The wines that have given some of the most hedonistic drinking pleasure lately have been Garnachas from northern Spain.  Not just any old Garnachas but old vine Garnachas that retain the grape’s softness and approachability, but that also offer a unique concentration of intense fruit and fresh acidity.  They are wines that offer sufficient complexity for the wine lover yet also are so easy to drink that they are the perfect reds to convert novice wine drinkers with!

Many of the best old-vine Garnacha’s are coming out of Aragon from such appleations as Campo de Borja and Calatayud, but there are also a few great ones from other areas.  Most of them are still great value though there are now a few very pricy ones such as Alto Moncayo and Aquilón.  

Today I want to talk about a Garnacha from Navarra which was the most impressive red wine we drank over the Christmas holidays. 

Wine:  Santa Cruz de Artazu 2005
Winery:  Bodegas Artazu
Denominacion de Origen (DO): Navarra
Alc: 14.5%
Grape variety: 100% old vine Garnacha, 60 yr old vines
Oak regime:  aged 12 months in French oak
Price:  around 17€ retail in Madrid (Bodega Santa Cecilia)

Tasting notes
Visual:  Medium ruby
Nose:  Very intense sweet cherry and vanilla nose…candy-like almost like gummi bears.  Very attractive though not very complex.    
Mouth:  Much more complex mouth.  Very intense red fruit as well as vanilla and spice oak notes.  Good acidity is the perfect foil for the sweet fruit.  Extremely long finish, with soft, very ripe tannins and lingering fruit.   Great balance even with 14.5%. Very impressive!
Food:  We had the wine with a roast chicken, with onions and garlic…really great match.  Also had squid in ink sauce and surprisingly the earth, saline squid ink was a nice match as well. 

Conclusion:  Just a wonderful wine to drink…so attractive, still very youthful for a 2005.  The rest of the holidays we kept comparing the wines we drank and this wine continued to come out on top.   Very good value at 17€.