The growth of dry rose has been one of the trends of 2007 and Cameron Hughes gets into the fray with this Spanish rose. Made by saignee, where juice is drawn off the fermenting red wine to concentrate it’s flavors, this wine is a bit darker than normal for a rose (or “rosado” as the Spanish call them). But everything else is exactly what you want this time of year to pair with grilled chicken or salad. A podcast interview with Cameron Hughes will be released shortly.

Cameron Hughes, Lot 37, Grenache Rose, Campo de Borja 2006 ($10) - Clear ruby in color, a shade or two darker than normal for rose. Generous aromas of strawberry and grapefruit. Fresh and crisp in the mouth with strawberry and watermelon flavors finishing bone dry with good acidity. A very nice example of Spanish rose for a bargain price (I found this at Costco for $8.99 in Northern California).

14% ABV
Stelvin closure
Score: 87
Rating:

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Another month has passed and it’s time for our virtual tasting, known as Wine Blogging Wednesday, masterminded by Lenn Thompson almost 3 years ago.

This month’s theme, Passionate Spanish Wines, was chosen by Michelle & Kevin of My Wine Education. They ask that we pick some Spanish wine to blog with special attention to the values found for $10 USD and less. And what a great theme for me as I just spent 10 days in Spain. So I thought I would write notes for four wines that meet the host’s criteria; two purchased in Spain and two purchased here. I thought it would be fun to see which side of the pond the best Spanish values could be found.

Spanish Purchases

When I was in Montsant with Gabriella and Ryan from Catavino on July 2nd, I picked up the first wine I’ll blog tonight for 6.30 Euro ($8.66). It carries the prestigious Priorat D.O. and proves you can find some decent values from this red-hot region of Spain.

Vinicola Del Priorat, “Onix Classic”, Priorat 2006 - A blend of Garnacha and Carignon. Dark purple in color with aromas of bing cherry and licorice. Cherry and strawberry fruit flavors with white pepper and dusty tannins. A solid value.

15% ABV
Natural cork closure
Score: 86

The next purchase was made in Barcelona at a great wine store Ryan introduced me to named Vila Vini Teca. We challenged the staff for the best wine for under 6 Euros and they came up with the following for a shade over 4 Euro.

Bodegas Agapito Rico, “Carchelo”, Jumilla 2006 (4.30 Euro/$5.90) - Made from 100% Monastrell (a.k.a. Mourvedre) this wine is extremely dark purple-black in color. Very strong blackberry jam and fennel aromas prepare the taster for a fruit bomb. And this wine doesn’t disappoint in the mouth with fresh boysenberry pie filling flavors with some blueberry and black pepper finishing very juicy and round with good acidity. A very nice value and a fun wine to drink.

14% ABV
Natural cork closure
Score: 88

Twin Cities Purchases

Back home I picked up a Garnacha (a.k.a. Grenache) from D.O. Calatayud in northeastern Spain’s Aragon region.

Viña Alarba, Grenache, “Old Vines”, Calatayud 2005 ($8) - Garnet-purple in color with aromas of cherry, spice and earth. Medium bodied in the mouth with cranberry and strawberry fruit, some white pepper, earth and minerality on the finish. A lot of wine for the money.

14% ABV
Synthetic cork closure
Score: 88

My final selection is one I tasted before I went on my trip that is only available here in the U.S. Selected and blended by Eric Solomon, this wine is perhaps the best value from Spain I’ve yet found.

Bodegas Castano, “Hecula”, Yecla 2003 - ($10) - Another 100% Monastrell, this time from D.O. Yecla. Complex cherry, black currant, violet & licorice aromas. Black currant, blueberry & black pepper finishing with fine grained tannins, minerality and good acidity. A delicious value.

14% ABV
Natural cork closure
Score: 92

What’s interesting about this tasting is how many great values can be found inside Spain and here in the U.S. From browsing wine stores in Spain, I’d give them the nod for more wines available under $10 USD a bottle. But here in the Twin Cities, we pay more for wine than in other parts of the country so you might find better pricing in your local market.

Thanks again to Michelle & Kevin for a great and timely (for me) theme this month. I’m looking forward to WBW founder Lenn’s selection for next month’s 3-year anniversary event.

Photo by Scott Clemens / Epicurean Traveler

There is a lot of “young wine” or “joven” from Spain on the market that make for great midweek drinking that won’t break your wine budget. These wines are totally made in stainless steel and are not aged in oak to preserve the pure fruit flavors. Made from vines between 35 and 50 years of age this Grenache-Syrah blend delivers the fruit bomb goods at a price that encourages case purchases. This is not a wine to ponder in your finest stems but gulp from water glasses with pizza or hamburgers.

Almira, “Los Dos”, Grenache-Syrah, Campo de Borja, “Old Vines” 2005 ($7) - A blend of 93% Grenache and 7% Syrah. Dark purple in color with aromas of cherry, fennel and pepper. Bright cherry flavors with some white pepper finishing with good acidity. Simple, juicy and a nice value.

14% ABV
Composite cork closure
Score: 85

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The theme this month for Wine Blogging Wednesday is biodynamic wine, chosen by Jack and Joanne from Fork and Bottle.

When I first read about the theme, I really didn’t know much about biodynamic agriculture or how it differed from organic practices. A quick read of an excellent series on the subject by Jamie Goode brought me up to speed. Without getting to far into the details, biodynamic farming is a philosophy as much as it’s a process. Quite similar in many ways to organic farming, biodyamics is based upon the teachings of Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner who outlined a method for the farm (or vineyard) to be a self-sustaining ecosystem in the 1920’s. Chemicals are not permitted and a series of steps, known as preparations, are employed to get the soil ready to sustain the crop. There’s also some business about the “rhythms of nature” that reminds me of some Jerry Brown speeches back in the day. So it’s kind of like organic farming on steroids with some new age philosophy thrown in for good measure.

As it relates to wine growing, there are many vineyards around the world who subscribe to the philosophy of biodynamic agriculture but not necessarily pay the fees to be officially certified as such. One of those vignerons is Helen Durand who is the owner and winemaker of Domaine du Trapadis in the Southern Rhone and follows a 200 year family tradition. Longtime readers will remember I reviewed a wine made by this producer back on WBW 19, but I thought I would try the latest vintage here and elaborate on how the grapes were grown and the wine produced.

M. Durand believes in letting the vines and land speak for themselves, so no chemicals or artificial fertilizers are used in the vineyard. This philosophy extends to the winemaking process where the grapes are hand harvested and not destemmed before fermentation. Cultured yeast is not used, preferring the wild yeast of the vineyard. The wine is fermented and aged in individual variety lots before blending and bottling without fining or filtering. No oak barrels are used in the aging of this wine so the maximum expression of the fruit and site is preserved. I know of no better definition of terroir than these practices.

Domaine du Trapadis, Cotes du Rhone 2004 ($15) - A blend of 60% Grenache, 13% Carignan, 10% Syrah, 10% Cinsault and 7% Mourvedre.

Garnet in color with aromas of black raspberry, licorice, earth and cloves. Rich and rustic black cherry and raspberry fruit flavors with black pepper, tar and firm tannins. A typical Rhone blend for everyday drinking that presents a lot of complexity for the money.

In short, a real wine made by real people.

14.5% ABV
Composite cork closure
Score: 87

Another Quick Picks podcast highlighting two outstanding values from Spain’s Bodegas Borsao.

Show Notes:
00:13 - Bodegas Borsao background
00:51 - Bodegas Borsao, “Red Wine� 2005 ($8)
01:29 - Bodegas Borsao, “Tres Picos“, Garnacha (Grenache) 2004 ($15)
02:01 - Next show theme

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Copyright 2006 Acan Media, Inc. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

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I get behind the mic once again to talk about two Rhone-style wines from the Curtis Winery in California.

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Copyright 2006 Acan Media, Inc. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

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This is the second Bodegas Borsao wine I’ve blogged in a week and I have to say that I really like what this winery produces. This wine is a blend of 75% Garnacha (Grenache) and 25% Tempranillo. I would be surprised if it saw any oak aging from it’s flavor profile.

Bodegas Borsao, “Red Wine”, Campo de Borja 2005 ($8) - Medium ruby in color with aromas of bing cherry, strawberry and cloves. Smooth and juicy in the mouth with black cherry, strawberry and white pepper flavors finishing with supple tannins. A fruit bomb, but I like it Also a great value for everyday drinking.

14% ABV
Natural cork closure
Score: 88

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Now that Wine Blogging Wednesday 26 is over, I can now blog my full tasting notes for this wine…

Tres Picos is made from mountainside grown, 50 year old Garnacha (Grenache) vines from one of Spain’s lesser known appellations, Campo de Borja. The winery, Bodegas Borsao, is a red wine specialist making mostly Grenache and Syrah.

The Campo de Borja region was made a Denomination of Origin (DO) in 1980 with 7,940 hectares of vineyards in production. The region has been producing notable wines since Roman times and has been exported for the past 600 years. Located in north-eastern Spain adjoining the better known Navarra region, Campo de Borja is making a name for itself for it’s fruit-forward red wines. The predominate red varieties are Grenache, Tempranillo, Mazuela, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah. White varietals grown there are Macabeo, Moscatel and Chardonnay.

Bodegas Borsao, “Tres Picos“, Garnacha (Grenache), Campo de Borja 2004 ($15) - Dark ruby-purple in color with rustic blackberry and licorice aromas. In the mouth this is a rich and powerful wine with concentrated black cherry and blackberry flavors finishing with white pepper and dusty tannins. A delicious value in old vine Grenache.

14.5% ABV
Natural cork
Score: 90

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This is the second wine I tasted in a flight at Gaffney’s Wine Bar in Encinitas, California while on vacation. As I mentioned in my note on their Syrah from the same vineyard, Curtis Winery concentrates on Rhone varieties and produces wine in minute quantities but because of the miracle of their web store, you can actually buy their wines (at least if you live in the U.S. and not in a state that prevents direct shipments).

Curtis Winery, “The Crossroad”, Santa Barbara County 2003 ($20) - A blend of 80% Grenache and 20% Syrah from the Crossroads Vineyard. Dark ruby in color with meaty black cherry and violet aromas. Smooth black cherry and raspberry flavors finishing with white pepper and dusty tannins. 551 cases produced.

15.5% ABV
Score: 87

La Ferme Julien, Rosé, Côtes du Ventoux, France 2005 ($5)

What better wine to enjoy after a day on the beach but rosé? I picked up this blend at Trader Joe’s after remembering a recommendation from Quaffability (ironically for another rose). It is made from 50% Cinsault, 40% Grenache and 10% Syrah grown in France’s Rhone Valley.

The wine is a beautiful shade of salmon/ruby with lean aromas of strawberry and watermelon. In the mouth it is light and dry with cherry and strawberry fruit flavors and good acidity. A cut above quaffable and a nice value.

13% ABV
Stelvin closure
Score: 8/10