2011 Viña Fuerte Tempranillo Crianza

The 2011 Viña Fuerte Tempranillo Crianza is a $4.99 ALDI’s import exclusive, bottled by Bodegas Isidro Milagro using grapes grown in the La Mancha DO (a DO is similar to an AVA in California, it delineates the boundaries of a wine region and provides rules and regulations) of central Spain. La Mancha is a huge grape growing region in the center of Spain with over 450,000 acres of planted vines. Spain classifies their wines on how long the wine is aged in oak barrel and in bottle. A Crianza wine is aged for 2 years with a minimum of 6 months of that time in barrel. So what we have here is a wine that has been aged for 2 years, has importing and transport costs added into the bottom line and still costs less than 5 bucks. The alcohol content is 13%.

The color is clean, nearly completely see-thru plum red. The nose is black cherry, oak spice, plum, raspberry and a hint of mint. This is full-bodied wine with firm tannins and smooth fruit flavors. It starts with blackberry, licorice, plum and a little dark chocolate. The mid-palate adds dusty tannins and sweet cherry. The tannins are firm, but they do not bite and the acidity is well covered by the body of the wine. The finish starts off strong, then slips away.

The 2011 Viña Fuerte Tempranillo Crianza is a pretty decent 5 buck bottle of wine, in my opinion it is far better than anything 2 Buck Chuck has to offer. The only problem is, that when it comes to Spanish wine, it isn’t all that hard to find 90 point Red wines selling for under $10. So, if you need a cheap Tuesday night wine, the Viña Fuerte Tempranillo is not bad for a $5 wine, but for 3 or 4 dollars more you can find a Spanish Red that is a fine wine no matter the price.