I’d like to think that I’m not the type of hombre who is swayed by a Robert Parker score on a wine label when making my purchasing decisions. Obviously, this is nothing but a ploy to sell bottles to numbers chasers and consumers who aren’t savvy enough to have a buying strategy based on more substantial factors, like the producer’s reputation, appellation of origin, age of vines, etc.

So why in the hell did I bite on this one when I found it displayed at our friendly neighborhood Costco?!

The producer, Señorío de Barahonda, is hardly a household name, even here at Gang Central, and while we’re not exactly unfamiliar with wines from Yecla, located in southeastern Spain, neither is it way up there on our radar. And just what does “old vines” mean on a label, when no actual age is given?

Sometimes it all comes down to just being intrigued and asking one’s self, “How bad can it be for 9 bucks?”

As luck would have it, this turns out to be a pretty damned good glass of wine. A quick look around the producer’s website never did tell me just how old those vines (situated at 700 and 800 meters above sea level) actually are, but the bottom line is what’s in the bottle.

2014 Campo Arriba Old Vines Yecla by Señorío de Barahonda, 70% Monastrell, 20% Syrah and 10% Garnacha Tintorera, $14% alc., $9.99: I was concerned that this might be a fruit and oak bomb, but such is not the case. Clean and dark in color, with a nice, earthy core of plum, berry and cherry fruit, more black than red. Big, but not too ripe, and I really like its earthy disposition; the good structure should take this at least five years down the road, no sweat. This is a red meat kind o’ wine, and I’m thinking lamb all the way. It opens nicely with some air and gives pleasure with an hour in a decanter, but tannin pigs might just want to pour a glass as soon as it’s uncorked. This was aged three months in small French oak barrels, but, again, shows very little influence from that regimen. It offers great QPR (quality-price ratio) for so few dollars, which is why we keep going back for more. Find this wine

Imported by Joint Ventures, New Rochelle, NY

Reporting from Day-twah,

Bastardo

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