Tasting - Don Ramon Tinto

Name: Don Ramon Tinto
Variety: 75% Grenache, 25% Tempranillo
Region: Campo De Borja
Country: Spain
Year: None Given
Price: $7.95

Critic Review: 75% Grenache, 25% Tempranillo. Aged 3 months in American Oak
casks. Ruby red in color, with creamy aromas of earth and cherry.
Flavor turns toward deeper and darker black cherry and raspberry
on a medium framework. A subtle earthiness underneath the bright
fruit adds some depth and complexity.

My Review: This wine had a very interesting smell of charcoal mixed with cherries.  It smelled like barbequed fruit.  It had an earthy taste with a smoky aftertaste.  After the first taste, the aroma became more fruity and less smoky.  I did not try this wine with food.

Tasting - Resonata Nero D'Avola

Name: Resonata Nero D'Avola
Variety:Nero D'Avola
Region:Sicily
Country: Italy
Year: 2010
Price: $6.95

Critic Review: Dense ruby red with violet reflections.
Lush and ripe bouquet full of mulberries, blackberries and spice.
Harmonious and well balanced with good berry fruit in a spicy
background.

My Review: This wine had a dark cherry color and smelled like raspberries and cranberries.  It tasted spicy and a little hot, with a bitter aftertaste.  It was very full bodied.  I didn't taste this wine with food.

Tasting - Protocolo Blanc

Name: Protocolo Blanc
Variety: White Blend: 70% Airen and 30% Macabeo
Region: San Vicente de la Sonsierra and Laguardia
Country: Spain
Year: 2009
Price: $6.95

Critic Review: 87 Points, Stephan Tanzer
Greenish gold. Subtle aromas of mint, lemon and orange, with a hint of honeysuckle. Dry, understated and focused, offering clean citrus and melon flavors and slow-building sweetness. Finishes
dry and brisk, with an echo of lemon. As usual, this is an outstanding value.

My Review:  This wine had a greenish yellow coloring, with a citrus aroma.  It was mostly dry, but with a slightly sweet finish.  It was very light in body, but I could detect a hint of hotness coming through. I did not try this wine with food.

Tasting - Santola Vinho Verde

Name: Santola Vinho Verde
Variety: White Blend
Region: Minho
Country: Portugal
Year: None given
Price: $7.95

Critic Review:  Soft and creamy, although with just the right Vinho Verde bite, this
is a crisp and clean wine, boasting light pear and pink grapefruit
flavors. Off dry and very fresh.

My Review: This wine had a sweet aroma of pear and apple.  It was very acidic, but creamy at the same time.  I didn't get too many flavors out of it, it tasted mostly of apple.  I did not try this wine with food.

Tasting - Castano Monastrell

Name: Castano Monastrell
Variety: Monastrell
Region: Yecla
Country: Spain
Year: 2009
Price: $8.00

Critic Review: Bodegas Castano's 2009 Monastrell was aged for 6 months in neutral French oak. Produced entirely from estate fruit and now bottled in screw-cap for the USA market, it is a dark ruby-colored wine with a fragrant nose of underbrush, blueberry, and plum. Super-juicy on the palate and densely packed, this is a pleasure-bent effort for drinking over the next 2-3 years. " 88 - points The Wine Advocate.

My Review: This wine smelled like dried cherries, currants and a little bit like cranberries.  It was very dark in color.  The taste was yeasty and little like cherries with a bitter slightly oak-flavored aftertaste. It was full bodied with a blast of flavor initially. I did not try this wine with food. 

Tasting - Into Zin Zinfandel

Name: Into Zin Zinfandel
Variety: Zinfandel
Region: Lodi, California
Country: U.S.
Year: 2008
Price: $7.95

Critic Review: Spicy, jammy, ripe round plum with juicy soft finish. Goes well with marsala chicken, peppered steak or broiled lamb shank.

My Review: I haven't tried very many types of red wines before but this zinfandel is the first one that I've tried that I actually liked.  It was the color of cherry juice and smelled of strawberry jam initially.  It was creamy and soft to taste.  After the first taste the aroma changed to a creamier smell, almost like strawberry jam mixed with butter.  It had an oak finish.  I didn't taste this wine with food.

Tasting - Tres Ojos Garnacha Tempranillo Rose

Name: Tres Ojos Garnacha Tempranillo Rose
Variety: Blend  of Tempranillo and Garacha
Region: Calatayud
Country: Spain
Year: 2010
Price: $5.95

Critic Review: A 50-50 blend of Tempranillo and Garacha, this medium rose-colored rosado boasts a spicy red cherry/plum nose with a soft lush attack of red berry fruit flavors and a crisp dry finish. Simple and refreshing and a natural for tapas.

My Review:  This wine did not smell very good to me. It had an unpleasant spicy aroma.  It was also a little too dry for my taste.  However, it did have a nice cherry mid palate.  The finish tasted of raspberries mixed with straw. I didn't taste this wine with food.