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.
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