The 2005 Absis is predominantly Tempranillo with Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah completing the blend. It was aged for 18 months in new French oak. A glass-coating opaque purple color, it offers up a reticent bouquet of wood smoke, raisins, plum, and mulberry with a hint of balsamic in the background. On the palate the wine is a bit austere and will require several years of cellaring to fully blossom. Even so, there is little here to justify the extravagant price. Pares Balta is a large winery in Penedes making an assortment of wines mostly of solid quality. Importer: Bryce McNamee, Boutique Wine Collection, Philadelphia, PA; tel. (914) 954-6583

The 2003 Absis is 61% Tempranillo with the balance Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah. Purple-colored, it delivers a bouquet of toasty oak, mineral, leather, blackberry, and black currant. This is followed by a full-bodied wine that is firm but well-balanced. It requires a minimum of 4-6 years in the cellar and should be at its best from 2012-2025. Pares Balta is one of a number of wineries in Penedes with serious aspirations. It produces a wide range of wines from Cava to Rose to stratospherically priced red wines. While Pares Balta appears to be a work in progress, it is clear that their intention is to produce world-class wines. While Pares Balta makes many different Cavas, the importer only brings in their two top-of-the-line sparkling wines. Several of Pares Balta’s red wines could not be recommended and the best of the rest possess a certain rusticity that belies their lofty price tags. Importer: Bryce McNamee, Boutique Wine Collection, Philadelphia, PA; www.boutiquewines.info

Packaged in a designer bottle with a wax capsule, the saturated ruby/purple-hued 2001 Absis offers scorched earth, tar, creme de cassis, tobacco, sweet vanillin, new oak, and espresso roast characteristics. Medium to full-bodied, admirably-constituted, and impeccably well-made, it should be consumed over the next decade. Importer: Loest and McNamee, Inc., Boutique Wine Co., Philadelphia, PA; tel. (914) 954-6583