I bought this wine as part of a mixed case from Flagship Wines. I asked them to send me “something different” and this was one of their interesting choices – right on the money.

It cost just over £10, so a fair amount for proper experimentation, and its main grape is Tintilla de Rota which I gather is a local variant of Rioja’s Graciano grape, so again a little unusual but relevant to me in particular.

Do check this wine out!

Barbazul 2008
produced by Huerta de Albalá in Cadiz, Spain
Note: Dark fruit (is it cassis?) but also a hint of something vegetal & animal on the nose, and a noticeable spirity quality – it shows its alcohol! The wine is bright and medium bodied, combining that blackcurrant with some sharper red currant and later opened up to show some rose petal/flowery notes, but again the alcohol seems to show up like a noisy guest in an otherwise very civilized party.

It’s a party that finishes with a pleasant, warm glow but also slightly haunting memories of those vegetal notes and even a hint of menthol.

A good wine, something different to explore, but probably needs to age a bit and be drunk in the right circumstances, slightly cooler than I had it.
(Tasted on September 6, 2010)