Cruz de Piedra Garnacha, Selección Especial – Very Special

Happy New Year!  I know that was over a week ago, but I’ve been preoccupied with my day job and a big kitchen remodeling project, so admittedly I’ve been neglecting this site.  But I haven’t forgotten it.

I wanted to start the new year with getting back to my wine blogging roots and write up a little Spanish Garnacha.

Yep, Garnacha was the first wine I wrote about here, back in 2007.  And for good reason.  For those value hunters, like me, Garnacha is often an easy choice when looking for a red wine with a lot of bang for your buck.  They tend to be a little bit on the fruity side, but they’re quite approachable and a bit more interesting than a lot of other cheap wines.

My choice today is the Cruz de Piedra, Selección Especial Garnacha, produced by Bodegas Virgen de la Sierra.  It come from the D.O. Catalayud region, just northeast of central Spain, which I’ve found to be a pretty reliable region for good, inexpensive Garnacha.

For those total nerds who care about this sort of thing, this wine was fermented in concrete tanks, followed by skin maceration.  Then the wine goes through malolactic fermentation in oak barrels, where it rests before bottling.

The producers make a couple different Garnachas and they call this one “Selección Especial.”  And I would say, yes it is especial.

The nose is pleasant, although a little tight, offering some cherry, prune and spice aromatics.  The mouthfeel is very nice, it has just enough texture to make it seem luxurious.  The flavors are good with prune, cherry and raspberry dominating, there’s a bit of spice too.  It finishes relatively long and tasty.

Wine: Cruz de Piedra, Selección Especial
Varieties: Grenache
Vintage: 2012
Alcohol: 14.5%
Rating: 87
Average price: $12.00
Disclosure: This wine was received as a media sample.

Find Campo Viejo Garnacha with Snooth