Wine review: Tres Picos Garnacha 2010

The Wine Curmudgeon will say this right out front: I don't like this style of Spanish garnacha. There's nothing traditional about it, and it's certainly not about nuance and subtlety like a great Rioja. Rather, it's about cramming as much ripe, red fruit and alcohol into the wine as possible, producing a jammy, concentrated effort with very little in the way of tannins.

Having said that, this style of wine is immensely popular. Robert Parker adores it, and has defended it against all comers -- even insisting that it is Spanish not only in name, but in terroir. It does very well in the marketplace, too; brands like Las Rocas and Evodia sell well and show up on best-of-lists all the time.

The Tres Picos ($13, sample) is firmly part of this post-modern Spanish wine philosophy. It's dark, heavy, alcoholic (14 1/2 percent), rich and fruity, with minimal tannins and with an almost ashy aftertaste. It's not as well made as the Evodia, which came close to getting into the 2012 $10 Hall of Fame, but it is more approachable than the Las Rocas (which, frankly, has always bored me).

The Tres Picos needs food -- red meat preferably -- to balance all that fruit and alcohol. Again, it's not for everyone, but for people who prefer this style, it's a solid effort.

Comments

[JB]

My wife and I really like this wine.
We drink California grenache and this is not too much different. So what is a great Rioja in your opinion? I hate it when people say we should be drinking something else and then don't back it up with anything.

[Doug Schulman]

I'm not sure why you would compare a Spanish Garnacha to an elegantly styled Rioja. Can you give some examples of what you would consider "traditional" Spanish Garnacha? This grape produces lots of sugar and most Spanish growing regions are quite warm and sunny.