Santana Tempranillo 2004

Price: $9
Maker: Bodegas Victorianas, Spain
Varietal: Tempranillo
Packaging: 750 ml bottle, natural cork
Alcohol: 13%
Our Rating: 8.5 out of 10

We tried Santana Tempranillo 2004 as part of Wine Blogging Wednesday #35. For WBW #35, Passionate Spain, our assignment was to try a wine from Spain, preferably under $10.

We found Santana Tempranillo had a very nice licorice and raspberry nose with some spicy and woody notes. On the palate, this wine was light-to-medium-bodied. It wasn’t overly fruity, with dark berries yielding to herbal, woody flavors; mild pepper and prominent tannins dominated the slightly acidic finish. This wine was a bit less fruity than we usually find in wines in this price range, 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. All in all, Santana Tempranillo is a great value, particularly if you are looking for a red that’s a bit less fruity than similarly priced California or Aussie wines.

Santana Tempranillo is made by Bodegas Victorianas, part of the Spanish firm Grupo Faustino. We couldn’t learn too much about Bodegas Victorianas from their website. It appears that this Tempranillo is part of their New Santana line; they also have Don Hugo, Don Darias, and Santana Classic lines. We don’t see all that much Spanish wine in our local shops; if Santana Tempranillo is an indication of what they can produce in a bottle that retails for $5 (in a strong Euro environment to boot), these wines have a lot of potential. Can “Two Peseta Pedro” be far from reality? 😉 (I know Euros are now standard, but I couldn’t come up with a good nickname to fit “Two Euro ____” – suggestions are welcome!)

Santana Tempranillo 2004 is a pleasant wine that’s a steal at $5, and offers a distinctly different flavor when compared to New World wines in the same price range.