Telmo Rodriguez Pegaso Garnacha 2004

The 2003 edition of this wine was a cracker, no doubts about it. The milder 2004 vintage hasn't been as generious, but Telmo has managed to produce a quailty wine none the less. The nose is great, almost a direct copy of the 03, but there are some serious tannins here.  A bit lower in alcohol as well, 15% for the 2004.

Aromas of violets and finely integrated oak, raspberry and a touch of mulberry and mocha. Loads of finely grained tannins, started off a bit green to, this moved off with more air and was much better on the second night. Raspberry, pepper, anise, red been paste, with more air it develops a meaty quality.  A long, but drying, finish shows some minerals. This needs 3 years in the cellar to come around and soften those monster tannins. 90 Pts.

Source: The Spanish Acquisition Price: $65 Closure: Conventional Cork

Other Vintages: 2003

Granrojo Garnacha 2006

Smooth packaging, highly glugable and enjoyable contents at a low price.  Is there much else you could ask for?  I didn't think so.  I could tell you more, but really you just need to know those three points.

Rocks, plums, earth and tar to start with, then a bit of pepper followed by raspberry leaf.  A sarsaparilla note appears with some more time.  Medium bodied and easy to drink, light tannins.  Raspberry, dark cherry with some ink and roast meet.  Not something to think about really, but something nice to drink out in the sun.  87 Pts.

Source: The Spanish Acquisition Price: $19 Closure: Conventional Cork

Telmo Rodriguez Pegaso Garnacha 2003

For some reason I haven't seen this wine around town, its kind of been under the radar.  More likely I'm just not going to the right places.  Anyway, its a cracking wine, one of the best garnarchas I've seen. Pegaso is produced from an old vineyard, high in the hills of Castille near a little town called Brinas.  The vineyard is full of slate and sits at 1000 meters above sea level. 

A vibrant ruby red in the glass, showing aromas of sweet raspberry and cherry, subtle spicy oak, winter green herbs, and earth.  Really refined in the mouth, rich and silky with great balance.  On the palate the wine shows raspberry and cherry fruit jubes with pepper and spice, woody herbs and roasted meats.  Ripe fruit, savory finish and great balance make this great drinking right now. You could put it away, but I'd drink now.  92 Pts.

Source: The Spanish Acquisition Price: $65 Closure: Conventional Cork

Bodegas San Alejandro Baltasar Garnacha Viñas Viejas 2004

Last year I had a look at the 2003 of this wine and made some comment about the 2004 being a bit of a step up.  Well it looks like I was right, there is a load of character and flavour here.  Imported wines really need to deliver in Australia due to the large taxes imposed on them.  I think you get a lot for your money with this wine.

I do prefer this style of garnarcha or grenache. Its very dry and full of concentrated flavours, while not jammy or over-ripe.  While we have some great old vine grenache based wines here in Aus, there are some real shockers that could learn a thing or two from these guys.

Deep red with a ruby edge.  Aromas of creme de cassis, earth, raspberry, sarsaparilla, cinnamon and coffee. Cool and clam in the mouth with some powdery, chalky tannins and zingy acid.  Plum, blueberries and raspberries on the palate with a hint of tar, minerals and herbs.  The finish is a bit short, but its not the end of the world.  89 Pts.

Source:  Toro/Woods Wines Price: Around $25 Closure: Conventional Cork  

Coto de Hayas Reserva 2002

Another wine from the Garnarcha Empire.  I'm finding wines from Campo de Borja are becoming a bit of a favourite for me.  They are consistently very good, intriguing wines that have bags of character and layers of flavour.  This one is made from old vine Garnarcha and aged in a mix of American and French oak for 14 months.

A soft nose of earth, light spice, smoke and red berries.  Silky smooth in the mouth with light tannins and good length.  The flavours on the palate are the real show here, layers of flavour as the wine continually opens up.  Chocolate, cola, clove, raspberry, cherry brandy, roast meat and wintergreen.  Great now, I'd drink this over the next 3-5 years.  90 Pts

Source: Toro/Woods Wines Price: Around $30 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.bodegasaragonesas.com

Artazuri Garnacha Rosado 2006

Rose style wines aren't just for summer when its 40 degrees and your sitting under a tree eating a dodgy ham and cheese roll from a picnic hamper.  I like to drink rose all year round and it is a perfect match for so many foods.  One of the key things with rose for me is to use it as a food wine, that is its real place in life.  So, you don't want huge flavours but you do want a good wack of acid for freshness, balance and length.  A bit of texture is nice.  Dry or with a bit of sweetness depends on the food, an off dry rose works very well with a salad with bitter leaves and blue cheese.  But of course, you don't make friends with salad.

Anyway, Artazuri is a project from the good people at Artadi, the famed Rioja producer.  100% Garnacha with a little skin contact for that lovely colour.

Looks like petrol in the glass, the old unleaded stuff.  A subtle nose of strawberry, mountain herbs, a little bit of earthiness and raspberry.  Crisp and fresh in the mouth with a pleasing level of acid, good weight and texture.  The palate mimics the nose for the most part, subtle and dry with a mid-length finish.  Excellent with food.89 Pts.

Source: The Spanish Acquisition Price: $20 Closure: Conventional Cork

Coto de Hayas Garnarcha Centenaria 2004

We went out to a tasting of the 04 Penfolds at Boccaccio last night and bought home a bottle of the 138 GSM to taste along side this wine.  Not fair on the Penfolds really, this wine is made from 100 year old vines in a completely different style and a step up in price for the Coto de Hayas.  Who says you can't compare apples and oranges. The 138 did very well and its a bit of a favorite at home, but you can read all about it on Winorama.

The Centernaria is a very low production wine from very old Garnarcha vines, there are only 5500 vines available to make this wine.  It gets a quick dip in French oak barrels for 3 months, which would get it a title of media-crianza or roble in many other areas.  I haven't been keen on this process for many wines, it can leave the wine full of oak without the benefit of limited oxygen contact that comes from extended aging in wood.  No sign of that is this wine, the oak is very well hidden.

A brilliant ruby red in the glass, the nose offers up sweet raspberry fruit, woody herbs, violets and desert soil.  An odd descriptor I know, but that's what it smells like.  Smooth and silky in the mouth, not a lot of tannin to get in the way of the beautiful, juicy fruit.  Loads of raspberry and cherry with rosemary, sage and a hint of roasted meat and minerals.  Savory, but with loads of sweet fruit with good balance and medium length finish.  A great wine for the price.  92 Pts.

Source: Woods/Toro Wines Price: Around $35 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.bodegasaragonesas.com

Gran Feudo Rosado 2005

A lot of people will disagree with me, but I think that rose (or rosado in Spanish) is possibly the most versatile food wine.  In spring and summer it goes with just about anything, especially seafood and spicy dishes.  And it is almost always under $20.

Gran Feudo is an old favorite, its dirt cheap and you can buy it in the supermarket.  Perfect with antipasto or cheese to start off a BBQ or with a paella or salmon.  It looks kind of flash in its tall clear bottle that shows off the colour, I didn't get to take a photo of this bottle before it was all gone! 

Its made from garnarcha and fermented on skins for a day or so until the colour is a deep pink.  

Deep, but bright pink in colour.  The nose is filled with strawberries, with some other red berries for backup.  In the mouth its tart light cherry with some darker fruit in the background and shake of white pepper on the finish.  And don't worry, theres no sugar.  Nice and dry with enough acid to freshen up your mouth as your shovel in some more paella.  87 Pts.

Source: Retail Cost: $13 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.chivite.com

Bodegas San Alejandro Baltasar Garnacha VV 2003

If you read eBob at all, you will have heard of this wine and its stable mate the Las Rocas.  BBB and his grenache loving followers have been crowing about the 2001 vintage of this wine for years now, Bob gave it 93 points.  Not bad for an 12 Euro wine.  Jancis Robinson is also on board, sprooking the 02 as one of the great value wines from Spain.  The 02 and 03 apparently are a slight step down in complexity, but the 03 at least is still a mighty fine wine.  The 04 is apparently a repeat performance of 01, one to watch out for if you like a good garnacha or a southern Rhone now and then.

Bodegas San Alejandro is a co-op in D.O. Calatayud.  The vines are 70-100 years old, truly earning their vinas viejas title.  The wine sees 10 months in oak, with only 10% of that being new oak.  If you grab a bottle of this, have a look at the quality of the cork, it is outstanding, one of the best corks I've seen.

The wine comes up as a bright cherry colour in the decanter and reveals slightly muted aromas of light cherry, minerals and lavender.  After an hour or so, the nose builds some extra intensity.  Very smooth and easy to drink. If you are used to low acid grenache your in for a shock, there is a lot of acid here which allows it to work every well with food.  There is sweat fruit in the mouth, red cherry, with some minerals and woody herbs.  The finish shows some light, soft tannins.  At $25 its good value.  88 Pts.

Source: Winestar Price: $25 Closure: Conventional Cork

Alto Moncayo 2003

The last in my Garnacha trio from Campo de Borja, and I have saved the best for last.  This is the mid level wine from this bodega, the top flight Aquilon was not made in 2003.  A slight step up in price from the Veraton, this wine drinks like it has seem a lot more work in the winery and is built for aging.  Oddly, out of the 3 wines, this needed the least time in the decanter to show it stuff.

Dark ruby in colour. The nose builds with time in the decanter with aromas of  blackberry and mulberry, cinnamon and pepper with coffee and herbs.  A bit more palate weight and concentration than the Veraton but it remains balanced. A great expression of ripe mulberry and blackberry fruit under a strong herbal influence and gamey, animal flavours.  A bit of oak influence and black pepper pops up after about an hour in the decanter.  Rich tannins and a sparkle of acid on the finish.   Again a very persistent finish that keeps going for ever.  If you are looking for something to cellar, I think this will be well worth your time in 5 years. 93 Pts.

Source: Winestar Price: $55 Closure: Conventional Cork