Wine Time Wednesday! Wine Reviews from a Cheap-Wine Snob.

La Granja 360, Tempranillo 2009

$4.99 at Trader Joes
★★★☆☆

From the bottle:

La Granja 360, means in Spanish, "The Farm 360". It is located in a traditional Tempranilla grape wine growing region in the north of Spain. The little pig is flying because it expresses a song which the Spanish children sing when somebody has asked for something which is impossible to realize, has a dream or says something absurd. 

An everyday drinking soft rounded juicy red wine, with rich ripe raspberry flavors. A great match for barbeque roasted pork chops, spare ribs, sausages, grilled vegetables and cheeses. 

ALC. 13.5%, Product of Spain

If the flying pig on the front of the bottle isn't enough to get your attention (especially if you are from Cincy), then the price tag will grab you. $4.99 (at Trader Joe's) is hard to beat when trying a new, good wine.

This is my first Tempranillo, and honestly, it had me pretty nervous. The words "juicy" and "raspberry" got me thinking this was going to be a very sweet and fruity wine. (I did think a fruity red might be good today, since it's pushing 100 degrees outside). After opening the bottle, I was pleasantly surprised when I immediately smelled the earthy tones. The wine has a light body with a pretty full look. It has a bit of a sweet berry taste when it first hits your tongue, some herbal tastes in the middle and and it leaves you with a dry fruit taste.

It's a great casual-type wine, that gets better after exposure to air. It would be fun to enjoy outside, with friends in the summertime. I think it would go well with any type of casual meal or to just enjoy by itself. I would probably buy this wine again, but I'd more inclined to try another La Granja 360 first. Cheers!

Wine Time Wednesday wine quote: Wine is constant proof that God loves us and loves to see us happy. -Benjamin Franklin