I must say that when The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan has a special tasting event for its club members, it is one not to be missed.  I have to admit that I have always had a soft spot for Spanish wines, because when I was first teaching myself and learning about wines, as a student in high school, I could always afford Spanish wines, Gran Reserva wines would top out at about five dollars. 

The last of the chilled wines was Garduno Tempranillo Rosé Castilla La Mancha 2023. Garduno is a wine label by Abadia Real, which is produced by Bodegas Avelino Vegas, a winery situated in the Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y Leon region of Spain.  Established in 1950, Bodegas Avelino Vegas has a longstanding tradition of crafting wines that reflect the diverse terroir of Castilla y Leon.  Tempranillo is locally known as Tinta de Toro or Tinto Fino and is favored for its vibrant fruit flavors and balance acidity, which makes it also attractive for making rosé wines.  This wine is produced using the saignée method, where a portion of juice is bled off from the red wine fermentation to create a rosé, which gives the wine more structure and depth.  This pinkish-salmon colored wine offers notes of strawberries, raspberries, citrus and floral scents.  On the palate this medium bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of fresh red fruits, lemon zest and a short crisp finish that I found very refreshing and would be a great patio or first wine offering at a party.

The first red wine was the CVNE “Cune” Crianza Rioja DOCa 2020 from the Rioja Alta. Compania Vinicola del Norte de Espana (CVNE which from a typo became Cune) is an historic wine producer founded in 1879 near the Haro railway station and has been in the same family ever since.  They own 545 hectares of vineyards, which is about half of their production, and the balance is supplied by contract growers.  The complex has twenty-two buildings including the original premises and a separate plant designed by the Eiffel studio and completed in 1909. There has been a Crianza wine produced every year since the company was founded.  The wine is a blend of eighty-five percent Tempranillo, fifteen percent Garnacha Tinta and Mazuelo (Carignan). The fruit undergoes Initial Fermentation in temperature-controlled Stainless-Steel tanks to preserve the fruit characteristics for twelve days.  Then, the grapes are pressed, and Malolactic Fermentation takes place in the tank, afterwards the wine is aged in American Oak for one year, with an additional year in the bottle. The garnet-colored wine offered notes of cherries, raspberries, currants and vanilla.  On the palate this medium-bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of black cherry, black currants, spices and vanilla blending with supple tannins ending with a medium-count finish of fruit and spices.

The next red wine was a Sierra Cantabria Rioja Gran Reserva DOCa 2015.  Sierra Cantabria was founded in 1870 by the Eguren family and was originally known as Bodegas Eguren in the Rioja Alta district.  The winery is in the heart of the town of San Vicente de la Sonsierra. They have nineteen vineyards totaling sixty-five hectares.  The rules for Gran Reserva, the red wines must undergo a total of five years of aging with at east two years in barrel.  The wine is a blend of ninety-eight percent Tempranillo and two percent Graciano.  The fruit is hand-harvested from estate vineyards over thirty years of age and the grapes are destemmed.  The wine is aged for twenty-six months in American Oak, of which twenty-five percent is new. This dark garnet colored wine offered notes of dark cherries, blackberries, chocolate, toasted nuts, truffles, tobacco, cedar and sweet spices.  On the palate this full-bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of black cherry, blackberry, cassis, dark chocolate, cloves, and a whisper of lavender blending with silky tannins ending with a nice long-count finish of dark fruits and spices.