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
Ooh, this has black licorice notes? I will have to check it out next time I'm at TJ's.
ReplyDeleteI love La Granja! Great wine for food paring but also great just on its own. At $3.99 its a steal!
ReplyDeleteA bit too dry for me, and the "pig balloon" thing on the label is freaky!
ReplyDeleteI 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!
ReplyDeleteMsK, 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.
ReplyDeleteI 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.
ReplyDeleteHad another bottle of this over the weekend as well. Still delicious and a great bargain.
ReplyDeleteI just stumbled across your blog and it is wonderful! Thanks for the tasting notes and keep 'em comming!
ReplyDeleteI 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.
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.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog! I have been following it for quite a while and really appreciate the reviews.
ReplyDeleteI 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.
RCP, glad you're enjoying the reviews. Keep up the comments - I love seeing what everyone else thinks of the picks.
ReplyDeleteI want to like this. I'm just not getting it. Something about the finish doesn't sit right with me.
ReplyDeletethis is a great "second" (or third) bottle of wine at a dinner party...
ReplyDeletewow! 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!
ReplyDeleteI 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.
ReplyDeleteFinally 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.
ReplyDeleteGourmez, thanks for the quote! Loving all this great discussion.
ReplyDeleteHi Brendan,
ReplyDeleteLove 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
Perfect wine for Sangria
ReplyDeleteyour 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!
ReplyDeleteLee, thanks for the kind words. Hope you continue to enjoy the reviews and add to the discussions.
ReplyDeleteWe 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