Score: 85/100
This wine by Bodegas Patrocinio is made from 100% Garnacha (Grenache) grapes grown from 25 yeard-old vineyards in Rioja.
It is cold-macerated before fermentation to extract color and aromas, then fermented at a relatively low temperature (always below 24 degrees celsius) to preserve freshness and fruit character.
No oak is used here during winemaking.
Tasting Notes
This Grenache (Garnacha in Spanish) from Rioja comes in quite a dark red color, with purple hues to the rim making it look youthful (which it is, this is a 2016) and rather dense.
The nose is spicy, lifted, and fruity.
Pepper notes of black pepper dominate the first smell, it’s slightly vegetal like grape seeds but these tones fade away as you swirl and aerate the wine in your glass.
Fruity aromas of fresh cherry and purple plum then take over the aromatic profile.
Upfront fruity and lively it then clearly smells like, typical of a Grenache that tends to deliver in sunny and salivating ripe fruit characters.
The palate is soft, with smooth tannins again in a rather typical Garnacha-like fashion, also a little grippy to the finish.
Medium body with a juicy acidity make for a fresh and lively palate feel.
A burst of ripe fruit flavors is accompanied by this same pepperiness detected on the nose, but also ginger bread-like sweet spices like nutmeg that benefit from and underline at the same time the overall wine’s sweet and ripe elements.
Overall
A well-made, upfront fruity, soft and enjoyable Spanish Grenache wine, much feeling like it’s been bred to be enjoyed with grilled meats and spicy/tasty herbal dishes like barbecues and salads.
It’s fruitiness and spiciness, together with a juicy acidity will do wonders to please crowds at summery night parties where Mediterranean-like dishes are to be enjoyed with a wine that is accessible to all yet powerfully fruity and having a grippy salivating element to its finish.
Enjoy 🙂
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