August 25, 2009

2008 La Granja 360 Tempranillo - $3.99

Reviewing the bottom of the bottle after having it been open and VacuVin sealed for a couple days reveals the following: A great deep ruby color (which is not at all showcased by my backlight heavy picture). Earthy nose with a solid dose of black licorice. Dry and slightly tannic on the tongue. Feint taste of stale cinnamon and cocoa, but in a good way. A definite bargain that I'll be buying again soon.

thumbs up - 76

22 comments:

  1. Ooh, this has black licorice notes? I will have to check it out next time I'm at TJ's.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love La Granja! Great wine for food paring but also great just on its own. At $3.99 its a steal!

    ReplyDelete
  3. A bit too dry for me, and the "pig balloon" thing on the label is freaky!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I bought this because of the label! A bad habit I know... We had it at Thanksgiving and everyone enjoyed it. I'll definitely be buying it again!

    ReplyDelete
  5. MsK, I did the same and know the feeling. Usually it's a red herring, but in this case I think the label lead us both to a winner.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I just drank this last night and really, really enjoyed it. Not too jammy, not to dry and nothing overpowering. A perfect balance of tannins, fruit and acidity.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Had another bottle of this over the weekend as well. Still delicious and a great bargain.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I just stumbled across your blog and it is wonderful! Thanks for the tasting notes and keep 'em comming!

    I had this recently, purchased to use for cooking (doing a dry run of a recipe before a big night) and I was completely impressed! The wine was far from unbelievable but for under $5 i was amazed. One of the few drinkable wines in that price range I have came across.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Christopher, glad you found the site. Keep the great comments coming. Couldn't agree more with your take on this Tempranillo - I plan to pick up a case to have around for impromptu game nights.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Great blog! I have been following it for quite a while and really appreciate the reviews.

    I have been exploring Rioja recently and find tempranillo very food friendly. This wine is very soft, I don't pick up any of the alcohol, but there is a lot of juice.

    ReplyDelete
  11. RCP, glad you're enjoying the reviews. Keep up the comments - I love seeing what everyone else thinks of the picks.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I want to like this. I'm just not getting it. Something about the finish doesn't sit right with me.

    ReplyDelete
  13. this is a great "second" (or third) bottle of wine at a dinner party...

    ReplyDelete
  14. wow! let this breathe for a bit and it opens up quite nicely. began this one on its own and continued through dinner with pork chops. this works for me and will be going back for more. fruit forward, good balance, nice lingering licorice. excellent!

    ReplyDelete
  15. I really enjoyed this wine,didn't care for the label. The price was amazing! I didn't know it was licorice I was tasting but it was a very satisfactory wine to go with dinner. It's a lovely color too.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Finally tried this wine! Don't think I liked it quite as much as you did, but I wouldn't say no to drinking it again. I think I found the licorice notes more clove-like, but those are fairly comparable tastes in general. It definitely needs to air out, first. I quoted you on my blog, today, on it.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Gourmez, thanks for the quote! Loving all this great discussion.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hi Brendan,

    Love the site, great idea, great writing. Did a review on this wine that will be up tomorrow morning. Hope you check it out. I'll keep on reading so long as you keep posting!

    http://winewelfare.com/2010/08/la-granja-360-tempranillo-2008-wine-review/

    Best,

    Brian

    ReplyDelete
  19. your reviews are so insightful and what a brilliant idea to review trader joes wines only.. was sitting here drinking a bordeaux you review thinking "am i the only one that things this is just awful" and it turns out im not... keep up the great work!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Lee, thanks for the kind words. Hope you continue to enjoy the reviews and add to the discussions.

    ReplyDelete
  21. We LOVE this wine, and pick up a bottle almost every single time we go to Trader Joes. However, the last few bottles we've had have a LOT of sediment in the bottom, and the last two glasses are almost undrinkable. I know we could strain it out, but we never remember until we get to those last few glasses. I'd ask for this problem to be fixed, but I can't access the website. Other than the undrinkable sediment-y last few glasses, this wine is fantastic. I wish we could enjoy the last few glasses.

    ReplyDelete