You Don't Know Jack

Jack works at the local Oddbins, selling wines. After the earlier blog, the search was on. Walked into the wine shop and Jack said that he was in the middle of a crossword, needed a badger-like creature for Seven Down. Native to North America. Nutria, Possum? Needed to be seven letters, third letter is an 's.'

No help from me.

Luckily Jack dealt with my question better. "What do you have that's different?"

A few seconds and a couple laps around the shop and Jack hands me a bottle of Adebengo from the Duero, made from Juan Garcia (grape). He is a clever bastard, Jack.

He knows about my show in the Duero, and Juan Garcia is seen as a blight on the local vines. You see, it lacks the international allure of Tempranillo. No one even seems to care about the origin of Juan Garcia. To find a place that makes Juan Garcia, and even exports it, is a treasure. It is typically a local grape and is being uprooted in favour of Tempranillo and French varietals, especially Cabernet and Merlot.

There is little room in today's competitive wine industry for a sassy, punk-ass wine grape that few people have heard of… especially a grape with a name that sounds more like a bandito on the run from La Migra, than one grown quietly in Spain's sleepy backwaters.

The wine is a bit tarry, and very earthy… a good example of how the earth renders flavour… that granite soil is there, in the wine, like a signature. The nose is full of blackberries and a touch of damp soil, like in a forest. The body is somewhat heavy, but overall the wines is very different and a joy to drink. A steal at around 8 pounds. 8.8 points.