Penascal Estate Seleccion Especial Tempranillo Shiraz – Cheap, Old and Good

85% Tempranillo and 15% Shiraz from Castilla y Leon, Spain. 

SRP of $13 and available for as low as $6.
From the bottle:

“Penascal Estate Seleccion Especial or Special Selection is a rich, full bodied and complex wine. We have hand picked Tempranillo and Shiraz fruit from the very best plots at the Penascal Estate. Enjoy with “tapas” and many barbeque and oven roasted dishes such as lamb.

13.5% Alcohol”

Let’s face it, when you’re covering wine under $20 and especially under $10 most of what you’re tasting are fairly recent vintages. Many of the wines produced at this price point are made to drink young. Wines that are aged in casks, barrels or even in bottles for a number of years inevitably cost more. (Cellar space comes with a cost.)

One of the refreshing things about Spain (Rioja in particular comes to mind) is their penchant for ageing wine before releasing it. Today’s wine is one such example. And while this one has been available for a couple years, it’s quite unusual (in the U.S. at least) to find a 2006 vintage wine for under $10 that has not already passed its prime drinking window.

The 2006 Penascal Estate Seleccion Especial Tempranillo-Shiraz begins with a smoky aroma featuring blackberry and cranberry. Tasting the wine reveals lots of sour fruit and a bit of nicely done spice along with a little smoked meat and black olive. Both the sour fruit and the spice last well into the dry finish. And while it may be a somewhat simple wine it still has surprising complexity for $6. Likely to be a crowd pleaser.

See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.

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