Spanish wines can have a marvelous ashy, mineral taste, especially at the finish.  It is like getting a little bit of the campfire on your hot dog.  It reminds you of where you are and where the wine comes from.

2006 Flor d’Englora Negre Jove is a worthy example.  This wine comes from Montsant, a Denominació d’Origen located in southern Tarragona on the Mediterranean.   It is almost  2/3 Grenache, 1/3 Samsó with a little Merlot and Syrah blended in for style points.   Samsó is an ancient Catalan variety – nearly lost a century ago to the phylloxera blight and only recently recovered.  It is valued today for adding structure and acid – that native bite — to softer, smoother grapes like Grenache.

If you like a little of the bark left on your wine, you will enjoy Flor d’Englora.  The taste is bright and focused squarely in the range of cherries and green apple.  The fruit taste is very present, almost forward in its intensity.  The finish is long and tannic with that whiff of smoke and charcoal which can only be from Spain.  The bright aperitf qualities would make it a fine choice to go with a simple tapas plate – ham, a tiny omelette with sliced potatoes, a hard cheese, olives and bread.   No real need for dinner.

At Dedalus for $ 15.75      .

Tuta 1/26/09