Last year for my birthday, MLEIV got me a case of wine. It was chosen by a wine merchant who was recommended by the best sommelier I've found (Jeff at the now-closed Cascadia Restaurant). The wine merchant put together a case of wine where each bottle represented something interesting and new.

Some were fabulous finds, others were not-so-good. But it was an amazing experience, over the next year, to try them, take notes, and expand my wine-understanding.

I thought it might be a good way to keep track of what I liked by posting notes here.

The first one I tried is a Spanish version of Grenache (Garnacha) from a winery in Calatayud in the Aragon region called Las Rocas de San Alejandro.

Grenache is one of the most widely grown grapes in the world, but is usually mixed with other grapes rather than being on its own. Since most American wines are single grapes, it doesn't show up here much at all. I have had some Grenache-heavy mixes before and liked it, so I was excited for this one.

It did not disappoint.

It had a a bit of apple, and green pepper, and blackberry. I'm not a real wine expert, but those are the aromas I noticed.

If you like red wine in general, this is something you should definitely try.

9 out of 10 winos.