Fast Facts:
- 2018 Esteban-Martín Garnacha-Syrah-Tempranillo, Cariñena, Spain ($6.99* @ Costco, California – Item # 1008816)
*price shown is net of $5 in store discount
Long term readers (thank you!) will recognize the Esteban-Martín name as we have reviewed two prior vintages of their Garnacha Syrah blend. Our wine of the week is a GS+T! It is a work horse blend that over delivers on QPR. Best of all, it is marked way down to $6.99, further amping up the ROWI, or return on wine investment.
A little history about the winery: in 1985 Miguel Antonio Esteban decided to purchase 150 hectares of vineyard on the best land in the Cariñena region. He continued to add plots of land and decided to build his own winery in 2003. It graces the label you see in the photos here. Today the winery has some 400 hectares of land under vines and the day to day operations of the business involves three generations of the family.
Tasting Notes:
Pours a dark-garnet color. The nose is full of dark berries and black olive tapenade. It’s juicy on the palate, with flavors of black cherry and blackberry joined by notes of thyme, black pepper and roasted fennel. Tannins fade into a finish of orange zest and rose petal. Would pair really well with roasted and grilled red meats and game as well as with pastas with red sauce and charcuterie. ABV is 14.5%.
Front label of the 2018 Esteban-Martín Garnacha-Syrah-Tempranillo.
The Cariñena wine region sits in the Ebro Valley upon one its vast plains. Rocks and pebbles abound and, fittingly, wines are known locally as “el vino de las piedras”, or ‘wine of the rocks’. It is one of the oldest demarcated appellations in Europe having been awarded DO status in 1932.
The majority of Cariñena’s vineyards are located at relatively high altitudes, between 400 and 800 meters (1,300 to 2,600 ft). They are scattered along the plains of the Ebro River, extending all the way up to the slopes of the Sierra de Algairén mountain range to the west.
The region’s climate is decidedly continental, with extreme seasonal and daily temperature variations, although a cold northerly wind – the Cierzo – helps to moderate summer temperatures and keep humidity low. This, along with the diurnal temperature variation, assists in imparting characteristic intensity to the local grapes including the dominant Garnacha, which thrives here.
Need More Wine Picks from Trader Joe’s – or Costco?
If your search for this wine lands you in Trader Joe’s, take along our handy Lucky 13 list of TJ’s wine here.
And if your wine shopping excursions land you in Costco, prepare by grazing our most recent reviews of Costco wines here in our Lucky 13 list.
Cheers!
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