Slow Paseo Spanish Red

Wine: Slow Paseo Spanish Red.

Grapes: tempranillo (90 percent), tinto rojo (10 percent)

Region: Valencia, Spain

Vintage: 2010

Price: $5.99

In the glass: Slow Paseo wine is a deep crimson-red color with a semi-opaque ruby core going out into a fine fuchsia-pinkish rim definition with medium-high viscosity.

On the nose: There's a fair bit of raspberry coulis right off the bat with cranberry crush, pomegranate seeds and milk chocolate wafers, then notes of aged wood, sherry and fruity minerals, as well as green herbs.

On the palate: This medium-bodied wine is supple and chewy with rich black fruits all over it. Early notes of black cherry vodka "blow off" and render a spice-laden fruit bomb with soft-core huckleberries, marionberries and black plums. The midpalate, while not terribly complex, shows finely balanced tannins interlaced with oak references and good acidity, taking it through to a good spice and mineral-rich finish.

Odds and ends: Brought to market by the mysterious and enigmatic Latitude Wines, Slow Paseo comes from 100 percent organic vineyards near the city of Valencia. Not only are the vineyards certified organic, but the grapes are as well, and this highlights one of the stigmas associated with organically grown grapes. In the United States you can have an organic wine grown in organic soil, but where the actual grapes have been sprayed with either pesticides or herbicides. In Europe, organic means all the way with both soil and grapes, while another level exists that is even stricter, called Biodynamic, and requires the hard-to-get Demeter certification.

While Slow Paseo doesn't quite have that, we can feel good about drinking this and contributing to the protection of the environment in a roundabout sort of way. Slow Paseo, by the way, literally means a slow stroll, probably the kind the Spanish favor after a nice meal, a not altogether crazy idea. It is a Trader Joe's exclusive, so that's where you'll find it. Try it with a grilled tri-tip roast sliced and served on a bed of roasted red peppers. Drink it now through 2014.

Gil Lempert-Schwarz's wine column appears Wednesdays. Write him at P.O. Box 50749, Henderson, NV 89106-0749, or email him at gil@winevegas.com.