Simply simple

Last night was our latest bottle opening at the house, and it led to a simple conslusion, simple can be simply nice. I personally am a big fan of a nice robust and complex wine, with alot of action and interaction between notes and flavors, while one of my fellow tasters tends to prefer something easier to drink and simple, something he doesn't have to puzzle over every time he takes a sip. Since most of our consumption come with light snacks in the evening or while studying, sometimes that complexity can be annoying or distracting from the tasks at hand.

This brings me to my selection of the previous evening:

Price (Paid in Ithaca NY): $10

Maker: Tapena (with the little N squiggle)

Vintage: 2006

Country/Appelation: Spain

Varietal/Blend: 100% Garnacha

Nose: Dark Fruit and Lighter Flowers

Taste: Dark Cherries are the main fruit here, showing sweetness upfront, and then taking a bit of spice in the middle. The close kicks out the spice though and finishes simply fruity, maybe with some plummyness added on the close. No tannins and not much acid, but the taste becomes more balenced against the acid with considerable air. An easy to drink, simple, sweet but not dessert sweet wine.

QPR: Good

Pairings: God really knows, its too sweet to be serious with anything substantial, but too dark to be a good dessert wine. Perhaps it goes best with a bagel with some mildly sharp cheddar melted over it? (It happens to be pairing well with such at the moment)

Final Thoughts: This is a nice wine to broaden your palate and taste something truely red that has no tannin. It's cheap enough to forgive lacking alot of good grenache spice, and also economical enough to enjoy with lighter, less serious people and faire.
Simple can be good!