvety texture and gentle back-end lift. Emphatically in the modern school, and I doubt that I would ever guess it to be from Spain, but this is awfully alluring.