My first sip of this wine immediately created the visual of frozen raspberries that had defrosted in a bowl, bright red juice pooling around tart berries. A raspberry plucked from the vine in the middle of summer is plump and juicy and ripe – that is not this wine. This is the raspberry that has let go of its sweetness and become a lean, tart berry. When I took a sniff, at first I thought the wine had a floral bouquet…then I realized I was smelling my hand lotion (that, my friends, is why professional tasters ban perfume and lotion). The bouquet is actually quite subtle, some bright red berries with a hint of cinnamon. The finish is very dry. And that’s about it – for $7.00 I don’t expect more complexity than that, and considering that this same wine would probably cost me a few dollars more for only l glass at a restaurant, I completely feel like I got my money’s worth. I suggest a chunk of cheese and/or cured meat to round out the rough edges. I find that most less expensive wines are not meant to be drunk without food. Like people, wine craves a companion. I also like the sexy label, as so many of the newer Spanish wines have. If you look on the back of the bottle you will see in small letters “Jorge Ordoñez Selection.” Ol’ Jorge does a fine job of bringing inexpensive ($6-$12) Spanish wines to the market. While they may not knock your socks off, many are as drinkable as higher priced domestic wines.
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