Spanish Red a Steal of a Deal

This is my first wine review.  Let me say at the outset that I am no wine expert.  I don’t have the most sophisticated palate.  I doubt I can describe a wine intelligibly.   But I do know what I like, “and I like what I know, you know it’s getting better…..”  Are there any Peter Gabriel, Genesis fans out there?  I digress.  Forgive me.  I’ll give this review a whirl.

I always have a few bottles of wine around the house, and never, or rarely pay more than $10 (US) on principle.  I stumbled across a Spanish red at my local wine shop rated 90 points by Robert Parker.  The tasting notes said something about wildflowers, licorice and soft tannins.  I don’t care for licorice, and don’t eat wildflowers, but the combination intrigued me plus wildflowers brought to mind Tom Petty’s album Wildflowers, and the Rolling Stones LP, Flowers,  which had a couple of memorable tunes  – “Ruby Tuesday” and “Mother’s Little Helper”.   Made from 100% mencia grapes, this is a 2005 offering of Flavium from the Bierzo region of Spain.   At $10, this Spanish red is a steal of a deal.

I got home, popped the cork and took a good whiff.  I couldn’t detect any wildflowers, but did catch a hint of menthol.  I took a sip – no swirl and spit, I just swallowed.  Nice!  The coolness of menthol was there, with some licorice and maybe cinnamon spice.  Fruity – jammy even.  I’m not sure what berry exactly – blueberry, cranberry, raspberry; almost Zinfandel like.  Soft tannins.  Smooth.  Long finish.  Wasn’t long til I finished half the bottle.  I liked it enough to buy two more, one for the house and another for a dinner party this weekend.  If you find Flavium at your local wine store, grab a bottle.  Or two.