Atteca Old Vines Garnacha – Costco Week Wine #3

100% Garnacha from Calatayud, Spain.

Purchased for $11.99 at Costco.

From the bottle:

“Meticulously hand harvested clusters of fully matured Garnacha grapes were selected from only the finest hillside vineyards located 3,000 ft above sea level. These vineyards were planted in the last decades of the nineteenth and first decade of the twentieth centuries. Over a hundred years ago the local growers knew that the combination of poor gravelly slate soils, high altitudes, and arid conditions produced the best grapes. The wine, Atteca, produced today upholds these long held beliefs. Deep rich blackberry flavors persist on a long supple finish and are highlighted by the vibrant shimmering color.

15.0% Alcohol”

Today’s wine is another crazy good value from the Calatayud. And when I say crazy good, I mean crazy good. We’ve covered a number of these wines in the $6-$12 range that are simply fantastic, drinking way beyond their price:

• The Show Garnacha 2010 – No Circus Clowns Needed.
• Los Dos Grenache + Syrah 2010 – Another Spanish Wonder
• Las Rocas Garnacha 2009 – Garnacha Love
• Evodia Old Vines Garnacha 2010 – A Simply Superb Bulk Buy!

If you haven’t tried any of these yet, what are you waiting for?? With today’s wine being readily available at Costco, now’s your chance to find out what you’ve been missing!

The 2010 Bodegas Ateca Atteca Old Vines Garnacha begins with powerful, fragrant aromas of ripe blackberry, licorice, spice and a little chocolate. Further inspection and time in the glass reveals even more complexity in the form of brown sugar, caramel and vanilla notes. My first thought upon tasting the wine was literally, “Wow, I need to stock up on this one!” Smooth with loads of rich fruit, this wine features a wonderful lush mouthfeel with fine tannins and even a nice streak of minerality. It ends with good length and continued flavors of vanilla, caramel and chocolate along with all that rich fruit. This is some powerfully good Garnacha!

Wine in the 2013 Costco Week Series!

• Wine #1: Bodegas Barco de Piedra Tempranillo 2011 – Tastes like a lot more than $10!
• Wine #2: Kirkland Signature Malbec 2011 – Plenty good, but it’s not a pop and pour proposition.
• Wine #3: Atteca Old Vines Garnacha 2010 – Powerfully good Garnacha! BULK BUY!
• Wine #4: La Massa Toscana 2010 – More Massa for me please. BULK BUY!
• Wine #5: Tarima Monastrell 2011 – The M in GSM takes the stage under a different name and brings down the house.
• Wine #6: Castello Banfi Belnero 2009 – A Budget (Quasi-)Brunello

See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.