Tempranillo from Spain and Nero di Troia

This time I go from Spain to the south of Italy. I don't drink so much wine from Spain but it is interesting to try out new stuff. Anciano is a Gran Reserva 2006 made by Tempranillo grapes. It is from producer Bodegas Navalo. The wine is stored in oak barrels for 18 months before being bottled and then they store it 8,5 years longer before selling the wine. So it is as least ten years old. The vintage is 2006 and the ABV is 13% Since it is ten years old it is quite smooth. The wine has hints of vanilla with red currants and some liquorice. Just lacking a bit in the after taste. A good price for the value.

Now going to the south of Italy and the region of Puglia. In this region they have several interesting grape varieties and one of them is Nero di Troia. producer Poderere 20 produces a 100% Nero di Troia wine called Gelso Nero and the vintage that I have tried is the 2017, so it is quite a young wine. The ABV is 13%. It has a taste of plums,, dark cherries, viols and some tannins. Not an older elegant wine but a more younger wild wine which I quite like.

Wine for barbeque

The days have slowly become warmer and yesterday was the first really good day to have a barbeque but due to other circumstances it was shifted to Sunday instead. And that was even better as the weather today was better, more warmth and no cold winds at all. Instead of the usual pork fore the barbeque I had beef for once. And what wine would go fine with the beef. Looking through the cellar I found a Marques De Arienzo Gran Reserva from 1998. That would be a fine addition to the weather and the barbequed beef. Marques de Arienzo started in 1981 and in 2010 it was bought by Marqués de Riscal S.A. This wine is made from Tempranillo grapes and has an alcohol level of 13% vol. The smell was very good. A good sign of a well stored wine. The colour of the wine was deep ruby red, very nice. The taste of the wine could be split into three difefrent phases. The first phase was a strong taste, almost earthy and leathery. Then t became a bit bitter to be followed by a long nice aftertaste. For those interested the 2001 Gran Reserva can be found at Systembolaget.