Tempranillo means 'early ripener' in Spanish and you'd have to get up very early indeed to find one that's better value than this. It may be young, but it has the heart and soul of classic Rioja, with its ruby red colour, ripe berry flavours and good finish. Its sheer drinkability makes it perfect for an informal roast lamb Sunday lunch or for sharing with friends on a summer's evening outdoors.
A Crianza wine has been aged in oak barrels for a year or more. In this case, it's 14 months in prime French and American oak. The result is an excellent value blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Graciano that's lively, well balanced and expressive, with elegant and well-balanced red berries and spices on the nose. You'll also find it fresh and fulsome, with a mild sweetness from its ripe tannins. And where better to end than on the long and very pleasant finish?
100% Monastrell! Body, aroma, strength, aftertaste, what more could you ask for? This wine gives you a wonderful example of all that is great about Monastrell. The dark juicy grape is such a favourite because it soaks up the long luminous summers of Yecla to make intense juicy, wines that soften beautifully with age. This is a full-bodied wine that will stay with you long after you have finished it. Complete, flawless and brilliant value for money.
100% Tinta del Pais at its best. Super aromas of ripe black fruits with hints of vanilla and wood - this smooth, tasty red, aged in French oak is named after the market town of Penafiel, which means faithful rock. Colour is a deep cherry, taste is very intense but mellow, and the wine has a very long finish. Uncomplicated and yet elegant, this really is a wine that repays your faith in it!
Blending the peppery finesse of Cabernet Franc with the depth of Tempranillo makes this a wine full of character, where the expressive tannins of the grape are inescapable.
Wines based on Cabernet Franc are the exception in Spain but well worth seeking out. Here, blending with the fantastic black Tempranillo grape has given rise to dark cherry flavours and wonderful hints of pungent Mediterranean herbs.
Perhaps it is this gentle hint of herbs that makes this well-structured and balanced wine so suited to roasts of all kinds. This is definitely one to enjoy over a lunch you have no intention of hurrying; a good steak, leg of lamb or a hunk of roast beef.
This is a superbly executed Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva. The colour is a rich, medium-dark cherry, the aroma is intense, spicy and fruity and the taste is of very ripe blueberries with a creamy, oaky finish. Very long finish. Not impossible to criticise, but very, very difficult - so we won't!
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