Thursday, March 12, 2009

How do I pronounce the name of this wine?


Seriously, I simply don't know.  I will issue an official "attaboy" or "attagirl" to whomever can tell me.  Ready?  The name is Jarrarte.  Tricky, because it's from Spain and they do funny things with "J's."  

Tonight's wine is a 2003 Jarrarte Rioja.  Found this about a year ago at Sepulveda Wine Company for about $10 a bottle.  We loved it and quickly drank through it; Rachel had to dig the internet to find it elsewhere for about $15 a bottle.  We liked it so much, we paid the extra money and thus we have some tonight.  No info on the label, so I had to do a little research which proved to be tricky.  Listed on the back is the name "Jorge Ordonez" - nothing came up about him.  In small print on the front was "Bodega Abel Mendoza" which is the actual producer of the wine - that yielded some surprising results.  I found this wine online for as much as $32!  Since I bought it for $10 originally, I feel pretty smart.  That is if this is the same wine... I found another wine with the same name, same producer, different label.  I think it may be the same wine but a "joven" (young) version.  Gotta love wine - wonderful as it is confusing.

Between the taste and reading online, seems like it's Tempranillo, I think.  Again, couldn't find information that made me certain.  Really easy drinking wine, but has some nice depth to it.  Lots of earth and dark cherry on the nose, even a bit musty, in a good way.  Taste has more of the same and some spice.  Nice finish - really polished.  Boy we like this stuff.  I doubt we'd buy it for $30 since we don't often drink wines at that price, but it's pretty darn good.

2 comments:

Brian said...

I have just consumed a bottle of exactly the same over two evenings, here in Singapore. I liked it so much that I did a quick web search to see if others had the same reaction. The first review I came across was yours, and although my palate and my wine vocabulary is not as advanced, I certainly agree about the easy drinking and the cherry (or maybe plum?). Wine is expensive here in Singapore. I bought this bottle for $44 (= about $30 USD).

Like you I have no idea how to pronounce the name, but really - who cares?!!

Amy said...

"Jorge", as he's known in the wine biz, is a major Spanish importer, actually, maybe the most well known Spanish importer in the states. He's recognized for changing the face of Spanish wine sin the US, making them more fun, more clean and less expensive!

I'm sure this a great bottle for $15 - but $44 in Singapore?? Yowzers!