2000 Anciano Gran Reserva Tempranillo, Spain

Color – Dark, ruby red

Nose – Cherry, vanilla, raspberry

Taste – I popped the cork on this one, poured a small glass, swirled, sniffed, sipped and thought to myself “Hmm, this really isn’t anything special”. So I set the glass aside to get a little air, recorked the bottle and went off to do some chores. After an hour or so of sitting, I returned to my glass of “10 Year Tempranillo”, took another swirl, sniff, sip, and was amazed at how the wine had both mellowed and gained flavor. The flavors are of cherry, vanilla and licorice and are very pleasant and smooth. The mid-palate has the perfect amount of acidity, astringency and heat and the cherry comes through as well as some cocoa hints. The finish is medium in length with more vanilla and light dusty oak tinges. This is one of the smoothest Tempranillos I’ve been fortunate enough to sample. It’s a completely different wine than the Condado Di Oriza Crianza, whereas that wine exhibits big, bold red wine tendencies; this wine is a wonderful mellow red wine that is easy to sip and tastes absolutely fabulous at warmer temperatures. The mouthfeel, complexity and character that follow every sip brings a contented smile to me lips every time.

Overall, this wine has a great QPR. At $7.99 at Costco you can’t go wrong here. This medium bodied red wine is perfect for any occasion. I would suggest you pick this up in large quantities while you can find it. The flavors here are absolutely immaculate, you won’t be let down.

Anciano Wines

2009 Alexander & Fitch Cabernet Sauvignon, California

Color – Dark red with violet hints

Nose – Dark cherry, blueberry, brown sugar

Taste – This is a nice medium bodied Cab with an even nicer price tag. Don’t go looking for a “Big, Bold Red” in this wine. The nose has a lot of dark fruit, some sugary/jammy sweetness, and a tiny bit of spice to it. On the first sip, it feels a lot heavier than it actually is; therefore I set this aside overnight and re-poured the next morning. The heaviness had mellowed out and the flavors that came through were quite pleasant. This is much less jammy than the previous night, it has flavors of cherry, chocolate and green herbs. The mid-palate is composed of a perfect level of astringency that compliments the berry and cherry flavors. The finish is medium-to-long, which surprised me since I was expecting a very long finish based on the color of the wine. I would say this is definitely a 10-12 dollar cab masquerading in a 6 dollar bottle. It has a level of complexity, depth and character that other sub-ten dollar bottles just don’t have.

Overall, I would say pick this up before it disappears off the shelves. Older vintages of this wine have been known to clear out of Trader Joe’s in a few days, and people often pick this up by the case. If you enjoy Cabernet Sauvignon this wine is definitely meant for you. It’s not a great wine in and of itself, but it’s a great QPR and that makes me happy. On a side note this isn’t the typical California Cab that I’ve come to expect; it’s not a big or as fruit explosion-like. It’s more mellow, with a tendency toward an herbaceous mid-palate and the tannins here are a little more subdued. I would advise buying this now and buying a LOT of it.