Caliza is the value wine in the Marques de Griñon Dominio de Valdepusa line.  Dominio de Valdepusa is the estate wine appellation or vino de pago located in Toledo province to the southwest of Madrid.  The estate specializes in very ripe, big wines from mostly French varieties, though they are starting to work with Graciano, a Rioja grape.  The estate has been very important in the evolution of Spanish wines over the last 25 years, and has been innovating in terms of grape varieties and technologies in the vineyard.  I’ve previously written posts about the wines and the winery, but the Caliza was not part of the line-up back then.  Previously, the estates wines started at about 19€, topping out at about 45€. I’ve always loved these wines but often found them a little pricy.  Now the winery has come out with a lower end wine, the Caliza, that is much more reasonably priced at 12€.  The Caliza, made from Syrah and Petit Verdot, is soft and full, with wonderful black fruit.  It is not super complex, but has surprising freshness for such a hot weather wine and has quite a long finish, with very ripe tannins.  I really think it is a lot of wine for a good price….and it’s perfect to drink this year.  I don’t love the label though…it looks like a bland version of Didier Dagueneau’s original Silex label…also the shape of the stone looks a little like the outline of Africa.  Read on for more info on Caliza 2005.

Wine:  Caliza 2005
Winery:  Marques de Griñon
Denominación de Origen (DO): Dominio de Valdepusa (estate appellation)
Alc: 14.5%
Grape varieties: 65% Syrah, 35% Petit Verdot
Oak regime:  10 months in French oak
Price:  12€ retail in Madrid

Tasting notes
Visual:  Deep ruby color
Nose:  Very attractive nose, very intense.  Ripe, sweet black fruit and a little oak spice.  Not super complex, but with some air, some interesting smoky, meaty notes came out. 
Mouth:  Big, soft mouth….sweet black fruit, good acidity, and a big, long finish with fruit aromas and very ripe, smooth tannins.  The alcohol, though high, is really well balanced with all the other elements.   With some air a bit of complexity arrive, with some very interesting smoky aromas.

Conclusion: Easy to drink and attractive, the 2005 is in its perfect drinkable moment this year.  Really show the good qualities that a well-made La Mancha wine can bring to the table.  Very good value, a very nice price for a good wine.