The Beso de Vino Old Vine Garnacha 2014 (translates to kiss of wine) is sourced from 40 year old vines grown near the town of Aguarón in the Carinena DO of the Aragon Province in northeast Spain. This is a wine that you should be able to find for ten dollars or less, but it has some production methods you normally see in more expensive wine. It is fermented in oak barrels (many wines today are fermented in stainless steel tanks) and then aged for 4 months in new French oak barriques (the 225 liter barrels that are traditionally used for Bordeaux wines). New French oak barrels can cost $1000 each and are rare in under $10 wine. Carinena is one of the oldest wine regions in Spain, the Romans produced wine here more than 2000 years ago. The alcohol content is 13.5%.
The color is garnet red with an almost clear halo. The nose is black cherry, plums, Snickers chocolate with a floral edge. This is a smooth, full-flavored, medium-bodied wine. It tastes of a mix plum, raspberry and black cherry with licorice and black pepper. The mid-palate brings tart cherry and a hit of exotic spice. The tannins are smooth. The acidity is balanced and full enough for the Beso de Vino to be an excellent food wine. The finish is subtle and lengthy.
The Beso de Vino Old Vine Garnacha 2014 is a solid, no excuses bottle of wine. It is well-balanced and has an intensity to the flavor that you would expect from old vines. Do not let the cartoon bull on the label or the low price fool you, the Beso de Vino is a very good example of what a bottle of everyday Garnacha/Grenache should be. This is a wine that drinks well on its own, but as for pairing, I think sausage on the grill (with peppers and onion), steak fajitas or an Italian beef sandwich would hit the spot.
