$10 Tuesday: Tempranillo

This week's ten dollar wine is actually only eight bucks. What a deal! We love red wine, and we really like some of the lighter reds like Tempranillo that you can drink on a warmer day without getting cottonmouth.

Reinares

Vino de la Tierra de Castilla
Vintage: 2007
Grape: Tempranillo
Alcohol: 13%

Aromas: Cherry, bramble, spice, strawberry, neroli
Flavors: Cherry, strawberry, allspice,fig

Summary: This country wine is not bad for eight bones. It's not terribly complex and it's a little shy on acidity which makes the tannins seem a little more dominant but, these are small quibbles. Really, there's not much bad I can say about an eight dollar Spanish Tempranillo (yes, I'm biased). The only thing that I didn't like about this wine was that it seemed kind of yeasty.

$10 Tuesday, Taking a Chance in the Spanish Aisle

We are running lean and mean in the wine cellar. We have some nice bottles left in the cellar, but I’m coming off from a two week shutdown and I have another shutdown facing me in the near future. Now isn’t the time to be plopping down big buck for over the top wines. I was driving home from doing research for my maple post and realized that I need a $10 wine for Tuesday.

Driving down I-95 through New Hampshire, you hit a stretch where there are two state owned liquor stores, one for the north bound traffic, one for the south bound traffic. I normally don’t see the point of shopping at the state stores. I have my favorite wine shops where I know the folks behind the counter and I can count on getting something really good. I may pay a buck or two more, but I’m giving my money to a store owner, not the government. The government will be getting its 5 pounds of flesh from us in five weeks, thank you very much.

The salient point is that I was thinking about our readers. I know times are tough, but I want our readers to find values without feeling like they have to run around barefoot with penguins and kangaroos. For me, that would be sad. Realizing that I have the same problem as many out there, what advice do I have to give? Be adventurous and try new things.

Italy, Spain, Chile, Argentina are all cranking out some really good values these days. I headed to the Italian section and saw three or four wines that would be good. We are having pork, so I don’t want a big, bold Chilean or Argentinean wine. Australia is out. Too big for what B is going to make. B’s recipe is going to be mildly spiced and flavorful. It’s time to walk down the Spanish wine aisle.

On my way, I walked by a nice selection of Bordeaux and Cotes du Rhone wines; a couple of Sangiovese wines... You see, there are plenty of great candidates for a $10 Tuesday wine. And then, there it was…something that I had no idea what it was! 2006 Protocolo Vino de la Tierra de Castilla. Red wine from the north of Spain, $7.99. What the hell is this stuff? I have no clue. It’s either going to be good or not. Let’s see how it did.

Protocolo
Vino de la Tierra de Castilla
(country wine of Castilla)

Vintage: 2006
Alcohol: 13.5
Price: $7.99

Color: Garnet
Intensity: Dark
Aromas: Dust, prune, raisin, cherry, blueberry, earth,
Flavors: Cherry, raspberry, pomegranate, cranberry, allspice, tobacco, chocolate, chestnut wood
Body: Full
Sweetness: Dry
Tannins: Leather
Finish: Long

Summary: I’m very happy with this wine. It is big but will yield for B’s pork and roasted sweet potatoes. The first whiff was dusty, earthy and spicy. Then the wine opened up with dried fruit and spices. This is good. For me, this is the best wine experience: Walking down the aisles, making an educated guess and then being surprised at how good it really is.


This will go well with pork, red Mexican dishes, roasted anything, Mediterranean, and Moroccan.

Later, curiosity was killing me. What is this stuff? I had to find out. A little work uncovered that it’s Tempranillo!

$10 Tuesday: Navarra Tempranillo Garnacha

We were in the $10 section of the package store and zeroed in on some Garnacha blends. There were three or four to pick from and I picked this one. Why? That's right: It was the awesome label. I admit it. That's what the label is for... Besides, I have to photograph a lot of wine bottles so aesthetics count! But, enough justifying my purchase decisions...

I never pass up a Garnacha. I love the way the aroma of Garnacha twists toward fig and bbq peach, and the flavor is so light and easy. This Garnacha Tempranillo blend sounded like a sure bet for $10, and it was. The nose has nice dark berry fruit with a spicy mole aroma going on in the background. It has refreshing acidity, more of that deep berry mid-palate, and then a nice spicy finish--very peppery capsaicin finish. The tannins and acidity are nicely balanced and stand up to a meal.

This wine would be a great choice for tapas involving chorizo or things wrapped in bacon. It also passed my olive test: It held it's own with both the feta stuffed, and the garlic stuffed olives. We just had plain old spaghetti but, the wine inspired me to add a little chili powder and cayenne pepper to the sauce. I would serve this wine with chili too...or a nice earthy mole.

Red Guitar

DOC: Navarra
Grapes: Tempranillo %55, Garnacha 45%
Price: $9.99
Alcohol: 14%
Aromas: Blackberry, earth, peach, mole
Flavors: Blackberry, blueberry, black cherry, chili pepper


In case you couldn't tell, we liked this wine.