Wine Review - Mas de Caralt

Label: Mas de Caralt
Vintage: 2003
Type: Tempranillo
Country: Spain
Region: Penedes

I picked up this bottle about a year ago, and finally opened it up tonight. When I first opened the bottle I could smell a pleasant, fruity aroma. It smelled a lot like one of my favorite wines, in part because the Tempranillo grape is part of the blend. I am a huge Tempranillo fan. I let my wife smell the bottle too, even though she is not a red wine person. She thought it smelled pretty good.

When I swirled my glass I was able to see it had some pretty good legs on it. Not too thick, but definitely enough to notice. The taste followed the smell, and I could pick up the fruit pretty clearly. The next test was to put it together with my steak, and it worked perfectly.

I had a grilled 18 ounce New York Strip, with sauteed mushrooms and onions. My wife sauteed them with olive oil and butter, and once the mushrooms had a nice crust, added some salt and some of the red wine. Add some garlic bread and some jalepeno corn, and my meal was complete. The corn recipe involves a fresh jalapeno pepper, white corn, and cream cheese. I was a little nervous that the cream cheese would throw off the taste of the wine, but it worked out.

The bottle says that the wine includes Penedes, Tempranillo, Granache, and Monastrell grapes, and it is aged in oak. It says to expect fresh berries with floral notes, and describes it as smooth and silky. I think the bottle was not exaggerating here. My above description seems to fit with the one from the bottle. I always look at the bottle after the tasting, so it won't influence my interpretation.

If you are looking for a decent table wine, I recommend the Mas de Caralt. Beverages and More (BevMo) sells it for about $5, so it is a really good wine for the price. I think they only sell the 2006 now, but I am sure it will be just as good.