Wine of the week: Volteo Tempranillo 2008

The search goes on for a replacement for Osborne Solaz.

The Volteo ($8, purchased) comes close, and not just because it's imported by the company that used to bring Solaz into the United States. In this, there are four other Volteo wines -- a white, a rose, and two red blends.

It comes close because it is a solid, well-made Spanish wine that is surprisingly Old Word in style. That means it has some, but not much, cherry fruit, tell-tale Spanish acid, and enough oak to balance the wine. Oddly, the Volteo Web site says just the opposite; hopefully, the producer won't discover its error and start making Spanish wine that tastes like California merlot.

Serve this with lighter red wine food, like barbecue (which is what I drank it with) and things like roast chicken. I'd also open the bottle 15 or 20 minutes before you drink it; it needs that much time to show what it has to offer.

Finally, a word about the label. The back actually has useful information (serving temperature, grape variety, and serving suggestions) and the front has what Volteo calls a  Smart Label: A blue frame appears around the label illustration when the wine is at the correct serving temperature. I don't know if it works, since I drank the wine too warm. But if someone does get it to work, leave a comment.

wine reviews, wine of the week, cheap wine, $10 wine, inexpensive wine, Spanish wine, red wine, Volteo, tempranillo

Comments

[Norman Alston]

This is exactly what I came to your site for... a replacement for the dearly departed Solaz. Will try it this weekend while totally disregarding the "smart label"