Sangre de Toro

2007
Rose
Spain

I wanted something chilled, but not beer, and I didn't want my usual summer Chardonnay. I was making black bean and guacamole tacos. So I wanted something that could stand up to strong flavors without canceling each other out. I decided on a cheap Spanish Rose.

I brought it home and chilled it and then had a glass while cooking dinner. It was OK. Not bad. Just not great. No knocking off of the socks. As I mashed avocados for my guacamole, I ate a slice of avocado. I then had a sip of the wine, and THEN I smiled. NICE combo. I put sliced fresh hot red peppers in the guacamole and found a sip of the wine really brought out the pepper in the meal as well. Later, way after the tacos, when cleaning up the kitchen, I had a spoonful of organic ground turkey that had been sauteed in olive oil and red onion and had another sip of wine and had another smile. Really good accompaniment.

The really nice part is you get your own little plastic toy BULL (Toro) attached to each bottle of Sangre de Toro! It was like when I was a kid and I chose the box of cereal by the prize inside. Oh, but THIS wine has a bull attached to it! Every girls dream come true.


7.75 out of 10
13% alc. by vol.
$9 / 750 ml. bottle

ETIM Seleccion

2006
Spain

I really enjoyed this wine. Tremendously. Our friends gave it to us to try. They thoroughly enjoyed their first experience with this wine, but not their next one. They thought their first experience involved food and their second one didn't. But they really couldn't recall. And they weren't sure if they had two different vintages - what a difference a year can make :)

They found the wine "dry". And I agree. It is dry. But there was a LOT of wonderful flavor there. And a lingering finish that I just loved. Dark berry, slight smoke, slight earth, and mushrooms. It especially tasted well with our meal. I tried to make a "Spanish" oriented meal and made spinach with roasted pignolia nuts, Spanish olive oil, and garlic. I marinated shrimp in olive oil and garlic and grilled it. And we had the wine with it. It was all very good and I was happy.


"Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts. Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more."
- Proverbs 31:6-7:

For those of you who prefer a rating from a higher authority: Robert Parker gave this wine 91 pts.

8.25 out of 10
$14/750 ml. bottle
14% alc. by vol.
www.etim.es