Castano - 2006 Yecla Monastrell

When I was a little boy, I would occasionally cook tacos for my family from the Ortega kit. It was so easy that even as a kid I could do it successfully, and this experience was seminal in my lifelong love of food and cooking. It is slightly embarrassing to admit that, on occasion, I still make tacos in the much same style.

Tonight was such an occasion. I couldn't decide what to make for dinner, and kept putting off the decision until it was too late to do anything the least bit elaborate. While Jenny was running on her treadmill, I ran to Metro Market for groceries.

I buy taco seasoning in bulk from Penzeys and add onion, garlic and a bit of tomato paste, so the filling is somewhat better than the Ortega seasoning packet, but little else has changed from my youth: grated cheddar cheese, shredded lettuce, La Victoria taco sauce, and Ortega hard taco shells warmed in the oven.

While at Metro Market I picked a random, cheap bottle of red ($8.50 as I recall). Yecla is a DO located in eastern Spain that produces wines primarily from the Monastrell grape. Monastrell wines are typically high in alcohol and low in acid, and the Wine Lover's Companion says that they tend to be heavy and dry.

This bottle matches that description to a tee. With little acidity, this wine hits your tongue with a dull thud. It was barely up to accompanying the humble tacos I'd prepared for dinner. I won't be buying more.

La Badiane - 2004 Coteaux Varois

Coteaux Varois is a large VDQS in France's Provence region. Many different varietals are grown there, but I suspect that the La Badiane is primarily of Carignan, which is noted for being high in alcohol and tannins. This wine is also rather spicy, another Carignan characteristic.

Jenny liked it a lot, but I wasn't a fan of the tight tannins and lack of acidity. The La Badiane is a mixed bag. $10 at McCarthy and Schiering.

Domaine La Croix Belle - 2006 le Champ du Coq

This is a Syrah/Grenache blend which, according to the back of the bottle, is a vin de pays (country wine) from the Cotes de Thoungue region of France.

The syrah component comes through very strongly. It is tannic, and has intense dark fruit flavors I associate with syrah. It has a funny scent on the nose that I couldn't quite place. I described it as vaguely chemically at first, though after consulting The Wine Lover's Companion, it might be "tar," a positive term associated with young syrahs which are said to sometimes smell of hot tar.

Moderately priced ($12 I think, but I've lost the price tag), from McCarthy and Schiering. I liked it, and would buy it again, though I would reserve it for dinners where I was serving something with huge umami flavors.

Cave Des Onze Communes - 2006 Torrette Vallee de Aoste

Valle d'Aosta is Italy's smallest DOC, in the northwestern part of the country, bordering France and Switzerland. The area is officially bilingual, hence the French spelling on the bottle. Torrette is one of the seven subregions. Many red wine grapes are grown in this region, but this site indicates that the Cave Des Onze Communes Torrette is made from Petite Rouge.

Jenny and I both liked this wine a lot. We both get a strong cherry flavor, and I get a slight tinge of banana. Well worth the $12 it'll cost you at McCarthy and Schiering.

2007 Domaine De Couron Voigner

My 1995 edition of the wine lover's companion says "low yield and vineyard diseases make Viognier wines extremely difficult to find." Well, things seem to have changed in the ensuing twenty years -- I see Viognier based wines all the time nowadays.

That said, to date I've only had new world Viogniers, and they are much wimpier than this bottle. It's intensely floral on the nose and is very sweet, tasting of pears and honey on the palate. I served it with roast chicken with root vegetables (it's already feeling a bit like fall here in seattle, sadly). I would have liked a bit more acidity, to cut through the rich flavors of the roasted vegetables, but it was quite enjoyable. It would be a great with a light summer meal of cheese, olives, bread and a green salad.

$12 at McCarthy and Schiering.