Bacchus
It was the best of wines. It was the worst of wines. Or something like that. Some bottles of wine throw me off and I’m left wondering what just happened even after drinking every last drop. Such was the case with a bottle of 2008 La Granja Tempranillo. So what did I do? I went back to the store and bought another bottle. But let’s go back to the beginning.
A Thursday or three ago, being my favorite night to partake in the pleasures of the palate, I was perusing the trusted wine aisle of Trader Joe’s on the hunt for tasty new wines on the cheap because let’s be honest, why pay twenty quid for a bottle when four or five will do you well. And then I saw a pig for $3.99 and thought to myself, if this is fabulous then I’ll be back tomorrow for eight more bottles. Enter La Granja.
Admit it. Sometimes you’re motivated to pick up a bottle based on its pretty label. Don’t worry; I’m guilty too. So I notice this bottle of Tempranillo (I’m a sucker for Latinas) with a frikin’ flying pig on it and my brain starts running a projector screen across the cerebral lobes of 1. a famously forgotten Pink Floyd album, 2. a dimly lit room containing two pigs up on their hind legs and me holding court over a bottle of La Granja Tempranillo, and 3. a waterfall of wine. What I’m trying to say is I’m sold and I take the bottle home.
Cue scene of cork popping, ahem, screw unscrewing and pouring a glass of red vino. First the nose: Huh? I guess one could best describe it as a wet saddle from one of John Wayne’s ponies. I was a bit weirded out honestly. Nevertheless, I dove into the glass and the notes were, the notes, well I’m not quite sure I could tell you what they were. Berries I think, but even so, they were rotten and not ripe. Cherries. Tough to say because I was busy noticing how tightly wound the wine was, its acidity shouting at me and its flaccid structure. So I decided to just plug my nose and gulp down the rest of the bottle.
Memory is short. I found myself lost again in the Trader Joe’s wine aisle but a few days ago and decided to give it a go. Again, I was persuaded to purchase based upon aesthetic. To be fair, I couldn’t recall much of tasting La Granja Tempranillo aside from some details of not enjoying the experience and I thought why not give it one more chance. So I got home and had a small bout of déjà vu. Except this time I gave the wine some time to breathe. Breathing wine may or may not be an old wives tale. I studied biochemistry in school, and yet I wonder. I still thought the nose a bit tight and filled with acid. But this time as I drank, the wine began to open up and reveal its more appealing attributes such as juicy berries and cherries and a decently long cherry finish. Even a bit of earth crept in after some time, providing an interesting balance of notes. Overall the wine went from a 3 to a 7 at its accessible price point. I think there are better respective tempranillos to taste, but it’s still a curiosity and that may be worth the while. Will I have another bottle? I think I will.
