RED BLENDS: SPAIN

+RUN AWAY NOW+
Abancay Mascara del Sol Crianza 
Espana: Aragon
70% Tempranillo, 30% Merlot (red)
2009
75 pts
$6.99
Ahh, Trader Joe's. It's no secret that I prefer to shop--including for wine--at family-owned, local businesses, instead of big box chains (and I usually do). But Trader Joe's does feature a few wines I know offer excellent quality for price--such as Mionetto's Il Proseco and Segura Viudas Brut Cava--so I figured what-the-hell, I'll stop by and see what's shaking in the wine aisle at our local Trader Joe's. Upon arrival, an enthusiastic young man asked if I wanted to taste the Gruner Veltliner they feature. After pulling myself together (initially shocked they were even selling Gruner), I replied, "Why, yes, thank you. I Would love to try it." And then I did--and that's when things went terribly wrong. The Gruner--Hungarian, in fact, which I admit is pretty cool--was atrocious. Tasted like a cheaply made Sauvignon Blanc from 7-11. "Well," the gentleman said, "You're not going to get the taste of a true Gruner for six dollars." Hard to argue with that. But pressing on, I picked up a few bottles of various low-priced wines (for our purposes today, that's under $8.00) to take home and taste. Among them was the 2009 Abancay Mascara del Sol Crianza from northeast Spain. This wine is attractive in the glass, colored a pleasing deep plum. On the nose, one gets a hint of black cherry (you have to work for it), but more than anything, the aroma is that medicinal sort of alcohol that often indicates an imbalanced flavor profile dominated by alcohol. That my friends, is the good news. The taste? Ninety parts water, one part cherry juice, with maybe the core of a just-eaten plum dropped in for "complexity." Don't get me wrong, there is nothing particularly offensive about this wine. The problem is that it has, essentially, no flavor, no finish, a light, water-like body, and absolutely no reason to exist beyond it's pretty color and cheap price. No Old World Tempranillo earthiness, no pleasing cherries, no juicy plums, no tobacco, no vanilla, no full-bodied richness, in a word, nothing. And Crianza (aged at least one year in oak and a year to one-and-a-half years in the bottle)? Would love to know where that oak came from. Still, I'm not ready just yet to dismiss Trader Joe's entirely as a wine retailer. On the other hand, given my experience this weekend with their Hungarian Gruner and this so-called Tempranillo-Merlot blend, I do recommend caution, perhaps avoiding the wines under $10.00, at least, and see where that gets you. Because remember this: it's only really a bargain if you can actually stomach drinking the wine when you get home.  

 
+MUST TRY+
Borsao Crianza Seleccion (by Bordegas Borsao)Espana: Aragon (Campo de Borja)
A Blend: 50% Grenache, 25% Tempranillo and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon (red)
2006
90+ pts
$14.99
Picked up the Borsao Crianza at Kafka Wine last month. The color is a striking mahogany. The pleasing, multi-layered aroma is rich in black pepper, but also features candied cherries, manure and petrol (really). Spain's official crianza designation means the wine is two years old when sold, with about half of that time spent in oak (in the case of this Borsao, a combination of French and American oak). The taste profile of this dry red is also complex (amazingly so for a wine that retails under fifteen bucks), offering spiciness along with bright cherries, plums, a little hot pepper, a floral component (gentle rose petal bitterness) on the back end, and some soft, subtle oak (French style)...all with an amazing length. Earlier reviewed the simple Borsao red (which retails for about $7.00), and while that discount wine is okay for the dough, the 2006 Borsao Crianza is an absolute steal at $15.00.  

MUST TRY!
Mestizaje (by Bodegas Mustiguillo)Espana: Valencia
A Blend of Bobal, Tempranillo, Garnacha and Cabernet Sauvignon (red)
2006
87+ pts
$18.99
This Spanish red blends 70% Bobal (a grape I'd never tried before), with the remainder composed of Tempranillo (one of my favorites), Garnacha, and Cab. I have to be honest: I think Jay Miller of Wine Advocate missed this one. Miller gave this a whopping 91 points. I find this to be a servicable wine, around 87+ points for my palette...decent enough, but not a Must Try wine. The nose is musty (not a bad thing, necessarily), with red berries. The color is a dark ruby red, actually quite nice. But I find the taste--obviously the key point for any wine--lacking. The tannins are nice and firm (good pucker quality) and the length is good, but the taste for my palette falls flat, even a bit bitter to me, and overpowering. Maybe because by 2010 this wine has lost its soul (or maybe the mushroom plus mineral taste profile just doesn't appeal to me); it's just not a wine I love. I do like its earthiness, and the dark cherry overtones are not unpleasant, but the whole thing seems overpowered, in the end, by a mushroom-like mustiness that's not for me. If you like mushrooms a lot, this might be a good try for you.

Borsao Red Wine (by Bodegas Borsao)Espana: Aragon (Campo de Borja)
Blend: Grenache 80%, Tempranillo 20% (red)
2005
$6.99
85+ pts
Not bad for a discount wine, and so-called experts say this winery is reliable; a very old world, 'dirty' wine, with strong manure, earth and mineral components, to me; can find on sale for $5.99, often; for my pallete, though, a little too dirty; servicible and affordable, but not a favorite; drink now when you have it; not a wine to hold.