Wine Review: Vinas del Vero Secastilla Garnacha 2010

The Guardia Miranda and Botiguero vineyards that the fruit for this wine comes from are in the Secastilla Valley, in the north-eastern part of the north-eastern Spanish wine region of Somontano. They have a Mediterranean microclimate, are planted with old vine Garnacha more than 2,2000 feet above sealevel, and see lots of sunlight. Vinas del Vero, the winery who produced the wine, was founded in 1986 and is considered  one of Somontano's best producers.

Their Secastilla Garnacha 2010 is 100% Garnacha from "very old vines", and the fruit has to go through two selections after harvest to make the cut. The must is macerated for fifteen days below 77°, emptied into vats for fermentation, and then put into French oak barrels for malolactic fermentation. It remains in the oak for ten months of aging. The ABV is 14%.

Grenache / Garnacha is really just a pleasure to drink and I find myself suggesting it with food pairings all the time, probably more than the big-name varietals. So there's that, but also 2010 is probably my favorite vintage only because it was the year my first daughter was born. The grapes for this wine were harvested on October 4th, just 26 days after Lillian arrived.

I was expecting this wine to be purple but it's actually a stunningly beautiful blood red. Blah, I am vampire! The first thing to come off the nose are chocolate and raisins followed by black cherries and oak. On the palate it's light to medium bodied with a perfect acidity and tight chalky tannins. There's flavors of plums, strawberries, black pepper, and cocoa powder. Then it finishes with strawberry licorice and a little bit of a vodka thing going on.

It's aged very well and it's delicious as hell. That rhymes! For $30 I absolutely recommend it.

QUALITY VS PRICE RATING

Price: $30

Rating: 4/5 = Recommended (what does that mean?)

The bottle used was provided free of charge for the purpose of this unpaid review. To have your wine reviewed follow this link.