Our Valentine's evening wine this year was a red from Spain. Originally $50, we picked it up on Friday at Cork and Bottle for $19.99. Cork and Bottle has excellent clearance sales.
This yummy wine from the Ribera del Duero region is a blend of 85% Tempranillo, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Merlot. It was ruby-red in color and lightly coated the glass. On the nose, it was full of black currants, some oak, and smoky spices.
The flavor was full of blackberry jam and black currants, nicely accented by gentle tannins. The longer the wine was open, the more the darker flavors appeared, with spices, smoke, and some chocolate.
The finish was clean and left us with some lingering spices. Overall, we really enjoyed this wine. We probably could have saved it – I read that it will be at its peak in another couple of years – but why put off our enjoyment?
Our rating: 
Wine Competitions Wine Judging Weblogs Wine Book Club (WBC) Readings Whiskey Watch Wine Clubs Games Books RIP Repost Wine Maps Wine Glossary WBW #65 Web/Tech TasteCamp Marketing Uncategorized Meet the Winemaker Legislation Recipes Florida Recession Wine Holiday Greatest Hits Television Drink Pink! (BCRF) Current Affairs Photos Wine Shop Wednesday Spirits History Contests Scotch & Whiskey Mad Men Monday Disney Food and Wine Pairings Wine Tech Pop Culture Food and Drink Guest Writers Wine Blogs Entertainment Knowledge Charity Benefits Dinner and Drinks Life Special Events News Beer Cocktails Beer-Guy.net Local Wineries WBW Wine Shops Restaurants Wine Misc Travel Wine Notes Wineries Wine Events Weekly Cincinnati Wine Events Local Tastings Cincinnati