Bodegas Juan Ramon Lozano is a premium wine producer in Spain which sources its fruit from a few key regions: La Carrasca, La Numancia, El Corral, El Ventorro and Los Andreus. It features some of the more popular spanish grapes such as Granacha, Macabeo, Verdejo and Tempranillo – this wine is Tempranillo-based.

With an alcohol level of only 12.5% – this wine presents itself in a rather old-world, low alcohol fashion which I’m personally a big fan of. 

Nose: Blueberries and blackberries mixed with some vanilla spice, rubarb and faint hints of elderberry blossom. I also pick up hints of black licorice and bubbleyum.

Taste: Good fruit on the front which gets dry across the mid-palate. It finishes with black pepper-dusted plums and cherries. Hints of eucolyptus also linger quite nicely on the finish – this is a pretty well-balanced wine which is drinking rather well at this time – it has had wide-spread availability around the country, so finding a bottle shouldn’t prove too difficult. 

It’s not the best spanish wine I’ve had, but at just under $12, it is breaking into being a value-play.

W.E.P. Rating: 90%

Wine lovers are always on the lookout for great values in wine and in today’s challenging economic times that yearning is stronger than ever. Thankfully, we have a lot of great wine-producing areas that are churning out the good vino at prices that will allow us to maintain our wino-lifestyle – one of the primary regions doing that right now is Spain. 

In this review, I take a look at two white wines that are extremely food-friendly, reasonably priced and are ones that I think will really be an eye-opener for those who suffer what I refer to as a wine-rut. A wine-rut is what we get stuck in when we – for whatever reason – fail to branch out and check out wines from other regions and perhaps even made from grapes you haven’t heard of or tried.

I know that areas like Chili and Argentina have created a buzz amongst wine drinkers for the past few years, however, Spain – right now – is producing insanely good wines for insane prices.

2008 Adegas Gran Vinum Nessa – W.E.P. Rating: 110%

• Grape Variety: 100% Albarino
• Alcohol: 12.5%
• Region: Rias Baixas
• Fermentation: 100% Stainless
• ph: 3.24%
• Total Acidity: 6.3%
• Brix at harvest: 19.6
• Annual production: 5,500 cases
• Price: $12

Nose: Lemon peel, grapefruit pulp, kiwi, limestone, hints of fabreeze and clear river-water.

Taste: Bring on the citrus train with boxcars loaded with lemon, lime and grapefruit. This wine has great acidity and finishes quite nicely. It’s well balanced – not hot at all going down the hatch and I get a nice sour taste on the very backside of the palate. 

2008 Valde Pedro Escudero Valdelainos – W.E.P. Rating: 110%

• Grape Variety: 100% Verdejo
• Alcohol: 13%
• Region: Rueda
• Fermentation: 100% Stainless
• Price: $12

Nose: Apricots, honey, grapefruit skin, ball bearings. 

Taste: Killer grapefruit component on the front attack which is wrapped ever-so-loosely by some honeycomb cearal. Excellent acidty which is kept in check by layers of apricot, starfruit and kiwi. The finish lingers on for hours – a complete no-brainer of a wine buy.

I’ve been telling folks I know for quite awhile now that they have got to start tring the wines out of Spain and Portugal as they been producing some serious wines that represent tremendous quality-to-price ratio. 

These three wines are ones that the yellowtail kool-aid drinkers need to try and get ready to step up to the plate of a more serious propisition. Hey, if you want to keep drinking Yellowtail then knock yourself out – if that’s where you’re at; however, if you want to get more serious about good wine then you should give any of these three wines heavy consideration. 

On the flip-side of things, I know more folks are also looking for ways to stretch their dollars for good wines – rather than buy a single $20 bottle, for example, they are buying two $10 bottles – more bang for the buck. 

As a champion of the people, I got your back – I feel ya – and I think these wines will rock you for the money.

2006 Protos Ribera Duero (Spain) – W.E.P. Rating: 125%

Winery website: www.bodegasprotos.com/en/

Technical Data: 

• Alcohol degree: 13.5 º
• Total acidity: 5.0 g/ l in tartaric
• Volatile Acidity: 0.49 g/l in acetic
• pH: 3.69
• Price: $9

 Nose: Nice hints of cedar box, some forest funk, dried cherries and hints of leather and tobacco. I also get some bubble-gum-laced venison.

Taste: Wicked amounts of cedar strips across the tongue which are balanced with a good sense of fruit and leather. On the way down the hatch, I also get great notes of tobacco and cocoa. This is a really complex wine that initally sort of fooled me into thinking it was very one-dimensional, however, as it opened up it revealed its true character of good complexity. My main issue is the relatively short-finish. 

Side note: when paired with the Smoked Cheddar from these guys: http://www.whohascheese.com/ – it has a PROFOUND finish of what Motor Oil smells like – huge fan of this action.

2007 Bodegas Vina Elena “Los Cucos” Cabernet Sauvignon - W.E.P. Rating: 125%

Winery Website: www.vinaelena.com

Technical Data:

• Alcohol: 14%
• Grapes: 100% Cab
• Region: Jumilla
• Price: $10

Nose: dried red fruits on the nose here – rapsberry, cherries and faint hints of strawberry pop-tarts. White pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon and fruit-cake.

Taste: Carmel-laced red fruits on the attack, with nice layers of dark chocolate - good layers of spicey blackberry fruits and a solidly long finish for the money. This is a great “cheap-cab” wine when you want something to fit the bill in a pinch that doesn’t break the bank-account. In fact, I’d easily put it toe-to-toe with cabs in the $15-range. 

2007 Berco do infante Reserva – W.E.P. Rating: 150%

Technical Data: 

• Varieties: Aragonês (50%) and Castelão (50%)
• Analitic Parameters
• Alcohol: 12,5%
• Total Acidity: 6,5 g/L
• pH: 3,53
• Producer: Martim Joanes Gradil -Sociedade Vitivinícola, Lda Dão Sul
• Price: $8

Nose: Hints of cherry, blueberry, eucalyptus, tobacco, tar and leather and cinnamon-spiced cocoa.

Taste: Soft tannins give way to spicy red fruits on the attack – some very nice sour-patch candy on the end which balances the jamminess of the fruit. This wine is an easy no-brainer that should be the defact replacement wine for anyone out there caught up into the Yellow-tail kool-aid action. If you’re one of those snobs who think there are no great wines under $20 – this wine is for you.

Straight from the sort of speak of “what’d you call me”? Is the great spanish grape of Verdejo – I know there are a lot of folks – including myself – who aren’t too familliar with it so I’ll give you the cliff-notes version of what it’s all about.

This grape originally started out in North Africa and was brought to the Rueda region of  Spain in the 16th century – during that time, it was primarily used to make a sherry-style wine. Around 1980, white wines from this region were finally recognized by Denominacion de Origen which meant that white wines labeled  with “Rueda” must contain at least 50% Verdejo.

These wines tend to be very aromatic and are often compared to the likes of Sauvignon Blanc wines from warmer regions.

Protos winery started in 1927 and has become quite famous in Spain for producing quality wines at good values – something I know most of us can appreciate in today’s economy. To say that it’s been influencial in the Spanish wine industry would not even being to underscore how this winery has evolved over the decades.

As many of you know, I’m all about encouraging everyone I know to always try new wines from new regions – grow your palate and have fun with it. The Verdejo grape is one I’d highly recommend you try and seek out – it’s crisp, cool and very food-friendly.

Technical Data:

• Degrees: 13 ºC
• Total acidity: 5.8 g/ l in tartaric
• Volatile Acidity: 0.24 g/l in acetic
• pH: 3.20
• Alcohol: 13%
• Price: $10

Nose: Nice riverstone, elderberry, pineapple and lime on the nose. I also pick up hints of some ivory soap and petrol on the back-end which I’m really digging on.

Taste: Nice flavors of gasoline-soaked pebbles, chalk dust and pineapple for days with some nice green apple component coming through. It has a very clean, very focused finish with stellar acidity that feels like a razor scraping my tongue clean. I realize that this wine won’t be for everyone – especially those who are into the *gasp* sweeter rieslings or *double gasp* buttery chardonnay’s; however, if you pair this with the right food or drink it on a nice, sunnny day, it’ll reward you with a great taste of Spain.

W.E.P. Rating: 100%

Winery website: www.bodegasprotos.com

Winery Link

I’m a huge sucker for great wine values so you’d have to be here to really grasp the look on my face after tasting this latest $10 gem of a bottle. All the way from Spain, comes the Grandes Vinos Besamse “Old Vine” Granacha which almost literally blew me away.

Granacha is a grape which, unfortunatley, doesn’t get as much play as it should in the USA – especially here in Washington State. I can tell you, however, that it is a grape everyone should pay more attention to and clearly one you need to seek out and try.

It’s said to be a strong grape which has a thin skin and has very little pigment – it does do well in extreme heat and is Spains most planted grape variety.

Our friends at American Northwest Distributors got a deal on this wine as an exclusive which means if you live outside of this state you may have a hard time finding it – I’m going to try and working something out with them, however, to make it widely available.

Technical Data:
Grape Variety: 100% Granacha
Aging Time: 9 months in French Oak
Vine Age: 80yrs old – planted in 1923
Price: $10

Nose: Shoe leather, black cherries and vanilla for days…skittles, blueberries with some edlerberry and babreeze…

Taste: Rose pedals, blueberries and serious cherries..leather belt action rounds out the finish.. long finish – easily one of the best $10 bottles i’ve ever had.

Overall Summary:
I really love this wine – I can’t recall the last time I had a wine anywhere near its pricepoint take me on the tasteful journy my tastebuds went on with this wine. I’m feelin’ it, loving it and wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone. It’s well structured, balanced and will do all sorts of favors to well-seasond and hearty foods – drink now through 2011.

-Duane Pemberton

W.E.P. Scale Rating: 150%

Tempranillo is to Spain as Malbec is to Argentina – each grape is really taking its own root into each of those cultures which have been migrating out to other countries of the world. Thankfully, there are many wine distributors who do a good job of seeking out some of the harder-to-find wines and bring them to this country.

La Legua is a Spanish winery who’s committed to producing top-quality wines at prices that everyday folks can afford yet still bring excellent amounts of pleasure to one’s palate.

Its 2006 Tempranillo is acually blended with 4% Garnacha, and represents a decent Q.P.R. (Quality-to-price-ratio).

Technical Data:

Grape Types: 96% Tempranillo, 4% Garnacha
Vinification: 20 day maceration in tank
Elevage: 5 months in tank
Notes: Produced from 25 year old vines just 7 kilometers north of Valladolid.
Price: $9-$12

Nose: Oak chips soaked in moldy plums and covered with cherries, anise, black cherry, wet sock, celary stock.

Taste: Wet sock stuffed with oak rotton plums. A touch on the over-oaked side with a hint of bacon fat. The finish is pretty good but gets a bit disjointed for me at the very end.

Overall Summary:
For the $9 I paid for this wine, it’s a pretty solid effort and a fun tempranillo to drink for the money. If you’re at all curious about this grape variety and don’t want to sink a ton of money into trying it then give this one a whirl.

W.E.P. Scale Rating: 90%