04 Telmo Rodriguez, Toro Dehesa Gago G

At first I thought pulled pork, maybe just something as simple as tacos al pastor. But then it dawned on me--I wasn't thinking about this 100% tinto de toro tempranillo wine. I wasn't tasting anything at all. It's not that the wine isn't rich. It has a smoke quality that could put half the Rhone out of business. But that smell--that dense, gets-in-your-hair smell of tar and grilled dead black roses--is the beginning and end to this wine. Gago makes me think of pulled pork, tacos (oh, add ribs to the menu) because it needs them. As impressive as it first seems, the tough, angular tastes reduce the whole wine to seasoning. And, while Mrs. Dash can perk up any meat dish, it's raw and acrid on its own. So the lush aromatics lose to the fruitless palate, which first is like the taste of toothpaste after a Cuban espresso and later just green and tannic.