This week we’ll discuss two international reds, one from Spain and one from Argentina. Tremendous values can be had in both regions, and Spain is, of course, one of our favorites. Many an excellent red has been opened from Argentina in our house as well. Chile joins Argentina in South America as major producers of value wines, but we don’t have a Chilean wine today, so that is really irrelevant. We also have two different varietals in a Garnacha and a Malbec. Both are red – so there is that common thread.
To the wines!
Wine: 2011 Evodia Old Vine Garnacha Winery Location: Calatayud, Spain
Tasted By: Neil & Cheri Date: July 2013
Tasting Notes: This is a bright, brilliant ruby red in the glass. The nose carries red fruit. On the palate the fruit comes across nicely, with some acid and good length. Overall this leaves you pretty satisfied but not wowed. We gave it some time in the glass to see if it would deepen, but what you see out of the bottle is what you get. Even after two days on the shelf it didn’t evolve much. It is also pretty high in alcohol content, checking in at 15%. You can taste it too; this runs pretty hot. So overall we have a good wine here, but not an outstanding one. It should go very well with food though.
Price Point – Good news here as it averages about $9, and you can find it for less.
Would We Buy It? – Yes, but it is not our favorite. The alcohol is a little hot for me, and there is not enough depth to mask it. Overall this is a good wine and if you like the style you will be pleased.
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Wine: 2010 Ambiente Mendoza Malbec Winery Location: Argentina
Tasted By: Neil & Cheri Date: August 2013
Tasting Notes: This is very fruity on the nose, with red fruit predominating for me. It feels on the palate like the alcohol is higher than the 13%. There is decent length to it, with a little subtle wood hiding in the background. Also a little acid makes its presence felt. In general I would say it’s fair. It doesn’t do anything exceptionally well. The second day it presented aromas of cherry Twizzler. The fruit was a bit harsher as this was not improving but rather going the other way. This is not a wine to vacuum pump and drink over several days.
Price Point – should be less than $10
Would We Buy It? – No. This isn’t very impressive, and the second day was tilting toward the bad wine side of the tracks. Many, many other choices abound that cost the same and blow the socks off this.
There it is. Two reds, one worth considering and one not. Neither makes the value list.
A votre sante!
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