Box Wines
A wine blog with news and reviews of affordable wines

We were happy to see Michelle from My Wine Education’s straightforward selection for Wine Blogging Wednesday #35 - “Passionate Spain.” In addition to leaving the field wide open - a wine from Spain - Michelle encouraged us to select a bottle that cost under $10 - definitely in our preferred “affordable” category here at Box Wines.

For the first time in recent memory, we didn’t have to make a last minute run to the wine shop to find something suitable for this month’s WBW challenge. We had just returned from our Trader Joe’s expedition, and just happened to have a bottle of Santana Tempranillo 2004 in our mixed case. It cost about $5 - just about as affordable as you can get outside of Two Buck Chuck. We haven’t blogged about this varietal much at all. The only one we’ve tried lately has been Infinitus Tempranillo 2004, which we enjoyed. (The Santana Tempranillo is actually a blend that includes 10% Cabernet Sauvignon.)

According to Wikipedia,

Tempranillo is a thick-skinned black grape used to make full-bodied red wines. It grows best in cooler regions as it does not tolerate hot or dry weather well. Pests and diseases are a serious problem for this grape variety, since it has little resistance to either. The grape forms compact, cylindrical bunches of spherical, purplish black fruit with a colourless pulp. The fruit is very dark in colour and forms a bead-like sphere for which it also carries the name of Ull de Llebre (Catalan for “Eye of the Hare”) in Catalunya, a major Tempranillo-growing region. It is known by a bewildering number of other names, usually after the region in which it is, or has been, grown.

Back to the Santana Tempranillo, we found it had a very nice licorice and raspberry nose with some spicy and woody notes. On the palate, this light-to-medium-bodied wine wasn’t overly fruity, with dark berries yielding to herbal, woody flavors; pepper and prominent tannins dominated the slightly acidic finish. This wine was a bit less fruity than we are used to, but was surprisingly accessible and well balanced. This wine grew on us, and we found it to be more sophisticated than one might expect for a $5 wine. We scored it at 8.5 out of ten, which on our scale means we liked it quite a bit and would buy it again. All in all, Santana Tempranillo is a great value, particularly if you are looking for a red that’s a bit less fruity than inexpensive California or Aussie wines.

Santana Tempranillo is bottled by Bodegas Victorianas, part of the Spanish firm Grupo Faustino. (Architecture buffs may be interested in the fact that Grupo Faustino has engaged renowned architect Norman Foster to design their latest winery.)

Kudos to Lenn Thompson for launching WBW and keeping it organized and thriving. We enjoyed this month’s straightforward WBW challenge that encouraged us to try something different in a very affordable price range - we’re looking forward to some of the other great finds by WBW bloggers this month!

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Price: $9
Maker: CIV USA (Importer)
Varietal: Tempranillo
Packaging: 750 ml bottle, natural cork
Alcohol: 14%
Our Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Infinitus Tempranillo 2005 is a tasty Spanish red wine that offers a great value for under $10. Its aroma is spicy berries with a subtle leather note. The flavor starts off with lots of juicy blackberry and plum flavors, and segues into spice and oak notes with a dry, almost astringent, finish. This combination makes Infinitus Tempranillo more interesting than the typical fruit bomb red wine. We liked this wine a little better than the Infinitus Cabernet Sauvignon - Tempranillo 3004 we tried last year.

Tempranillo is an uncommon varietal in the U.S. It’s native to Spain, and is used to make a variety of wines including the moderately well known Rioja wines. According to the wine’s data sheet, the grapes hail from “the great plains of Central Spain (yes this is where the rain in
Spain falls mainly…) is actually the largest wine growing region in the world. Larger in fact, than Australia and Chile combined!” There are actually six Infinitus wines, all reds except for Infinitus Chardonnay. We’ve only seen two or three of them in our local stores, but we may hunt down a couple of the others.

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Price: $7
Maker: Cosecheros y Criadores, SA, Spain
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon - Tempranillo blend
Packaging: 750 ml bottle, artificial cork
Alcohol: 13.5%
Our Rating: 8 out of 10

Infinitus Cabernet Sauvignon - Tempranillo 2004 is easy to spot on the shelf with its black and white label - “Infinitus” appears in two-inch high letters. Tempranillo is hardly a common varietal here in the States, but this wine might make help break the ice. The aroma is mild berry, but the flavor is a bold mix of blackberry, spice, and oak. In the European tradition, this isn’t an overly fruity wine but has plenty of flavor. On first pour, the wine seemed a bit harsh, but some breathing seemed to mellow it out nicely.

The importer, CIV, has some information on the Tempranillo grape:

Tempranillo: (pronounced: Temp-prah-neeh-you) Also known as Ull de Llebre, Cencibel, Tinto Fino. Red. The Tempranillo varietal is believed to have been brought to Spain by pilgrims during the Crusades and to be a variant of Pinot Noir. (Genetically, it has been determined that there is no relationship between Pinot Noir and Tempranillo; however, there are genertic duplications in the grape varietal - Valdepenas - of California). The name derives from the Spanish word temprana, meaning early because the grape usually is harvested during late September. It has generally been planted throughout Spain and in the Rioja region, but thrives particularly well in the Rioja Alavesa. Temparnillo prefers a soil that is rich in calcium and limestone. This varietal is thick-skinned and produces wines of deep-color, but not necessarily high in alcohol. Naturally, Tempranillo tends to be lower in acidity and more “malic,” which means that wines made solely from this varietal will hold back their color but not loose fruit over time. Generally, Tempranillo is blended with small amounts of Garnacha, Mazuelo and/or Graciano to compensate for lack of acidity and longevity.

If you are looking for a relatively inexpensive but unusual red wine, Infinitus Cabernet Sauvignon - Tempranillo could be a unique choice. If it’s a bit rough out of the bottle, be sure to give it some air.

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