The Fourth Protocolo - It's not you, it's me*

I've fallen out of love. It happened a couple of years ago although it took me until last night to realise it. When Protocolo first came out, in, I think 2008, (the 2006 vintage), I loved it. I picked up a bottle in O'Briens as part of one of my regular trawls of their reds on special offer, and I loved it.

I loved it so much I recommended it to all my friends, some of whom also loved it and used it for parties. I believe it was John Wilson from the Irish Times (but I can't find the link) who raved about it, and suggested it had the potential to age and would be worth cellaring. Also, it was not your typical Spanish red, it was fruitier, and, I suspect, made to appeal to a younger, New World influenced wine drinker.

So I took a bottle of the 2006 and duly "cellared" it, for future consumption. Over the next four  years, I bought the 2009 & 2010. I don't know what happened to the 2007 & 2008; I know I missed one of them and I suspect the other never made it to the shop floor but I couldn't be sure. Either way, I picked up the 2011 yesterday for tasting purposes.

I need to confess that I last time I bought the Protocolo was in summer of 2012 (the 2010 vintage), for old time's sake, and I didn't enjoy it. I don't know if the wine has changed or I have, but one of us has moved on.

Anyhoo, I have been looking for an opportunity to do a vertical tasting of the various vintages for some time and last night presented the perfect occasion. It was forecast to be a lovely sunny evening, we had our new chiminea to burn our old patio table in,  a butterflied leg of lamb to bbq, and we had our neighbours Tricki'n'Baz from one side in, and MJ from the other, along with Aunty June, whom we hadn't seen for a while.

The ladies had been on the white wine for a while and me on the Grolsch, so I figured I'd start with the oldest first before we all got too squiffy to taste anything.

2006 - First off, everyone else liked it, but I didn't really care for it. It had a big alcoholic wash and had lost pretty much all its fruit. Not unpleasant, but not what I was expecting. Which was? Dunno, not this. They say most wines are made to be drunk with a short number of years so perhaps I shouldn't be surprised.

2009 - Really didn't like this. There was a slight sharpness to this wine that I didn't care for. Our guests didn't comment as such but that could be just politeness. I pride myself on serving nice wine to anyone who comes to my house for dinner but I feel I let myself down here; at the very least I need to like what I'm serving.

2010/2011 - Not much in the difference here, as I mentioned above, this wine just doesn't do it for me anymore, I'm sorry to say.

So there you have it, a failed love story for my part, but do try it yourself (it generally retails for about €8.99), even if you don't like it you won't be out of pocket by too much...

* Probably