Ijalba, Graciano, Rioja, 2005. I just couldn't figure out what this wine was. I tasted it blind of course and it had moderate acid, moderate to low tannin, was super fruity, like jammy strawberry and raspberry fruit and the color super dark. And so I thought maybe Grenache - but where would Grenache like that be from in the Old World? Priorat? But it didn't have the alcohol of Priorat.
I got frustrated, Peter said, just guess the region, not the grape and I said, how in the hell can I guess the region without knowing the grape? And the winemaking didn't help either. No oak, all tank, making it primary fruit central, so it could be from anywhere! Finally I settled on Grenache / Syrah blend from Languedoc.
Regardless it was lovely little wine, perfect for holiday cheer (it looks like it's been gift wrapped already) and I shouldn't hold my failures at blind tasting against it.
Domaine LA around $20.
