The rest of the time I’ll be hot on the
trail of wines new and different and delicious. Like the Zaumau Garnatxa-Samso that I
tasted recently at Jamonera in Philadelphia.
The menu called it “Bright fresh fruits, well-extracted flavors and soft
tannins.” Our served called it “One of my favorites.” I was sold.
Made by Carles Escolar, a rising star winemaker in Spain’s Priorat region, this is a scrumptious, food-friendly wine that held its own throughout a tapas extravaganza that included spicy fried peppers, sweet fig jam, creamy squash croquettes, and crispy fried eggplant.
Garnatxa is better known to us as Grenache, one of the most widely planted varietals in the world, a grape with appealing spice and berry flavors, but lacking serious acid and tannins. (Hence, it is usually used in wine blends.)
Samso is another name for the Cariñena grape, also called Carignan in France where it’s blended with other varietals in the Languedoc region.
When I researched my new friend on-line, I discovered that this 2009 Zaumau blend is “an amazing value from a prestigious wine region.”
I also discovered what makes it so delicious:
Vinified and aged in stainless steel only (no oak), this knockout bottling grown on the region's famous licorella soils (huge chunks of slate that look like broken pieces of sidewalk) is incredibly sassy and light on its feet, showing stunning clarity and purity of fruit. With a very floral, violet-filled nose, and brambly black raspberry fruit, this is pure deliciousness in a glass and is priced in a way that you can indulge in it every day of the week. That's very hard to say about most Priorats.
The Priorat region is not exactly a household word in the U.S. Wine production from the region has always been, and continues to be, very small. Prices are notoriously high, though today some wineries are making wines in the $20-$25 range. I found my Zaumau Garnatxa-Samso on-line for $17.
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