I stopped by Las Anadas de Espana at Jativa 3 in Valencia to pick up some Valentines treats for my sweety.  I tell you.  I have been impressed every time I've gone in there.  The staff is always very helpful and they are always equally respectful of my price constraints.  Since it was Valentines Day, I made it clear that I wanted to buy some wine for my husband, but if I paid too much for it, he wouldn't enjoy it!  I'm always able to walk out with some 3 euro and under winners - even if they convince me to splurge for 6 or 7 euro wines occasionally. 

There were some Rioja Reservas - 1998, 2000 and 2001 for 4.95 euros - and some were from the vineyard Sonsierra.  That caught my eye because for some reason - the top search terms that lead strangers to my blog happen to be sonsierra crianza - a wine we tried and reviewed long ago. 

Last night we tried the Sonsierra vino seleccionada crianza 2001.  It was good but I honestly can't remember anything special about it.  It was a rioja - it was fairly smooth - but that's about it.   I remember thinking  - hmmm- I need to think about how to describe this.  When I love a wine- I don't need to do that.  I seem to be driven to make a note to buy it again.  But with the Sonsierra 2001 - that didn't happen.  Surpising because it's a good vineyand and 2001 was apparently a banner year. 

But lucky us - the Vegalfaro that Mitch opened today is much better in our opinion and 2 euros cheaper.  Vegalfaro cosecha 2005 for 2.95 euros.  We both loved it and will absolutely buy it again.  it.  Very well rounded.  Great tastes of cherry - I think a bit of oak.  Nice tannins.  It has Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot y Bobal grapes in it which explains why I love it.  (I prefer blends to single varietal wines)  If you can find it - try it.  I think you'll like it.  The website is www.vegalfaro.com. 

There have been lots of posts about kids activities these days and not too much about wine.  However, we did open a bottle of wine yesterday that we really enjoyed.  Castillo San Simon Crianza 2003, Jumilla Denominacion de Origen.  Made with both Tempranillo ande Monastrell grapes.  Purchased at Mercadona for 1.50€.  The label says it was from selected vines and aged in oak for 6 months as well as several more in the bottle.

I have no fancy wine terms to descirbe the wine.  It had a nice, full bodied, fruity taste with balanced tannins.  I liked it.  We first opened it around comida (main meal of day) time around 3pm (this is Spain you know) and I found it to be a bit strong.  I had some more late last night after dinner and really enjoyed it.  I imagine that it also mellowed a bit having been open. 

Mitch, my favorite wine reviewer said, upon first tasting it:  "Mmm.  Buy a case of this.  What was it - between 3 and 4 euros a bottle?"  (Note - that's pricey for us - why pay more if it's this good at 2 euros a bottle crowd)  He also said it had a lot of flavor and kind of made his tongue curl.  I think that means tannins. 

Overall - a highly recommend wine for those in the Valencian area and anyone else who can find it.

Last week I stopped by a different supermarket - DIA%  and noticed they had a substantial selection of economical wines.   I decided to move even further downmarket and try a wine for .49 centavos (.65 cents).  Castillo de Velasco - Vino de Mesa.  Extremely light - almost watery - but a pleasant enough taste.  The writing on the label was in spanish, portuguese and cyrillic.  I guess they export it to Russia.  

We have also tried the Cepa Ineo, Vino tinto crianza 2001 for 2.10€.  Valdepenas Denominacion de Origen. 100% Tempranillo aged in American oak .

The Cepa Ineo was excellent.  Very dry, nice body, well rounded, mildly complex.  We had it with a very simple dinner of breaded chicken filets and a simple salad of cucumbers, tomatoes and red pepper.  For desert we had some sort of fried, breaded banana – a Columbian desert.  Yum.  We will most definitely by this wine again.  (and probably the desert too :))

Spain apparently has more vineyards than any other country in Europe but is number three in terms of production behind Italy and France, one and two respectively.  One of the big reasons for this is that many of the vineyards on small, hence they do not have the resources to produce in bulk. 

Although the Valencian region has been producing wine for years, it is only recently that it has begun to make advances in technology with a concerted effort to increase the quality of the wines produced.  Apparently, the wines of yesteryear in this region were known to be of very high alcohol content.  I'm not aware that I've tasted any (like 18%) however, now most of them are between 12 and 13%.  

If you order a menu del dia (menu of the day) at any restaurant, the meal comes with wine.  If you are travelling throughout Spain, this can be a great way to try different wine styles.  This past weekend we visited Teruel and Albarracin in Aragon (a few hours from Valencia) and noticed that the house wine was from Carinena.  Mitch enjoyed it and wants me to be on the lookout for wines from that region to try. 

Señorio de Monteviejo, Tempranillo 2002, Tudela de Duero – Valladolid, Purchased at Opencor- 2€ - $2.60. 

From now on, I think I will post only my husband's reviews of these wines.  They are completely to the point.  Plus, let's face it, who in the world do we think we are posting reviews of 1 and 2 euro wines???  Is there a market for "the working class guide to 1 and 2 euro wines in Spain"   If so, and you are a publisher, please leave a comment and we can initiate discussions about an advance! lol

Mitch's take: 

• It needs a really big glass – (wine talk – BOLD)
• It needs meat – (wine talk – BIG – POWERFUL)
• Definitely not complex (wine talk – this wasn't that expensive was it?)

To me, in both the nose and the taste, it reminds me of a traditional, or old style rioja.   It's older than most of the wines in this price range and the taste reflects that.  It's not so in your face with berry – it's mellowed some.  But yes, it is fairly strong, and as with most wines, but especially this one, it's better with some food.  And I actually think it is a little bit complex.  It also has a very nice finish. 

It's totally worth more than the 2 € we paid for it.  Hard to say what it would go for it the states, but I think at least $10. 

If you're near an OpenCor, give it a try!

 Daniel Belda 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon – 3.95 - This wine is a winner!

First I will admit that I was surprised to see that someone had come to my blog from google by typing in the search terms wine Daniel Belda .  So tonight, as I selected a bottle to open with dinner this caught my eye.  Hmm.  Someone actually searched this wine.   Let's give it a try.  It's Saturday night, so we can enjoy the good bottle, assuming that this was our 7.45 euro bottle.  

As we tasted and compared notes, I came to the conclusion that yes, it was certainly worth the 7.45 euros, even though we can not afford to drink that sort of wine too often during our simple life here in Valencia!  This was clearly the best wine of the lot that we purchased – even though I see we have the two nicer ones to try.  

Amazing nose.  Nice complexity although I can't exactly say why.  It has a lovely finish – the tannins have softened nicely.  There is the slightest hint of earthiness which I really like.   

What?  I am shocked to discover when writing down my notes that this wine was only 3.95 euros.    A fantastic buy! 

And my husband's review?

"It's a hearty wine.  It makes me want to throw a steak on the grill.  That would definitely be a $12 bottle of wine in the states.  How much was it?" 

Me -  "3.95 euros"

Him – "Oh, so it was expensive."

Excuse me.  Who's getting way too spoiled here? 

Sonsierra Crianza 2003– 5.95 € - Rioja - Produced and bottled by Bodegas Sonsierra Coop, San Vicente de la Sonsierra, Espana, 13.5% alcohol.

I'll start with I had higher expectations.  This is perhaps one of the highest price wines we cheapos have been drinking lately.   It's definitely a nice wine.  The more I drink it the more I like it, but let's be honest, I'm not sure it's that a valid wine critique.   

Let's see.  My husband admits he seems to enjoy cheaper wine more but he's not quite sure if that's because it's young and fruity or because he feel like he's saving money by not drinking the water – that honestly – can be more expensive than the wine.

He thought this wine tasted "light."  I'm not sure I agree.  The thing is – it's a rioja – and so by nature – I sort of expected something a bit strong and possibly over-powering.   Not so this wine.  I find it to be incredibly balanced.  The clerk that helped me tried to suggest wines that were a bit more complex.  I don't think I would classify this wine as complex, but incredibly balanced should imply that it has a few different tastes mixed in there.  I'm not sure my palate is sophisticated enough to define exactly what those tastes are though.  I've used the words cherry, berry and oak plenty enough.  (You can trust that I won't make up imaginary descriptors just to sound like a wine snob.  If I say it, I truly taste it!)

My suggestion.  Open it at least an hour earlier.  It tastes best to me after 2 hours, but again, we're not sure if that is because I just poured glass number 3.  Enjoy! :)

Updated sample from the previous day's wine list. 

Castillo de Enguera Crianza 03/04 – 4.65 - Nice rich color.  Wonderful nose.  Excellent flavor.  Ripe cherry.  Just enough tingle on the tongue.  I prefer this wine to what we tasted the other day (eusebio la casta)  My husband calls it a food wine as it's a bit fuller bodied.  He prefers the Eusebio to this one.  Different tastes.  That's why there is all sorts of wine right?

This morning as I was waiting for a fabric store to open, I noticed Las Anadas de Espana across the street.  Its windows were full of yummy looking cheeses, wines and other expensive things so I decided to browse.  The wine selection looked impressive so I decided to pick out a few slightly more upscale selections for our tasting.  I declined the salesman's help at first then quickly changed my mind.  I told him I was open to trying any sorts of reds.  That I liked complex reds but the cheaper the better.  Mind you,  I expected to receive a bit of snob appeal as a reaction but instead found some genuine enthusiasm to help me find wines in the 4 euro range.  I walked away with 6 bottles for a total of 30 euros.  They ranged from 3.95 to 7.45 euros. 

Tonight we tried a Tempranillo, Eusebio la Casta, Crianza 2002 by Bodegues J. Belda.  100% tempranillo from Finca el Pla.  Aged 10 months in oak with a total of 50,000 bottles produced.  A Valencian wine and an excellent one at that!  Well rounded and balanced.  My husband tasted a bit of pepper; I did not.  It was 3.95 euros.  A bargain for the quality.   We will definitely buy this again.

 A list of the other wines purchased.  Reviews to come!  Please note that to convert to U.S. dollars, you must multiply the euro price by 1.3.

Sonsierra Crianza 2003– 5.95

Castillo de Enguera Crianza 03/04 – 4.65 - the only one I picked out on my own although the salesman said it was quite good.!

Conde Valdemar Crianza 2002 – 7.45

Daniel Belda 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon – 3.95 

Luna beberide 2005 mencia 4.55

You'll never read a review in the Wine Spectator on the really cheap wines of Spain.  But now that we're living in Spain, and living as much like Spaniards as we can, we're drinking quite a bit of wine.  On the cheap that is.  The fact that our local supermarket Mercadona sells wine for anywhere between .70 euros and up, coupled with the fact that red wine and the Mediterranean diet can lower your cholesterol, has made my husband quite the enthusiastic wine taster.  It's easy to join him as our lifestyle so far has given us the luxury of nice midday meals "comidas" and dinners "cenas" at home.   I have made a recent decision to move a bit more upscale in wines - to the 4 to 5 euros a bottle range, I hope my reviews will make it a bit easy for anyone who may be reading this blog, and in Spain, to go out a buy a decent bottle of wine with confidence. 

Chin chin - y Que aprovechen!

_{Tinto (Red)}

• _{Gran Vinedo de Hacendado, Tempranillo y Tinto – from Ciudad Real –  Decent              Purchased – Mercadona - -  Price – 1 Euro}
• _{Vega Cristina – Crianza 2003 – granite color, nice bouquet, tastes of cherry and light tannins on the tongue.  Perfectly acceptable wine for "la comida" of chicken cutlets breaded with flour, garlic and tarragon and stir fry green beans with garlic, red pepper and tomato.                                                                                                                       Purchased – Mercadona   - -  Price – 1.65 Euros}

 _Blanco

• _{Vino Blanco Rueda - Palacio Vivero – Since it's been several days since we've had this wine, I will simply say that it's the brand I buy if I want a bottle of white wine.   I think it's delicious and the equivalent of a $9 or $10 bottle of wine in the States.}

_{Purchased – Mercadona - - Price - 2.75}

 _Sparkling

• _{Pinord Reynal - Blanco Suave – Vino de Aguja  Didn't like it at all.  Drank ¼ glass – save the rest for cooking.}  

_{Purchased – Mercadona - -  Price – 2.75}