Sangre de Toro 2007

This wine comes from Spain as it is obvious from the bottle and the name (de Toro - bull in English). Deep ruby colour with a hint of ochre. Rich complex Mediterranean aromas with exuberant notes of spices and blackberries. Velvety tannins are noted on the palate with elegant flavours of small dark forest fruits (blueberries and blackcurrants).

I loved this wine. It does remind me of my trip to Barcelona long time ago when I tried Sangria for the first time. Sangre de Toro has a very similar taste! Naturally, it goes well with all kinds of tapas. I would recommend it for a cosy night-in with a Spanish dinner.

I will also give credit for the interesting story on the bottle label of the wine. I was pleased to learn that the name is inspired by Bacchus, Roman God of wine, known in ancient time as the " Son of the Bull". Now I know why my favorite wine magazine is called Bacchus.

Freixenet Carta Nevada Seco

Carta Nevada is a dry sparkling wine from Spain. It is a blend of three white Spanish grape varieties called Macabeo (33%), Xarello (33%) and Parellada (33%) and combines fruity taste with robust and high-acid taste. Sparkling and tasty, it is perfect for a festive evening. In Google I also found a semi-dry version, which I intend to try soon.

It is interesting to mention that Cava is the Spanish sparkling wine equivalent to France's Champagne, as they state in Freiexent's website. Freixenet is one of the the oldest and largest Cava producers in Spain, starting in 1914 by Pere Ferrer Bosch and became a family business and now, almost 100 year later the Freixenet Group is still family owned. Actually, it turns out most wineries worldwide are family owned. I am sure it needs a lot of love and devotion to build a successful winery brand and no surprise a family is able to achieve it.

Riscal Tempranillo 2006

Last weekend we had a small bottle of the Spanish Riscal in a Japanese restaurant (in the accompanying picture you can see the wonderful desert we had from green tea biscuits).

The wine itself had a dark colour and very deep, harmonious taste. Tempranillo variety is smooth and tannic. I also loved the finishing and it went very well with our Japanese dinner.The wine is from the Castilla y Leon region in Spain and costs about 15 Euro. I have to say it is a very good value for money for the quality and definitely goes into my favourites.

Gran Feudo Crianza - Tempranillo & Garnacha & Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

This is the first Spanish wine in the blog. Although old (vintage 2005) the taste of the wine is rather light and fruity. The smell is also nice and warm. The colour of the wine is dark red with violette shades.

A little history - the wine is produced in a family vineyard founded in the distant 1647 year. The business has been transferred from father to son, to become one of the famous wines in the Navara region in Spain nowadays.

The red bottle neck of the bottle is catchy and wine has this mysterious Spanish touch. It is great wine for a casual evening, but I wouldn't recommend it for a special occasion.