The 2011 Flaco Tempranillo is an Estate bottled wine sourced from the Arganda sub region (south east of Madrid) of the Vinos de Madrid DO, smack dab in the middle of Spain. The Madrid Do is divided into 3 sub sections, Arganda, San Martin and Navalcarnero, Tempranillo is Arganda’s specialty. If you are familiar with the Temranillo’s from Rioja, then you know that they are all about how long they were aged in oak barrels, with Crianza, Reserva and Gran Riserva. But, the Flaco Tempranillo sees no oak barrels, it is fermented and aged in large (almost 2,500 gallon) stainless steel tanks and cement tanks. This is a Tempranillo that you should be able to find for $10 or less. The alcohol content is 13.5%.
The color is ripe cherry with blue/black highlights. The nose is jammy red fruit, herbal tea and spearmint gum. This may be an under $10 wine, but there is a nice touch of complexity to the flavors. It tastes of cherries fresh from a roadside fruit stand, blackberry, not too tart cranberry and sweet spices. The mid palate brings a slight tug from the tannins (just enough to add some texture to all the fruit) and dried strawberry slices. The acidity is balanced and the finish, while a little on the subdued side, does hang around for a while.
The 2011 Flaco Tempranillo is a very solid under $10 bottle of wine. It drinks beautifully, there is a lot going on in the glass and the price is more than fair.
