Grenache from Valley of Valdizarbe, Navarra, Spain

Purchase Price $14.97

James Suckling 92, Cell Tracker 85, ElsBob 88

ABV 15%

A deep purple to garnet in color wine. Medium-full bodied with aromas of black fruit and spice. More tannic than smooth, very dry and medium acidity. A modest finish that will go well with acidic foods. Not a great sipping wine.

A very good fine wine at a fair price. Current prices range from $13-17.

Trivia: Spain’s Valley of Valdizarbe is the smallest wine subzone in Navarra, covering about 920 hectares (3.6 square miles). The valley lies directly on the Camino de Santiago (Way of St. James), where medieval pilgrims and Cistercian monks helped establish and refine viticulture traditions.

Winegrowing here dates back to the 2nd century BC, when Romans cultivated vines in the fertile valley, drawn by its strategic position as a trade route linking northern Europe with the Iberian Peninsula. By the 14th century, Valdizarbe wines were being shipped as far as the North Sea and English monasteries.