2008 Vina Borgia

2008 Vina Borgia - Campo de Borja, Spain $8. The first wine to make two appearances on The Report. And there is common reason why, I can consistently looking for good value, and estate wines (which this is). For the money this wine is excellent, it is 100% Grenacha from the Bodegas Borsao, a bodega that consistently comes through with solid grenache, tempranillo, and blends. This is the 4th vintage I've had of this wine. It is one dimensional on the nose, on the palate the wine is somewhere in between medium and full bodied. It is a dry wine with a little bit of tannins on the finish, which I like, often in wines of this price range they are too soft and bland, not this one. It is a basic wine but what it does it does well. It would go well with dark meats. It is also no surprise that this is a Jorge Ordonez selection, I go to J. O. selection wines often especially when I'm on a budget (or broke however you like to call it). I recommend this wine as an everyday solid wine, you can sip it on its own or enjoy it with dinner.

2006 Barco Negro

2006 Barco Negro - Duoro, Portugal $11 This is a wine that breaks the mold, tastes good and is very reasonably priced. The Barco Negro hails from the Duoro region in Portugal, an area that until recently was most known for the production of Port wine. Within the last few years an increasing number of table wines have begun to emerge from the area, a trend that will continue and increase. It makes sense, the Duoro has been growing grapes for hundreds of years and the area has plenty of expertise and resources to make good wine thanks to the Port industry. The 2006 Barco Negro is comprised of 30% Tinta Roriz ( in Spain it's called Tempranillo), 30% Touriga Franca, and 40% Touriga Nacional, grapes that are typically found in Port wine. It is a deep dark wine with a pleasant nose, and a dark full taste. There is a bit of complexity to this wine that is not usually found in wine for $11. I definitely like this wine and recommend it, but only for red wine drinkers. White wine drinkers would find it a bit to big and heavy, but I recommend at least tasting everything that you can. I got this particular wine at World Market.

2005 Trentadue Old Patch Red

2005 Trentadue Old Patch Red -$13 Sonoma, CA
Greetings from Cali. This is the first wine I've bought since moving here so it had to be from Cali. Sonoma is close enough, I would've preferred starting with a Napa wine but there isn't any good Napa wine for $13 but Sonoma is coming through in the clutch. This wine is an interesting blend from Trentadue, evidently it is very popular, this is the first time I've had it, but I agree it is very good. The blend is based on zinfandel with some petite sirah, carignane, and a bit of syrah. The blend changes slightly every vintage but the basic idea is mostly zinfandel, then petite sirah and carignane. They call this a bistro wine, I'm not exactly sure what that means so I guess I like bistro wine or at least this one. This wine is distinctly Californian, you won't find a blend like this from anywhere but Cali. It is a rich, smooth, fairly big wine. It starts off juicy, then peppery, with a dry finish that lasts. And it's got a screwtop, which is a very good thing. People out here in California are crazy, they like to pay a lot of money for California wine. The pride in the local wine is understandable because it is generally very good but the prices are ridiculous, it's hard to find a wine this good for this price. I highly recommend this wine. If you can get the '05 good, but they make this every year and it seems like the vintages are pretty consistent so if you find a different vintage I would still try it.