2004 Vega Sindoa Cabernet Sauvignon/Tempranillo

We used to drink this wine quite a bit a while back. In fact I’d say we got into something of a “wine rut” with this where I would just buy a few bottles of this and drink it as our “house wine.” It’s been quite a while, and I noticed a positive review in Wine Spectator so I thought it would be fun to give it another shot. This one goes for $8.

Plum, oak, and anise on the nose.

This one needs time to open...I’m going to say at least two hours. Smokey oak, earth, cedar, fairly strong tannins, lots of interesting herbs, and perhaps some raspberry. The tempranillo does come through giving this a distinctly Spanish taste.

The finish brings out some wood - oak and cedar - notes but fade fairly fast.

We only had a glass each when we opened it, so we had the rest of the bottle the next day: The tannins have smoothed out and a fair amount of fruit has come forward. Cherry, blackberry, some herbal notes.

An interesting, complex, and bold wine that is almost unheard of at this price. I’d almost say this is better on the second day. I doubt you’d do better for under $10.

2003 La Legua

La Legua is a Spanish wine made of 96% Temparnillo and 4% Garnacha. Temparnillo is a common Spanish varietal that I don't think I've ever seen in a wine made outside of Spain. I rarely enjoy wines with so much of that varietal, put 60% Cabernet Sauvignon with 40% Temparnillo and we're talking. It was $9 and I felt like something different so I grabbed a bottle.

I get very little on the nose. There seems to be some fruit there, perhaps plums, but it's in the background. Fran gets earth and must, which I'm going to agree on--it just smells like earth.

Taste wise, I get some spice, pepper almost, as well as your standard fruit. It's a rather interesting wine, amazingly complex for the price (actually, there are a lot of very cheap and fantastic Spanish wines floating around). Something like this from California would easily be double the price.

It's a smooth wine with a fair amount going on, but I just can't put my finger on most of it. I'm very used to the "big" reds--Pinot Noir, Cab, Zin, Merlot...so something like this is a challenge. There's cherries but there's also spice...almost like a mild Syrah. Fran gets currants.

This is an outstanding wine---we're two people who generally don't like Temparnillo, and we like this, quite a bit in fact. I'd buy it again without hesitation.