Mano A Mano : 2005

michaeltsmith

This leggy, ruby red wine has aromatic hints of berries and oak. Initially sweet, it encompasses a rich flavor with a long, sweet finish.

Tasting Tags: berry finish::long leggy oak

Mano A Mano : 2005

taster82

An excellent table wine for the price. Plenty of oak and acid with berry and black cherry overtones. Great paired with spicy food or strong cheese.

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Mano A Mano : 2005

rdaneel

Full, dark color, with good clarity. The nose was solid black cherry and not much else. The body was pleasingly medium to full - not quite large, but enough. The flavor was very nice, more cherries and just a hint of oak. The finish was not very long, but had enough tannic grip for my taste. A very well balanced effort. The professional reviews are all over the map (82, 83, and 89 points), but trust your palate. This wine is a great value, offering a nice balance of features at a low price. I'd buy more.

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Mano A Mano : 2005

cearbhaill

What a tremendous value for a good table wine. Nice cherry and raspberry on the nose, and same on the taste with pleasant tannins that were surprisingly nice for this young, cheap wine. Good body and fullness with strong fruit. The finish was short, but strong. Not a lot of depth or complexity, but really quite delicious, and for the price, this is a must-try.

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Mano A Mano : 2005

fieldsound

Bouquet: Black Pepper, Sour Cherries and Red Berries. Touches of Worchestershire sauce. A little alcohol on the back end. Flavor Profile: Very one note. Too thin for a tempernillo. Light touches of sour cherry. Almost diluted sour cherry concentrate. Unimpressive even for an 8 buck wine. A mighty pass. Buy a bottle of the Bodegas Ercavio Tempranillo Roble 2005 instead.

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Mano A Mano : 2005

cliffordjames

ON THE NOSE: Hmmm … at first there was a definite “cheap wine” aroma on this nose, which frightened me, but Darcey was quick with her assessment on the heels of mine, stating that “this isn’t so bad Cliff; I kind of like it!” That cheap smell is like sour cherries, but it is indeed tempered by some nice vanilla sweetness after about ten minutes. If you find yourself opening a bottle of this I would recommend not smelling it for ten minutes! Boy, after this short amount of time a certain creaminess emanates from the glass letting me know that "No Cliff, perhaps this isn’t swill after all." . . . But – and there are always several buts with a wine like this – after a few hours the nose becomes muted, and, while still pleasant enough, it doesn’t offer enough, not enough for these wine enthusiasts who have been known to sniff a wine far longer than is socially acceptable. Some of the goodness is still there, cherry candy with a hint of caramel, but not a sufficient amount of sensory data. No, this wine is not improving with time out of its bottle . . . ON THE PALATE: Ah, we love real Tempranillo. True, we’ve had many bad efforts, but when done well the Tempranillo grape has many wonderful attributes that keep us coming back for more. This particular one is very inexpensive, bought for a measly $8 from the Wine Library ($10 at my local store), and while it doesn’t have the complexity of a really good bottle, we find that we like it more for what it doesn’t have that many other “cheap” wines have: it’s not objectionable to drink (I find I use this line a lot at the local tastings I attend: “Hmmm … it’s not too objectionable!”), it doesn’t have acidity that is out of balance and it doesn’t contain an undue amount of noticeable heat from the 13.5% alcohol. These are all good things. Unfortunately it does not offer any appreciable tannin either . . . As this Spanish cheapie evolves it does offer some nice toasted rust, sour cherry, some black pepper, but it is obvious now that this cheapie is just that: an inexpensive bottle of cheap wine! It is thin, inelegant, and not very enjoyable. Yes: we’ve had worse. Yes: It was only $7.99. Yes: Darcey still likes it better than me. Yes: I’ll give it more of a chance. … OK, I’ve given it a chance and this Tempranillo holds nearly no allure for me, which is too bad because we are always looking for an inexpensive weekday quaffer. The nose is pleasant enough with its cherry and cream, but there the affair ends as these qualities do not follow through to the palate. I cannot in good conscience recommend this wine (for the same price the 2005 Ercavio is a MUCH better choice); it is not objectionable, but neither is it worth your serious attention, and not worth seeking out. I admit that it was somewhat better the next day – almost enjoyable – but still not the type of wine I would want again. Too bad! . . . WOULD WE DRINK IT AGAIN? Cliff: NO ... Darcey: YES ... I guess I may give it another chance some dismal Monday night. WOULD WE BUY IT AGAIN? Well, in general I would have to say no, but again, Dar may want to try it once more, so ... perhaps, but I believe I can talk Darcey out of it and into something like the 2005 Ercavio any day ... especially a dismal Monday!

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Mano A Mano : 2005

rockin

Nice light tanins, pleasant nose. Slightly off, sour notes, but without much duration. The finish is good, and this is clearly a decent wine for the price.

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Mano A Mano : 2005

rmartinez

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