2008 Solaz Tempranillo Cabernet blend

 

If you’re searching for an everyday drinking wine that is bold with the fruit (but not in a overly sweet or bad way) and light on the wallet then a 2008 Solaz from the Osborne winery deserves some attention.

I want to thank my old friend Paul for planting Solaz in my head. For a long time I was drinking mainly Australian and Italian wines and rarely ventured to Spain. Paul served up a bottle of Solaz to Baharak and me and we couldn’t believe such a nice drink was sitting inside a $10 bottle. It was much better than a few we had tried at $16 to $20.

I’ll borrow an expression I read on another site, hits you with the fruit then gets you thinking about rustic scenes (paraphrasing). I guess Tempranillo’s have those earthy, leathery notes to them. I prefer the tasting thought of Rustic. More of a sense of sitting in a rustic chalet than chomping on a bit of leather. It has a lovely aroma, mainly berries. I find the structure to be quite nice, especially for the price range, and the finish doesn’t just disappear on you. Nice body, warm, noticing the oak in a very subtle way. Every sip I take is a little nicer than the last. Overall quite nice, considering this sells in the $10 – $12 range it easily goes on my Keeper list for everyday drinking. You’d be hard pressed to find better value for your money.

And knowing I have a half bottle sitting in the fridge for tomorrow night – brings a devilish grin…then again – it’s only 10:40  Party of One!

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