A couple weeks ago, I had the opportunity to taste a short flight of wines from Spanish producer, Camp Viejo.  This Rioja-based winery has been producing wine for a good 50 years and produces three different wines, each a specific style as regulated by the Rioja DOC.

Rioja, for those who don’t know, is the leading wine region in Spain.  It’s located in the northern part of Spain and they are predominantly known for red wines.

Campo Viejo 2007 Crianza

Wines labeled as Crianza must have spent at least 12 months in oak casks.  This particular wine was oaked in a combination of French and American oak, but the majority of it was in American oak.  The wine was also given 5+ months of bottle aging before being released.  The blend in this wine is 85% tempranillo, 10% garnacha and 5% manzuelo.

Cherry, plum, smoke aromas and a touch of vanilla give this wine a complex and exciting nose.  It has really nice acidity on the palate.  There’s plenty of tangy fruit on the palate too, with characteristics of cherry, raspberry and plum.  It finishes nice and spicy.  It would be a nice wine to pair with turkey.

Wine: Campo Viejo Crianza
Variety: Red blend, mostly tempranillo
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 86
Price:  $10.00

Find Campo Viejo Crianza with Snooth

Campo Viejo 2006 Reserva

Rioja DOC wines labeled as Reserva are required to have spent at least 18 months in oak.  This wine spent that time in a combination of French and American oak.  It has also had an additional 18 months of bottle aging.  The blend is 85% tempranillo, 10% graciano, and 5% manzuelo.

This wine shows a nice balance of fruit and earth on the nose, with aromas of coffee, plums, blackberry and tobacco.  The palate has a medium body (i.e. not too big) with flavors of plum, blackberry and spice.  It finishes spicy too.  It’s a tasty wine.  Pair this wine with grilled pork.

Wine: Campo Viejo Reserva
Variety: Red blend, mostly tempranillo
Vintage: 2006
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 87
Price:  $14.00

Find Campo Viejo Reserva with Snooth

Campo Viejo 2003 Gran Reserva

Rioja DOC Gran Reserva wine must be oaked for a minimum of 24 months.  This one was oaked in 80% French oak and the remainder was American.  The wine was also given 36 months of bottle aging.  The blend is 85% tempranillo, 10% graciano and 5% manzuelo.

Chocolate aromas slap you in the face with this wine.  It’s loaded with spice aromas too, like cloves and allspice.  And it also shows some plum and smoke aromas.  There’s a lot going on in this wine.  The palate offers deep plum, blackberry and raisin flavors up front, with dark chocolate on the mid-palate and raisins and coffee on the finish.  This is a very nice wine.  Break out the red meat for pairing with this wine.

The suggested retail price is $21, meaning that you can most likely find this wine for less than that.  And at that price, it’s a steal!

Wine: Campo Viejo Gran Reserva
Variety: Red blend, mostly tempranillo
Vintage: 2003
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 91
Price:  $21.00

Find Campo Viejo Gran Reserva with Snooth

Disclosure: These wines were received as a sample.

When I first launched this site, nearly four years ago, Spanish wines were what I was excited about, especially garnacha.  But since the first few months of the site, I find myself tasting less and less Spanish wines.  I have nothing against them, in fact I still have some trusted favorites in the Spanish section.  I just seem to be coming across Spanish wines less often these days.  I’m sure some of that is due to the outstanding bargains coming out of Chile, which are really overshadowing some other value regions.

Nonetheless, I still love a good Spanish wine and I was glad to have the opportunity to taste this one.  I should note that I did not taste this wine blind, as I generally prefer to do for reviews.  But without a lineup of a few different Spanish blends, it just wouldn’t work.

This wine comes from Rioja, which is probably the most well-known of the Spanish wine regions.  But it’s not one I generally think of for “value” wines, and at $20 this one may not be considered a bargain by some consumers.  Although, that is the “suggested” retail price and you may find it as low as $12.

The wine is a blend of 60% garnacha, 35% tempranillo and 5% manzuelo — a very Spanish blend.  There are a couple other things that make this wine interesting to me too.  It was bottled unfiltered, for one.  When it comes to inexpensive wine, I actually find this to be rather rare.  Probably due to the fact that this can leave some sediment in the bottle, which can be a turnoff to some consumers.  But others think the wine is more true if it’s bottled unfiltered.  I’ll let you be the judge of that.

The other thing that caught my attention is that the wine was fined using egg whites.  Fining is a process in which winemakers add “fining agents” to a wine in order to clarify it.  Think of it as the egg whites grabbing a hold of solid particles in the wine and pulling them to the bottom, leaving a clear wine at the top.  It’s not that big of a deal, really.  But there’s something natural (i.e. non-chemical) about using egg whites to do this that I find appealing.

While all of that’s interesting, we all know that it’s the smell and taste that really matter.  So, on with the tasting.

This wine shows a combination of fruit and earthiness on the nose, with some plum and blackberry aromas contrasted with tree bark, herbs and allspice.  On the palate, it offers sour cherry and a hint of strawberry flavors up front with a black tea quality in the mid-palate—which has a touch of bitterness.  The finish is relatively long with soft fruit and leather flavors.  The tannins are soft and the acidity is strong.  This is more of a food wine than a sipping wine, to be paired with red meats, perhaps with game.

Wine: La Montesa
Variety: Red Blend
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol: 14%
Rating: 87
Price:  $19.99

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Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

You know what they say about first impressions.  That’s right, they’re very hard to change.  And the Viña Don Royo red makes a really nice first impression, which I think benefited the wine as I reviewed it.  Pop the cork on this vino tinto and it offers up a rich and robust nose, with ripe raspberry, hints of fig and marmalade, with singed toast.  I was eager to see what the wine would offer up on the palate.   If it delivered half as much complexity and intensity at it teased up in aroma and bouquet, then surely we would have a winner on our hands.

So, excited for what I was about to experience with this wine that had so quickly captured my admiration, I diligently sipped a small amount to acclimate my palate.  The wine’s rich fruit quickly activated the taste buds on the tip and edges of my tongue.  It offered an intriguing sour-ish tang that further built up the excitement.  I was eager to begin a thorough examination of what appeared to be an impressive wine.  It seemed this Spanish charmer had made an impression on my palate as well.  However, in my enamored state, I failed to notice that this wine made very little to no impression at all on the finish.  I’m sure I simply dismissed it, assuming that I was distracted by what was going on in the front of my mouth.  I tasted again.  And again a burst of raspberry, plum and acid tantalized my tongue, smoothly transitioning through to the mid-palate and finish.  And again, as the wine finished, my mind was still focused on the initial impression the wine was imparting on my tongue.  I was enamored.  This wine had seduced me.  It had tricked me.  I continued, taking another sip….and then another.

Now I was catching on.  That first impression was beginning to flicker, and it was allowing me to come to my senses.  The lack of finish was now becoming the most prominent element.  Lack of finish may be putting it kindly.  The Don Royo’s finish seemingly drops off a shelf, and flat goes away, leaving the wine a bit unbalanced.  I checked the bottle for the alcohol content, expecting 12.5 – 13%……..not even close.  This wine is 11% alcohol by volume, not enough, in my opinion, to provide any real amplification to the complex fruit the wine was offering.  But the first impression persisted, and I still found myself enjoying this more elegant style of Spanish Grenache, despite missing an important aspect of a quality flavor profile.  You know what they say about first impressions….…..they’re very hard to change.

A  Salute!

Wine: Viña Don Royo
Variety: Grenache
Vintage: NV
Alcohol: 11%
Rating:  84
Price: $4.50

Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

One the heels of the red blend review we did yesterday, tonight we’re checking out another red blend called Seven.  This one comes from Spain and is produced by Bodegas Osborne, one of the oldest wine producers in Spain dating back to 1772.  And today, after all those years, the company is still run by descendants of founder Tomas Osborne Mann.

Seven comes in a three liter bag-in-box package.  But it’s not just your average box, it’s an “Octavin” which is an octagon shaped package that looks a little nicer than a square box.  It’s also not your average boxed wine juice inside the bag.  Skeptics of boxed wine will be pleasantly surprised by this one.

The box holds three liters of wine and is said to keep the wine fresh for up to six weeks after opening.  I can attest that I’ve had bag-in-box wine a few weeks after opening it and it has been as good as the first day.

Guess how many grape varieties are in Seven.  It should be obvious, and if you guessed seven, you got it right.  This wine is a combination of 24% shiraz, 24% cabernet sauvignon, 11% graciano, 11% garnacha, 10% tempranillo, 10% merlot and 10% petite verdot.

The nose of this wine is a nice medley of red and blue fruit, with cherry, blueberry and raspberry aromas, but it doesn’t stop there. It also shows some interesting spice notes, chocolate and a hint of leather.  In the mouth it’s lively with cherry and raspberry flavors, which are abundant in fruitiness but don’t have a lot of concentration.  In other words, it’s a little watered down — but just a little, it’s not totally thin.  The finish is a blend of red fruit, nutmeg and mineral.  It’s not bad for a light, fruit-forward wine.

Wine: Seven
Variety: Red Blend
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating:  84
Price: $21.99 for 3 liters (equivalent to 4 bottles)

Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

In days past there was a regular monthly occurrence called “Wine Blogging Wednesday” when wine bloggers from around the world would all write about a common theme.  There was also a “host” to the event who would write up a summary of all the participants so that you could go to one place to find all the contributions to that theme.  It was a fun time of collaboration, community and sharing.  I was fortunate enough to participate in a few of these events and I’ve even hosted one.  But as time passed, somehow the event fell into obscurity.

My read on the dissolution of Wine Blogging Wednesday is that the organizers just got busy and burned out on organizing it.  Although there were still people interested in participating, in fact there was a lot of interest, nobody wanted to “steal” the idea even though the originators had lost energy for it.  So, it fizzled.  I also theorize that the rise of Twitter and Facebook were part of the fall of WBW since a big part of WBW was the community factor and social media replaced that community activity.  But all of that is just speculation.

And so, today Wine Blogging Wednesday returns thanks to our gracious hosts Ryan and Gabriella at Catavino.  The theme for this return of WBW is Spanish wines, and Ryan and Gabriella have challenged participants to find something that we’ve never had before.

First, I’ll confess that I didn’t put as much time into preparing for this one as I did in the old days.  I used to spend days hunting down something that I thought would be really unique for these challenges.  But life has just been busy for me lately and I didn’t have a lot of time to prepare.  And while I was tempted to just right a review of a garnacha/tempranillo blend and pretend I didn’t notice the rules of the challenge, I lucked out.  When I searched through the wines I had on-hand, I just happened to have a verdejo… and it just so happens that this is the first verdejo that I’ve tasted.  That’s one more entry for my Wine Century Club application — which I can’t believe I haven’t finished yet.

Verdejo is a white wine varietal that produces light, fresh wine similar to sauvignon blanc.  While most verdejo is grown in the Rueda region in Spain, the Tapeña Verdejo is from the “Tierra de Castilla”, outside of the D.O. system.

The bottle I happed to have is from the 2008 vintage, which you can still find on the market in some locations.  But the 2009 has also been released, so you may find a different vintage if you go looking for this.

The nose of this wine at first glance is similar to a sauvignon blanc, but with less intensity and not quite as tropical as many SBs.  The aromas are like lemon drenched pears and peaches with a wisp of nuttiness weaving through it.  The palate has plenty of crisp apple and pear flavors with reasonable concentration and sufficient acidity.  It finishes with a touch of lime.  This is a really nice, light wine that would go well with a light fish.

If you like sauvignon blanc, this is worth a try for something different.

Wine: Tapeña
Variety: Verdejo
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol: 12.5%
Rating: 86
Price: $10.00

Find Tapeña Verdejo with Snooth

Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

Years ago, I turned my wife on to sauvignon blanc from New Zealand.  It’s now her white wine of choice.  In fact, when white wine ends up on the grocery list there usually isn’t any second-guessing.  So tonight as I was in the process of making dinner, my wife said she was up for a glass of wine.  So I checked the fridge, and then the cellar, and sure enough, we were fresh out of SB.  So I decided to improvise.  I took the opportunity to review one of the white wines we recently received – the 2009 Martín Códax albariño.  I figured I’d at least get a review in, but maybe, just maybe, broaden my wife’s white wine horizons.  So I poured us both a glass, and went back to getting dinner ready.

Martin Códax produces this albariño from fruit grown in the Rías Baixas region in Northwest Spain.   Because the region gets an abundance of rain, a pergola system is used to keep the vines high and dry.  Winemaker Katia Alvarez allows the grapes to ferment in stainless steel for 3 weeks.  Additionally, 40% of the juice undergoes malolactic fermentation to, as the winemaker’s notes suggest, “increase flavor complexity without sacrificing acid freshness”.  On the nose, the wine offers up intense bell pepper, pear and honey.  On the palate, the wine is surprisingly balanced offering good acidity, crispness and well integrated tropical fruit.  The finish is also nice, but I’d prefer a bit more intensity.

Overall, this Martín Códax is a good example of the richness and intensity that albariño offers.   Although it’s not exceptional, at this price point, it does represent a good value.  If you haven’t tried albariño before, this is a great example with which to discover the varietal.  Just ask my wife.  I think albariño just made it on her grocery list.

A  Salute!

Wine: Martín Códax
Variety: 100% Albariño
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol: 12.8%
Rating: 85
Price: $15

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Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

Yesterday, we reviewed a Prosecco — which is a great sparkling wine option when it comes to QPR.  Another good option is Cava, which is a sparkling wine from Spain.  Traditionally Cava just referred to a particular style of Spanish sparkling wine, but since 1986 it also means that wine is produced in a specific areas designated as DO Cava.

This Cava from Marques de Gelida uses the traditional Cava grape varieties of Macaubo, Xarel-lo, and Parellada, plus some Chardonnay is in the blend.  As a “reserva” it was aged three years before being released.

The color of this cava is a deep straw, showing just a touch of age—which is what it has.  The nose of this wine shows a touch of age too, with a butterscotch aroma layered over yeast and apple.  The aromas are fairly powerful too.  The palate offers crisp acidity with apple and plenty of yeast flavors.  It finishes with a citrus acidity, butterscotch and more yeast.  This is a nice bottle of bubbly.

Wine: Marques de Gelida Brut Exclusive Reserva
Variety: Cava
Vintage: 2006
Alcohol: 11.5%
Rating: 88
Price: $16.99

Find Marques de Gelida Brut Exclusive Reserva with Snooth

OK, so here’s a review that’s a little different than most that we do here, due to the fact that this is really a “wine drink” rather than just a wine.  In other words, flavors were added— citrus flavors, to be exact.  Given that fact, I’m not going to give it a score, because my scoring methods require measures like “varietal correctness” and I have no way to gauge that.  Instead, I’ll just give you the scoop on my thoughts about sangria and about this Reál Sangria.

First of all, I love sangria.  Red sangria is actually the first wine drink I remember tasting when I was just 13 years old on a visit to Spain.  But I like both red sangria and white sangria.  I’ve made them both numerous times.  When I make sangria, I just use some inexpensive Spanish wine (usually grenache), fresh fruit, some brandy, triple sec, sugar and Sprite or just a club soda.  Here’s my sangria recipe, for the red version anyway.  So, I’m accustomed to mixing my own sangria rather than using a pre-made version, but I was curious how Reál Sangria would compare.

Reál Sangria White is labeled as being made with Spanish white wine and natural citrus flavors.  I’m not really sure what that means.  I would expect it to have natural citrus juices, but that’s not what it says.  The label also states that the alcohol level is 7 – 10%, which struck me as odd as I would expect a consistent production process to yield a consistent alcohol level.  I inquired with the PR rep about that, but didn’t get a reply.  It retails for $6.99 – $8.99 (depending on region) for a 750 ml bottle.

The aromas smell much more orange-like than wine-like, and it’s kind of an artificial orange too.  It reminds me a bit of Sunkist soda.  On the palate, it’s very sweet — which is to be expected from a wine in the 7 – 10% abv range.  And I don’t have a problem with sweet wines as long as that sweetness is well balanced with acidity.  But this drink is somewhat off-balance to me with a sugary sweetness that overpowers any other flavors.  The aftertaste is that of sugar-coated orange slices — you know, the candy ones.

It’s best served on ice, and/or used as a mixer (i.e. add a bunch of fresh fruit or fruit juice to it).  On its own, this isn’t really my cup of tea, due to the fact that I can’t really taste anything wine-like in it.  I prefer my sangria to have more wine flavors along with fresh citrus and other fruits.

Given that this didn’t strike my fancy, I asked my wife, Robyn, to give it a shot.  She loves sangria — even more than I do — although we both generally prefer red versus white.  Her review: “It’s pretty good on ice, with a salty snack… if you’re desperate.”  She then finished the bottle.

I guess she was desperate.

Disclosure: This product was received as a sample.

There is a thing that wine bloggers do each month called Wine Blogging Wednesday and today is the 67th time this event has occurred.  It’s a day when numerous wine bloggers from around the world all write about the same thing.  There is always a “host” for Wine Blogging Wednesday who picks the theme and afterward writes a roundup of all the contributions.  The host for today is Joe Roberts from 1winedude.com and the theme is “Seeing Red for the First Time.”  The idea of this theme is to write about what wine you would recommend to someone who only drinks white wines, but would like to try a red.

I actually didn’t have to think long on this theme, because I’ve been in that exact situation.  I met a couple at a party a few months ago and, of course, we got into a discussion about wine.  When they found out about what I do, they asked me for a similar recommendation.  The guy in that couple preferred white wine but wanted to find some reds that he would like too, so he asked me where to start.  It wasn’t really “red for the first time” but it was someone trying to find a red wine that would appeal to someone with a preference for white wines.

I actually didn’t have an answer right off the top of my head, I had to probe a little.  “Why don’t you like red wine?” I asked.

“It’s too dry.  It makes my tongue feel like cotton.” was his response.  Aha!  It’s the tannins that don’t appeal to him, I thought.  I didn’t want to send him to a sweet red wine, as part of the goal was to find a wine that they both would enjoy (and she was a red wine fan).  But I did want to find a young, fruit-forward wine without a lot of tannins.  And I knew they wanted something inexpensive.  Cheap Garnacha (or Grenache) from Spain is my answer!

Garnacha is an interesting wine that can actually take on a variety of characteristics, depending on the appellation and the winemaker.  Sometimes it can be rather bold and spicy (which I really like), but the cheap stuff tends to be simple, fruit-forward and tasty.

So in order to pitch in to Wine Blogging Wednesday, AND do a review (like we normally do here) I looked through my wine samples for some Garnacha.  There was only one bottle of Garnacha there, and so that’s my pick for today, Tapeña.  Due to the fact that I only had one—and I knew what it was—this wine was not tasted blind.

Unlike many Spanish wine, Tapeña does not come from a DO-certified appellation, but is from several appellations outside the DO system.  One thing this does for the wine is keep the price cheap… but it’s still a yummy wine.

The nose is really vibrant, with loads of fresh fruit aromas like cherry, strawberry and raspberry.  There’s also a fabulous vanilla fragrance that brightens the aromas and makes this wine more interesting.  The palate has plenty of ripe fruit without being an overly sweet fruit bomb.  Cherry, blackberry and strawberry flavors do a tango with your taste buds, and a touch of spice gives it a fun finish.  The bottom line is that I like this wine.

Wine: Tapeña Garnacha
Variety: Grenache
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol: 13%
Rating: 88
Price: $10.00

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Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

Today marks Wine Blogging Wednesday #36, and the theme is Naked Chardonnay.  That’s defined as any chardonnay that has never touched oak.  These are also typically chardonnays that haven’t gone through malolactic fermentation.  Malolactic fermentation is a process that converts malic acid to lactic acid which will reduce the overall acidity and gives typical chardonnays their buttery characteristic.

Naked Chardonnays are more fruity and acidic than their oaked counterparts.  The ones I tried all presented a variety of fruit and crisp acidity.  I did keep all of my clothes on throughout tasting these, although I was tempted to strip — particularly after I’d had a few.

For my contribution, I tasted five different unoaked chardonnays from around the globe.  I had a difficult time finding unoaked chardonnay for under $10, but I was able to find three at $9.99 and bought two more at $11.99 & $12.99 for comparison.  And to make it even more interesting, the five I tasted are from around the globe.

Here are my selections:

The good news is that there were no total duds.  They were all enjoyable to some extent, but some were better than others.

For something new this month, I took all the bottles outside for a photo-shoot amongst my Chardonnel grape vines.  If you haven’t heard of Chardonnel, it’s a grape variety that was created by Michigan State University, Cornell University and Tabor Hill Winery in Buchanan, Michigan.  It is a hybrid between Chardonnay and Ceval Blanc.  I have some vines growning in my backyard but have yet to produce enough to make any wine… but I am feeding the birds with them. 

Now, let’s get on to the results!

Top Choice

This is actually a tough call with the numbers coming in so close.  I actually ended up with an 86, 87, 88 and an 89 and I wasn’t even comparing the numbers to rank them, it just came out that way.  There are some characteristics I like about a couple of these despite not getting the top numbers.  However, by the numbers the 2005 Monjardin “El Cerezo” from the Navarra region of Spain gets top honors with 89 points.

The Monjardin has a nice crisp acidity, but is still well balanced. The dominant flavors are pear, mineral and lime.  It has a medium long finish.  This is a very enjoyable chardonnay for $11.99.

Best Value Picks

I’m calling a tie on the best value pick.  Brampton from South Africa and Gisborne from New Zealand are both excellent choices and are both priced at $9.99.

Brampton Unoaked Chardonnay 2006 is produced by Rustenberg Wines in coastal South Africa.  It is nice and light with apple, peach, pear and mineral flavors – subtle, but a good bit of complexity.  I was particularly surprised by its exceptionally long finish.  This is a nice unoaked chardonnay, although it’s not terribly exciting.  It’s very refreshing and simple.  I gave it 88 points.

Brancott Gisborne Unoaked Chardonnay 2005 comes from Brancott Vineyards in New Zealand.  A tropical twist is what I really enjoyed about this wine.  It has a unique pineapple flavor, complimented by a touch of pear.  The acidity is crisp and it has a relatively long finish.  There is a slight bitterness to the finish, but it’s not bad.  I did a write up on this wine last week that included recipes from the awesome dinner I enjoyed with this wine:  Citrus Marinated Tilapia and Cauliflower Asparagus Salad. 

The numbers on the Gisborne added up to a rating of 87 points, but I still call it a tie with the Brampton because I enjoyed the pineapple characteristics so much.

Worth Mentioning

Razor’s Edge Unwooded Chardonnay 2006 is definitely a good chardonnay.  At $12.99 it was the most expensive one I purchased but it wasn’t my favorite.  It comes from South Australia via Joshua Tree Imports.  It has citrus, mineral and green apple flavors up front.  One thing I find really interesting in this chardonnay is that it has a touch of Golden Delicious apple that sneaks up on you late in the finish.  Just when you think it done, BAM! there’s a little Golden Delicious for you.  Other than that, it was a fairly simple chardonnay and not worth the extra couple dollars compared to the other options.  I gave it 87 points.

Three Thieves Unoaked Chardonnay 2005 is the only California chardonnay I tried for this event.  It was also the least expensive at $9.99 for a full liter.  Although it was the least expensive, I didn’t pick it as a best value because I felt the two I did pick were that much better. 

Three Thieves wines come in a fun little jug.  It looks similar to the jugs you might buy really cheap wine in, but smaller.  They’ve gotten some decent reviews on their other wines, but I haven’t seen any reviews of the chardonnay (until now).  I honestly didn’t expect much from this one but it was better than I expected.  The nose is not far from what you would expect in a chardonnay, but it is a little tart – as is the palate.  The only real dissernable fruit is apples, but they are green apples… a little too green.  Three thieves chardonnay is drinkable, but it will make you pucker.  84 points.