Unknown Is Better

There are certain areas of the wine world that just don’t get the attention they deserve. It’s not a complaint. On the contrary, it’s a good thing. These are areas that offer up incredible wines for amazing prices. Areas like Abruzzo in Central Italy, pretty much all of Portugal and many areas of Spain are overlooked for more well-known counterparts. Abruzzo stands in the back of the line to Tuscany’s Chianti, most people only think of Portugal when they think of Port and when asked about a Spanish wine, the reply is usually Rioja. Just like Italy has more to offer than Chianti (or Barolo and Amarone) and Portugal abounds with delectable table wines, Spain’s wines are more than Rioja and its famous Tempranillo grape.

We’re headed to the northeast section of Spain in the Calatayud region where Garnacha (aka Grenache, Cannonau) is king. The Stylo Old Vines Garnacha from the Calatayud region is an exceptional wine for only 11.50. It has an intense ruby color with violet hues. The aromas are of fresh fruit and dark berries. The wine is well-balanced and offers the palate an array of flavors from start to finish. The finish is full and lingering almost giving you pause for thought. The Stylo Old Vine Garnacha is made by Bodegas Agustin Cubero, which was founded in 1953 and has maintained strong family traditions since then. The wine producers live with and pamper the vines and wines giving you an amazing product to pour in your goblet.

Mainly known as a Rhone varietal and famous for what it does to Chateauneuf-du-Pape wines, Garnacha has a long migration story. It starts in Sardinia where the Cannonau grape definitely originates and continues to Spain when Sardinia was under Aragon rule then continues northward into and over the Pyrenees and eventually westward towards the Rhone Valley – at one time or another these regions of France where also under Aragon rule. Here we are today able to enjoy a grape that has such a long history.