I just moved to Seattle, WA. In a fit to get out of the biggest little city I took the certified exam in Seattle, fell in love, packed the car with my partner and the kitty cat and moved! Now, barely settled, we are tasting some grocery store bargain wines to see how low my palate will go!
Borsao 2008 red wine. $6-7 USD. 75% Garnacha 25% Tempranillo
Sight: Dark Ruby-Purple with hibiscus pink rim, bright with light just passing through center of liquid, little to no rim variation
Aroma: clean with red cherry, lemon-orange citrus, slight vanilla characteristics, candied plum and a feint smell of tar oil
Palate: Watermelon jollyrancher, maraschino cherry & tar, candied orange rind, citrus notes
Wood: slight vanilla notes, perhaps 4 months in american oak or oak chips
Earth: Tar, Dried Clay
Tannins: light, mostly grape tannins,
Complexity: Minus, this is a simple one-note wine with low complexity but no major "off" notes.
Summary: Borsao, for $7 is exactly what $7 wine should be: simple, fruity, and not cloying or harsh. I wish I could get lucky like this with all my under 10 dollar wines.
Food Pairing: Tonight I made a eggplant basil dish with long beans over jasmine rice. The sweetness from the caramelizing of the sugar on the eggplant matched rather well with the citrus flavors in the garnacha. The green crunchy character of the long beans helped lighten up the oily finish of the wine. A late harvest torrontes would have been a perfect pairing....
