grenache.

x-fact ~ garnacha is grenache in spain. and from wikipedia; In Oaxaca, it is an actual cuisine: a small corn tortilla fried with shreded meat, cheese, lettuce or a prepared type of cabbage topping.

tapena garnacha spain 2006
paid; gift!
reg. @12

yes, another gift! and not only was this bottle a gift strictly for the blog, it was one of TWO bottles gifted. one to drink right then, one to review later. you know this girl does love a gift of wine, but TWO bottles? my heart is bursting. if there was a little grinning icon i'd insert it here.

well, you all know how much i love a grenache. so flirty! so fun! a date in a bottle!

i really do.

though i don't know that i've had a spanish grenache before that wasn't blended in a rose. but i have now and it's delicious!

it's smooth and jammy and lush right at first. and it just fills your whole mouth with flavor, bursting on the tongue at the finish.

it's light and juicy, yet commands complete attention at first sip and doesn't let go. in fact it very much reminds me of my new favorite wine of the year which i will review for you closer to my birthday. just that juicy, shamelessly bursting quality that one usually reserves for the ripest of stone fruits and sun warmed berries.

grenache also looks great in the glass. if a wine could be called sexy, this would be it. beautiful legs that start at the top and slowly make their way down the sides. the smell is luscious, nearly perfumed in its hit to your nose, yet in a good way. the best kind of way. like you remember it from somewhere and the memory is good, yet you can't place it. a sweet ache follows as you attempt at recall.

and the color is perfect. rich, deep, ruby red, with a just pink enough tone. all glossy and gorgeous.

in fact, there's this wonderful nail color called prudence and the prune. god i loved that nail polish. it was perfect. deep red and yet a kiss of pink, it was gorgeous. and perfect. no matter the season or the outfit or the mood, it suited.

this wine is that color.

and as sips give way to a second glass, the flavor only gets deeper and rounder. it practically begs you to drink more.

and that's the magic of grenache. subtle, yet intense, definitely not coy. like a prince song liquefied and bottled and poured right into your glass.

and that's what i love most about this wine. there is a quality to it that brings one's mind elsewhere, a transportation to the decadent memories of our past, or to desires yet unfulfilled. to sunnier climes on distant shores, to more romantic pursuits if you will.

a small table street side where perhaps your language is not the native tongue but it couldn't matter less. the fluttering market umbrella above you, a warm day, perhaps a new love. or better yet, an ancient one.

the hours of an afternoon pass and you hardly have noticed. the wine makes the light just right, the sun just right, all the colors seem brighter, time stills, gazes linger...you could be a painting.

a grenache pairs well with small plates and a long meal. a little nibble of this, a nibble of that. a sip. disparate flavors that enmesh on the tongue in gastronomic consummation, you hardly notice where one stops and the other begins. the grenache finishing it off nicely to the end.

it's a slow wine meant to be adored at each sip.

i did not have the luxury of a romantic lunch al fresco while drinking this wine.

but at 2:30 on a tuesday afternoon, in the back pasture under the aspens, just a girl and a glass, well, i couldn't be happier.

the aspens whispering above me in the slightest breeze while i rest atop their roots. imagining all the while them holding hands and playing footsies below, those most connected and entertwined of trees.

this is a bottle i'd keep around if a bottle could actually survive in this house.

though, i cannot say this would be a house wine, per se. for if you've ever read one of those stories or seen one of those movies where the soul and the spirit and the innermost desire of the food and its chef bleeds into the finished product, well then you'd know why.

this is a dangerous wine, a vixen if you will, eager in its attempt to seduce you away from what you should be doing and encourage you to while away the afternoon, either avec amour or solo, watching the sun and entertaining thoughts that rarely get entertained in the workaday world.

and all the better for it.

and that's why, whether shared or appreciated alone, grenache is a date in a bottle. and this is a particularly good one if i do say so myself.

so if you haven't, try a grenache. find a sunny spot and invite a friend, or clear off the couch and put in a movie for one.

do, and you won't regret it. i guarantee you will be most satisfied either way.

just remember, you have been forewarned of the magic of grenache and of its charms. the rest is up to you.

bessos!

x.