Okay Dear Wine Friends, it’s been about a month since I put a photo of a wine bottle on one of my posts without a catch. This one I did drink and have the tasting notes to prove it:

A 2004 Pedrosa Crianza.

A Spanish varietal I never had before so I took careful notes. I liked it and I wanted to be able to find it again.

Nose
Spanish nose to me meant it would be earthy; it didn’t disappoint.

A much fuller nose than Cabs.
Tobacco and Blueberry.

Taste

Full mouth feel
Dry, lingering finish
Likable Tannin,
Good balance of both fruit and spice

Drink now

The Catch (Yes! There has to be one!)

I had been overdoing the Benedryl as a sleep aid at night. It’s something a normal person would take for allergies that has the side effect of causing sleepiness. I’m not a normal person, and when I was in Italy (drinking/working for you I might add) I doubled my dosage as my sleep patterns were thrown out-of-whack.

My mouth finally dried up, tongue rolled in, cheeks caved, taste buds stood erect and even though you (thankfully) wouldn’t know it from the outside…my palate was cooked.

So, a few days before the Crianza, when I figured out that I didn’t have cancer or a sinus infection, I gave up the big B.

After a couple of days I noticed that the left side of my mouth was returning to normal, then it switched over to my right. Now when the full fan of the air conditioning of my car blasts my lips they feel icy cold and the tip of my tongue curls…whatever…I had half a palate and I was going to use it!

Imagine, me with no palate…or…are you too busy imagining me without a tongue or voice? Ha! I’d still have a way to blog myself out of this one! And I’ve had just enough MISSED SLEEP to manage it!