Barca de Piedra 2008 - $13

David: Medium to dark purple in color. Nose of red fruit, smoke, wet stone, pastry bread. Medium bodied, medium acidity. Black cherry fruit, grape juice and berries. Mellow. Not too exciting but tasty enough. Typical Spanish red.
Score 3.8/5

Tres Picos Garnacha 2008 - $14

David: Deep purple/red with tints of magenta. Lovely nose of soft red fruits, vanilla bean, perfume and spice box. Dense and silky on the palate with high glycerin. Medium acidity. Cherry and berry fruit is delicious and followed with sort tannins and nice finish. Overall, very nice and a great value.

Score: 4.2/5

Urban Ribera Tinta Del Pais 2007 - $13

David: Medium purple in color. Nose of black cherry fruit and smoke and vanilla oak. Full bodied, medium acidity. Silky smooth. Cherry and berry fruit is quite delicious. Mild tannins but a pretty long finish with a little liquorish. Quite nice.
Score: 4.0/5

Bodegas Borsao Tres Picos 2008 - $12

David: Lovely, bright beet red. Nose offers up ripe red fruit, assorted berries. Exotic blend of spices, rose petal, cocoa and woody aromas. Full bodied with medium acidity. Nice berry fruit and soft but grippy tannins. More interesting aromatically but a pretty tasty wine.
Score: 4.0/5

Vina Honda Monastrell 2007 - $10

David: Medium purple red in color. Aromas of plum, cran-grape, violets. Medium bodied. Soft on the palate with medium to high acidity. Cherry and cranberry fruit. Mild tannins. Fermented in stainless steel so lacks some of that oak character that is common in these Spanish reds (for better or worse). A fairly tasty wine and good value but not especially distinctive.
Score 3.8/5

Finca Vieja Tempranillo 2009 - $6

David: Color is crimson. Nose is typical tempranillo. Red fruits, with pretty high acidity and a little spice. Not bad. Not very exciting. Not a bad value for the $6 price tag but not very memorable either.
Score: 3.5/5

Penascal Temranillo Shiraz 2006 - $7

85% Temranillo and 15% Shiraz. From northern Spain.

David: Dark crimson. Nose of ripe, tart, dark fruits. A bit of the distinctive tobacco, tempranillo smell. Vanilla oakiness and floral notes. Started out a bit tart but mellowed with time. Full bodied. Big fruit is pleasant and soft on the palate. Perhaps a little sweetness. Shiraz adds some interesting spiciness and tannins which are still mild. Enough structure to stay interesting. Another good value Spanish red.
Score: 3.9/5

Castillo de Fuendejalon Crianza 2006 - $8

A blend of 75% old vine grenache and 25% old vine tempranillo. Bottle is wrapped in paper which is interesting.

David: Dark purplish crimson. Nose of cranberry, cinnamon, a little smoke, a little minerality. Tastes like it smells: ocean spray cranberry grape juice. Tart with some sweetness. Lacks complexity and depth. A crianza, so it is oaked but not much of that coming through. Not offensive but pretty boring.
Score: 3.4/5

Dominio de Eguren Protocolo Tinto 2007 - $7

A Tempranillo from Spain.

David: Reddish purple in color. Nose of black cherry, tobacco leaf and vanilla. Medium to full bodied with medium acidity. Big raspberry and strawberry fruit is layered and delicious. Silky texture with round tannins. A little pepper on the finish which is also quite nice. A spectacular value.
Score 4.0/5

Jessica: 3.9

Vina Gormaz Tempranillo - 2009 - $9

100% Tempranillo from Ribera del Duero, 50 year old vines. Unoaked.

David: Dark purple in color. Has that distinctive Tempranillo nose; mountain berry mixed with stinkiness. Loamy soil and blackberry. Full bodied, medium acidity, concentrated ripe fruit followed by a little spiciness. Silky and mild tannins. Finish is quite long and nice. A good value.
Score: 4.0/5

Jessica: Good.
Score 3.9.

Campo Viejo Crianza 2006 - $11

David: A Crianza from Rioja. Tempranillo.

We tried the Campo Viejo Reserva before which is aged longer and cost $1 more. Color is dark crimson. Nose is red fruit but deeply bathed in a little too much vanilla scented oak. Maybe a little mintiness. Medium to full bodied with a silky texture. Lucious, sour cherry fruit on the palate with strong acidity that seems to mellow out a little with some air. Somewhat less complex overall than the Reserva which is probably worth the extra buck.
Score: 3.8/5

Jessica: No comment. Gulp. Gulp.
Score: 4.1/5

Castano Hecula Monastrell 2005 - $11

David: Crimson in color. Nose of ripe red cherry, oak, cedar. Medium to full bodied, good acidity. Huge fresh cherry fruit with smooth tannins. Darkens on the long finish with some bitter liquorish notes. Quite delicious and quite the bargain.
Score 4.2/5

Second tasting

David: Dark purling crimson in color. Nose of ripe cherry and red currant. Full bodied, medium acidity. Big cherry and blueberry fruit is very lush and tasty, a little bit sweet. Firm tannins. Fairly long and pleasant finish. Not overly complex but very likable, versatile red.
Score: 4.0/5

Cortijo Rosado 2008 - $9

Rosado is Rose from Rioja, Spain.

Equal parts Tempranillo and Garnacha.

David: Nose is similar to a high acidity white wine such as a Loire white. Dry on the palate with decent acidity and strawberry notes. Fairly good structure with a pretty long finish.
Score: 3.7/5

Jessica: I really like it but I am busy.
Score: 4.4/5

Lan Rioja Crianza 2005 - $10

100% Tempranillo. 12 month in French and American oak.

David: Light crimson in color. Nose is red currants, cherry, berries with wood characteristics such as sweet vanilla, cedar and a hint of cinnamon as well as violets. Also some earthy undertones, perhaps black tea or asphalt. Medium bodied, with good acidity throughout and some sourness giving it plenty of structure even with little or no tannins. Copious fruit on the palate. Mild spiciness. Long pleasant finish. A very tasty wine and a great value.
Score 4.2/5

Campo Viejo Reserva 2004 - $12

David: A Spanish Rioja. Color is light crimson.Nose is somewhat subdued. Some red currant and red cherry fruit. Forest floor. Cinnamon. Vanilla. Maybe hazelnut. Something resembling rubber. Full bodied and velvety smooth. Nice red fruit on the palate with good acidity balance. A little bit of sourness. Well layered as red fruits become darker with some bitterness as the wine reveals more nuances. A little bit of heat but not bad. Smooth tannins. Fairly long finish.
Score 4.1/5

Bellum Providencia 2006 - $14

David: From Senorio de Barahonda who made the Nabuko which we liked a lot and the M5 which we just thought was Ok. 100% old vine Monastrell from Yecla Spain, aged in French oak for 8 months.

Color is crimson. Not too dark. Gorgeous, big nose of black cherry, smoke, blueberry, violets and forest floor earthiness. Big fruit on the plate with pepper and good acidity. Soft tannins. Layered with black cherry turning to blueberry and finally jammy berry fruit with some bitter notes along the way. Balances wonderfully the fruity and earthiness. Finish is quite long and pleasant.
Score 4.2/5

Jessica: Strong fruits--dark cherry, plum with dark earthiness. A long finish with ample complexity. A bit of astringency hits the tongue and radiates throughout the mouth; medium tannins, on the softer side. Full-bodied and delicious. An ideal "jessica-whine" with a nice balance of fruits and mouth-puckery yumminess.
Score: 4.4/5

Venta Morales Tempranillo 2009 - $6

David: Sourced from small vineyards with low yields in La Mancha of Don Quixote. Outrageous color. Bright magenta, the color of beets. Appears unfiltered. Nose is a little strange. Berries with copious amounts of vanilla. Also some orange peel, cinnamon, dried herbs and loamy soil character. A little stinky. Palate displays mulberry and raspberry fruits. Decent acidity. Fairly strong tannins with pretty good structure. Overall, a little hard to get past the nose. Has some good qualities but not really to my liking.
Score: 3.2/5

La Mano Roble Mencia 2007 - $8

David: From the Bierzo wine region of Spain and made from Mencia grapes like the Flavium we tried a month ago. Garnet in color tending towards purple. Nose indicates berries and some generalized earthiness. Soft on the palate, mild acidity and soft, round tannins. Blueberry notes dominate with only a little followup from spices. Overall, seems to lack backbone and is unexciting to drink without being offensive in any way.
Score: 3.1/5

Jessica: This wine really surprised me in how uninspired it seemed. I had larger expectations and felt it fell flat. Literally. There was no large bouquet or substantial variety of fruits. There was a mild tannins and enough puckeryness that it almost felt like it was trying to be an impostor of a better wine. Dark fruits were apparent as well as some earthiness, but again without a lot of complexity to make it interesting.
3/5

Vinos Sin-Ley M5 Monastrell 2007 - Spain - $14

David: Ruby red in color. Nose indicates dark fruit and some earthy tones such as pencil lead. Raspberries on the palate turns spicy fairly quickly but not overpowering. Finishes long with perhaps a bit of liquorish lingering in the mouth.
Score: 3.9/5

Jessica: Spicy. Not especially distinctive. Puckery, bitter, strong tannins. Lacks complexity and depth, falls flat upon palet.
3.8/5

Borsao Tinto 2008 - Grenache, Tempranillo Blend - $9

David: 80% Grenache and 20% Tempranillo. Color is purple/red. Nose of dried herbs, earthy tones and cherry. Pencil lead perhaps. Medium bodied. Cherry and berry notes with medium acidity, some tannins follow with some residual spiciness. Comes off a little flat but eemed to improve on further glasses. Nice with duck and wild rice.
Score: 3.7

Jessica: Simple, vanilla and fruit tastes sweet on the tongue.
Score: 4/5