Posts Tagged ‘dark red wine’
Varietal: Carmenere (75% Carmenere; 15% Cabernet Sauvignon; 10% Syrah)
Region: Chile
Cost: $13
Deep red in color with gentle and silky tannins and rich flavors of ripe plum, blackberry, vanilla and spice. Pair with pasta, grilled meats, spicy entrees, eggplant, or bell peppers.
Recommendations: I’ve been a fan of Root:1 wines for a while, regularly keeping their Sauvignon Blanc on hand. While restocking our wine cellar after the rampant snow we’ve had here in Virginia, my wife and I found a bottle of Carmenere from Root:1 and were quick to grab it.
Paired with a dinner of baked herb chicken and garlic green beans, we were soon ignoring the meal to focus on the wine. Beautifully dark red with aromas of berry and green bell peppers, the spice and bell pepper on the palate are amazing, and reminded me of the Viu Manent Carmenere that I enjoyed during the Wines of Chile Blogger tasting, though the flavors of bell pepper were much more mellow – which was not a bad thing. Read the rest of this entry »
Paso A Paso La Mancha Tempranillo
Varietal: Tempranillo
Region: Spain
Cost: $19.49
A dark red wine with aromas of bright berry and vanilla which are mimiced in the flavors of this wine. The first sip will present berry and spice that will mellow as the wine is allowed to open up in either a decanter or in the glass. Pairs well with red meat, pasta with red sauce, and traditional antipasta.
Recommendation: If you’ve been reading this blog long enough, you know that Spanish wine has this habit of finding its way into my wine selection, particularly Tempranillo. There’s a good reason for that – it’s a great varietal. This offering is no exception. The first thing you’ll notice with this wine is the deep color with doesn’t let any light through. You would think this would lend itself to a more robust wine, but in fact the Paso A Paso is very much a medium-bodied wine.
My wife and I paired this wine with a simple meal of wheat pasta and red sauce, which we mixed a bit of the wine in with. The pairing of the bright berry and spice flavors with the rich pasta was a great mix, and was enjoyable even after we had finished our meal.
I can’t say for certain if this is my favorite Tempranillo, but I was definitely enamored of the deep color and bright flavors of this wine. For the price point it’s a definitely worth picking up.
Special thanks to the International Wine of the Month Club.
Can’t find the Paso A Paso La Mancha Tempranillo near you? Find it here.
