Dusty tannins, bright berry fruit and a cracked-black-pepper note mark this appealing Portuguese red, a blend of the Douro Valley grape varieties Tinta Roriz and Touriga Franca.
2005 Rubens Tempranillo ($13)
Tikalo, a recently founded winery in Spain’s vast La Mancha region—a source for great value wines—makes this sweet and smoky red, full of wild raspberry notes, with grapes from its nearly 1,000-acre estate.
2004 Zaca Mesa Z Cuvée ($18)
From one of the first wineries founded in California’s Santa Ynez Valley, this Grenache-dominated blend (which also has percentages of Mourvèdre, Syrah and Cinsaut) starts off oaky and firmly structured until the lush raspberry-blackberry fruit kicks in.
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