EAST COAST PALATE

$7.50 is an amazing price to pay for the quality wine that you get from this bottle.  This blend comes from the southeast of Spain, in a region called Almansa, where in 2005 the heat was strong and the grapes ripened extremely well.  This wine consists of about 2/3 Garnacha and 1/3 Syrah.  There are some resinous dark cherry and leather components coming from the Grenache in it, while the Syrah adds some ripe plum and a peppery kick to the final product.  You can tell the wine spent some time in oak barrels, but those tannins are very well integrated with the fruit and acid it the wine, bringing a toasty cedar note into the mix.  The acidity here will put a pucker on your face, like a big swig of cran-grapefruit juice would, if you can imagine the sensation.  Early on I detected a bit of that nail-polish-remover, chemical odor (ethyl acetate) that can really screw up a wine.  But if it was a bit flawed, it wasn't to a strong enough extent to mask the great aromas, flavors, and overall balance of this red blend.  In any case, I'll be buying more of this wine, so I'll be able to compare the bottles I open in the future with the first one.  Overall I'll give this wine a solid B rating at 88 points.  I love that it matches or surpasses many of the wines in the $20-$30 range.  It is a drink-now kind of wine that bring with it many old world characteristics, and I recommend it to everyone.
I have to say thank you to Nick Henning for pointing this wine out to me at YES Organic Market in D.C.  Otherwise it could've passed under my wine radar and I would've never known what I do now.  Currently it is the wine of the month at YES, so there will be plenty in stock throughout the holiday season.  I am pumped up to know about this wine.  Tell your friends.  Share this wine at parties.  It's only 7 bucks and worth every sip.