The other day I walked into a wine store, one that I have walked past several times but never entered. From the outside it looks pretentious and intimidating; the sort of place where snobs gather for expensive tasting classes to learn how to discuss the abstract details of one of those bottles of Chateau du Blah-Blah.
I wandered the bottles until the clerk eventually offered me a recommendation, prompting me to explain that I was only looking. I had already spent my weekly wine allowance on a rather uninspiring bottle of bordeaux, for which I had had high hopes.
Finding a great bottle - a hidden gem - for under $10 (including tax) is sometimes like panning for gold, especially in a small independent wine shop that isn't going to get great deals because buying in huge quantities isn't always possible. Sometimes you need a prospector who knows the lay of the land to aim you in the right direction, so I asked the clerk what he would buy if he only had a ten dollar bill in his pocket, and he took me right to the Tres Ojos old vine garnacha, for $8.95
Now, an old vine anything for under $20 in my book is usually a waste of time and money, but he told me that while he himself hadn't tried it, the owner of the store instructed him to take anyone on a budget to this bottle, saying that it was the best bottle he had ever had for the buck.
No truer words have ever been spoken.
Color: A rich, dark garnet color coats the inside of the glass, allowing through little glints of distant light refracting up the glasses stem, releasing a mysterious glimmer, the way a gem only hints at its own sparkle.
A quick swirl to release the bouquet leaves a high tide mark where the syrupy juice holds for a moment before forming into tightly defined, sticky drips. As the legs very slowly make their decent, they offer an idea as to the wine's concentration, the same way that a simple wink allows another person to infer an unsaid truth.
On the nose: I think of milk chocolate cherry cordials, the kind that dribble into an anticipated sticky mess the moment you bite. The cherry notes are only muted by the spice - nutmeg I think - and bringing up the rear is a soft layer of mineral. This is a big, jammy nose, with lots to find if you're so incline to keep the glass to your face like an oxygen mask.
The first sip: Red, hard candy, like the flavor of a cherry Jolly Rancher, but without the sugary sweet. As the wine falls across your palate and warms, it releases all of these flavors - layering one after the next - from cassis to clove, to tobacco, then cinnamon and pepper.
The spices come alive as the tannins kick in. A walnut bitter coats your tongue like an electric blanket and warms all your senses. The mouth feel of the juice itself is quite silky, and as you're realizing this your cheeks become coated with the bitter tackiness of the tannins - and then your gums.
Don't be afraid of this creeping tannic sensation. For a moment you think it's going to be a bit too much, but like dripping candle wax onto your hand, you quickly begin to enjoy defying the sting.
The finish: As the wine reaches the back of your throat and starts to fall, there's the feeling of a cartoon fuse sizzling towards a skyrocket. Just out of sight the fuse catches up with the wine and there's an explosion of heat that falls with a warming sensation down the back of your throat, complete with the sting of juicy firework flares cascading into darkness.
The lingering tannins cling to your gums and your cheeks, and make your tongue feel like sandpaper, but it all licks away clean and you instantly want another sip of the bold, jammy beast.
Tres Ojos is 100% Garnacha from 40 - 50 year old non-irrigated vines.
The older the vine, the less fruit it produces, but the fruit it does produce is more concentrated. Another factor in the concentration of the juice is lack of water. When the vine has to work to nourish the fruit, you taste more of the surrounding soil and less of the water.
Pairing:
You might think I'm crazy: eggs. An egg salad sandwich for lunch with a glass of Tres Ojos would be decadent. I'll also suggest the obvious: a rich, hearty beef stew; mushroom risotto; a grilled steak burrito with lots of guacamole and salsa. For something lighter, consider a salad with tomatoes, feta and mandarin orange slices dressed with olive oil and sea salt. Cheeses: Maytag blue cheese - an Iowa blue that you can probably find at any Whole Foods. Dessert: Black forrest cake; freshly sliced mango; butter pecan ice cream.
No comments:
Post a Comment