Since moving to the East Coast, I've decided to purposefully explore more of the European wines that are more common in wine stores around Boston. Having gotten my wine tasting start in California and the Midwest, I'm more versed in California and other West Coast wines, plus the usual Australian, Chilean, and New Zealand wines. I will admit that the language barrier is a definite bias--if I can't read the label, I really don't know what I'm buying. Add in my natural dislike of gambling, and it's difficult for me to take a $20-30 bet on an unknown wine. However, with a little help of my local wine guys, I'm going to explore more European wines!That being said, this wine is from my cellar. It was given to me as a going away present this fall prior to our move, so I don't know the cost. A little Googling indicates you can find this wine for $14-18 around the country.
Atteca Old Vines 2005
Stats: 100% Garnacha from vineyards 3000 feet above sea level, 14.5% alcohol
Winery: Bodegas Ateca
Country: Spain
Region: Aragón
Appealation: Calatayud (~230 km northeast of Madrid) The satellite photos look fairly mountainous with a lot of farms in the valleys (what would we do without Google Earth?).
Appearance: Deep purple, clear
Nose: Alcohol burst with big blackberry jam aromas, almost like a fruit brandy. There's some underlying smokiness and oak.
Taste: Very fruity with lots of blackberries, dark cherries, and currants. Hint of leather and chocolate in the background. Mellow tannins. Initially smooth with a long finish, the high alcohol leaves a definite dry, pucker taste in the roof of your mouth.
My recommendation: don't stop drinking it! Just keep slurping away and you'll only hit that dry, pucker mouth once! Jokes aside, the high alcohol does make me think twice about taking another sip while I'm drinking this wine. I'm not a big fan of the current high alcohol, big fruit taste fad that's common in California wineries. At almost 15% alcohol, we just about in fortified wine land. This would seem to be an example of an Old World winery trying to produce a wine that appeals to New World wine tastes. Do they really think we're that simple?
I am intrigued by the picture on the label. Is that supposed to be bamboo leaves or wheat stalks? No bamboo that I know of in northeastern Spain, so that's probably not it. Wheat stalks may be the ticket, although perhaps it's firework trails captured in an open exposure format. My picture doesn't do it justice, so make sure you pick up a bottle at your local wine store and decide for yourself.
Salute!
a Wine Student
