I love Spanish wines. Priorat, Ribera del Duero, Navarra, Jumilla and Rioja all make sublime bottled art. Tonight, after a long day at work, I didn't want to have to work for my wine. I had no desire to seek out subtle nuances, explore the edges of my perception or any of that crap. I wanted, I needed a delicious bottle of wine to go with a simple but filling meal. Pork sausages on mini baguettes, some deli mustard. A mixed green salad with a light vinaigrette and dried cranberries on top. I kept it simple, stupid.
2007 Montecillo Crianza came to my rescue. Gorgeous red ruby in my glass. Smells like spices, vanilla and dusty earth. Nothing too esoteric, everything satisfying. It requires no effort to discern the quality that Maria Martinez puts into the Montecillo brand. A few sips, to test it of course, brings joy. Sour cherry, smoky wood mixing with some firm tannins and dust. Splendid! What a pairing too, the rich pork, spicy mustard, and powerful wine fit together, complement each other. Holy shit this is wonderful wine and "only" 13.5% alcohol too!
I needed this tonight, I needed this to work. Montecillo's Crianza is suggested at $12, but I bet you can find it cheaper. What a bargain at $12, a steal at $8-10 according to wine-searcher.com. Why haven't you tried this wine yet? A- from me and a STRONG BUY recommendation. Rioja rules across price points. Tempranillo can only get this good in Spain. If you think California can make tempranillo this good, send me a bottle to taste. Check out what my buddy BrainWines has to say about the 2007 Montecillo Crianza.
This was a media sample from Folsom.
Beau Carufel
Spot on review. What a great Q2PR on this wine. Glad you liked it as much as I did! Cheers.
ReplyDeleteI'm getting thirsty!
ReplyDeleteYou needs you some vino, my dear! :-)
ReplyDeleteKeith, I checked your tasting notes after I wrote my review up, as usual we were in agreement. Nice!