Monday, February 14, 2011

Almez Garnacha `09 $7.99 (not TJ's) ***

I love the idiom "Cheap & Cheerful". It makes me happy.  It makes me think of London. And on first sip, it is how I describe this wine.

Hello Almez Garnacha!  It is like a glass of juicy, unsweetened Raspberries with up front Tannins. It is dry and this wine is screaming to be made into a delicious Sangria! Really, it screamed.  Right in my ear. (ok, maybe not)

There is nothing complex about this wine.  It is a simple, straightforward, honest bottle of flavor with a kick. We had it with left over Elk Ribs repurposed into a tomato based pasta sauce and sauteed spinach. It added a fruity height to the rich meat in the dense Gemelli.  I wouldn't tout this as a winter wine, just because the freshness is a bit disconcerting after you have been drinking dark, full bodied wines all winter, BUT this wine is well worth the $7.99 investment.

We will be having it again.  JPH promised to lay in a few bottle so that in the summer, we can make it into sangria for suppers al fresco.  You can't help but dream about eating outside in warm summer evenings when the house is still blanketed with 18 inches of snow and ice.

This wine is from Spain, specifically, the North East in the Aragón, ancient birthplace of Catherine of Aragón, the surviving wife of Henry VIII. I am thinking that this old world region produces some hardy stock in their wine and in their women.  It is a Garnacha/Grenache varietal that is known for its straight forward flavor. I'll re-review this wine when we make Sangria over the Summer.  I have very high hopes! 

I'll leave you with someone who was also Cheap and Cheerful.  
The man who created Poor Richard
and had countless other cultural and historic political influences.  
He said it best when he said:
 "Wine makes daily living easier, less hurried, 
with fewer tensions and more tolerance."

Benjamin Franklin

and he cautioned:
"Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing."
  --  Benjamin Franklin

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