Spanish Panarozz pleases any palate
The Spanish keep cranking out delicious drinking wines for less than $10, which is remarkable given that they are produced in a Euro-based economy.
Jumilla is a hot winemaking region in Spain and they use mainly "classic" Spanish grape varietals such as monastrell and garnacha. This Panarroz (meaning quite simply "bread rice") is a wine that is the result of a collaboration between American importer Dan Kravitz and Bodegas Olivares, one of Spain's top wineries.
It is an easy to understand wine that will please any palate. Panarroz also represents the great potential coming out of southern Spain right now.
In the glass, Panarroz is a deep opaque garnet-red color with streaks of blood red going out into a tinged-red rim with medium-high viscosity.
On the nose, there is quite restrained but warm crushed black and red berry fruit notes with concentrate of cranberry, extract of wild cherries, then vanilla and oak references, licorice root, earthy minerals and hints of white pepper and roasted meat.
In the mouth, the wine fills every nook and cranny with lovely concentrated crushed black cherries, huckleberry juice and stewed cranberries. It coats the palate with revealing layers of ripe dark fruit, subtle oak references and soft, supple tannins that carry through the balanced, tasty midpalate. The finish is very nice with lingering black and red fruit references, hints of peppers and touches of spice at the end.
Panarroz should drink well during the next two to four years and be perfect with grilled swordfish.
Wine: Panarroz Jumilla
Grapes: Monastrell (42 percent), garnacha (38 percent), syrah (20 percent)
Region: Jumilla, Spain
Vintage: 2005
Price: $9.99
Gil Lempert-Schwarz's wine column appears Wednesdays. Write him at P.O. Box 50749, Henderson, NV 89016-0749, or e-mail him at gil@winevegas.com.
