Tag Archives: VdlT Castilla y León

Saludas Red Wine 2006

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Hrm… almost smells like nail polish remover, albeit with a whiff of black cherries; it’s not particularly appetizing. The color is noticeably light – almost like Beaujolais nouveau (hey, what a temporal coincidence!). There’s also a weird smell of dusty closet floor in their somehow – like something shredded up the cedar blocks you put there a few years ago to ward off moths. Yecch.

Taste-wise it’s no picnic. What little fruit there is is quickly overwhelmed by grating, drying tannins as well as a whack of unwelcome acidity. Hoo-boy. This is no fun at all – it’s probably best saved to serve to unsuspecting Midwestern tourists at a “tapas bar” in someplace like downtown Anaheim as part of an “authentic Spanish dining experience.” I can’t recommend this one at all – I’m not even sure it’s up to sangría.

Saludas [but really fresh&easy]
Price: US $2.99
Closure: Stelvin
Tasted: November 2007

Penrosa Tempranillo 2006

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The nose offers up a rich, creamy fruitiness that’s reminiscent of strawberry paletas, with a slight pepperiness and a hint of grapefruit peel; it took a few minutes for the wine to express any clear flavors, though, so it may be best not to serve this wine straight from the refrigerator – give it fifteen minutes or so to warm up a bit.

In the mouth, there’s a definite spritziness which seems somehow appropriate; it’s quite full in the mouth, with a good amount of sweetness nicely counterbalanced by the CO2 and moderate acidity. Although it’s overall too sweet to be a truly fine rosé, it works quite well for what it is and is a nice halfway point between, say, a pink Bandol wine and “my teeth are melting” white Zinfandel from California. Overall, the effect is basically liquid strawberry shortcake: easy to drink, and nicely refreshing on a warm summer’s day.

Serve with chiles en nogada, I reckon.

Bodegas Realeza [but really Acciona, owners of Hijos de Antonio Barceló, S.A., presumably under contract to fresh&easy]
Price: US $4.99
Closure: Stelvin
Tasted: November 2007

Saludas Rosé 2006

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Straight out of the fridge, the first whiff out of the bottle is of simple strawberries and pepper, pleasant enough; there’s also a hint of something unpleasantly funky, a dark note that seems out of place.

In the mouth, the first thing that hits you is a lot of undifferentiated fruit sweetness, which calms down into something like blood orange peel, but the wine is unbalanced and flabby, with not nearly enough acidity to counterbalance the sweetness. It’s all a bit thin as well, with a finish that isn’t particularly pleasant – it’s kind of like eating Triscuits that someone’s already licked all of the salt off of, combined with strawberry fruit leather stolen from a lunchbox someone found behind an abandoned schoolyard.

So what do to with this wine? I think the answer’s pretty clear: make sangría. The wine quality’s OK, but it really needs some additional flavor there to detract from its flaws.

Saludas [but really fresh&easy]
Price: US $2.99
Closure: Stelvin
Tasted: November 2007