Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Wine - Condessa de Sarabella Garnacha 2005

Greetings.

Today's wine is another Trader Joe's special. This little dandy is a Spanish garnacha (grenache)was only $3.99 and yes, the price was the primary motivation for buying the wine. Let's be clear, I like good wine. I also like expensive wine. But not all expensive wine is good and not all good wine is expensive. If I'm enjoying a bottle with friends, I'm usually willing to shell out a little more money for a nice bottle. But when I'm just having a glass by myself, I like the mystery that goes along with opening a bottle of unknown quality.


First impressions: I like the label. I like label art quite a bit (Imagery produces the most amzing label art on a consistent basis and their wines are pretty freaking delicious too). I've posted a photograph so you can draw your own conclusions. Pouring the wine into the glass yields a medium-dark reddish-purple liquid. The nose suggests blueberry and maybe just a bit of heat. The bottle says it's 13.9% alcohol, so it's not too bad. A quick Internet search let me know that the grenache grape tends to be a bit alcohol-y (is that a word? It is now), so it seems par for the course.


Hmm, this is a hard one to pin down. This wine doesn't show much fruit up front. It's a little restrained and a bit hot from the alcohol. Further sipping showed some blueberry, strawberry and a little spice. Not too much of a finish. I'm very undecided about this wine. I can't tell if I like the restraint or if I'm desperate to taste more fruit. When I remember what I paid, I decide that the good outweighs the bad.

Taste: 5/10

Value: 8/10

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