It's not a bad joke. It's a good wine. Not all wines should be cut along the same pattern, or satisfy the same tastes, and 14.5% alc. in Ribera del Duero is no proof of spoofulation but of natural conditions. In addition, this is a wine with a notable aging potential, that will probably not hit its peak until 2015 or so.
I served this wine to the Prime Minister of Spain once. I think it was the 2001 version, but I could be wrong about that. Anyway, he was psyched at the time.
Not, I'm sad to say, so much by the sommelier on that particular occasion. Not that he was displeased with the service or anything. But you know, "I'm no 2001 vintage," as the phrase goes in Spain.