Gracias. No? Si!

Is curiosity a virtue or a vice? That is, in some sense, a defining question of this blog. I already know plenty of excellent $12 wines, so why don't I just stick with those?

I guess I can't contain my curiosity. Or perhaps I don't want to. Case in point: a wine from Navarra made from a varietal called Graciano? Must. Try.

I had to look it up. Graciano is an indigenous varietal but is rarely grown anymore. Most folks in Navarra and Rioja are growing Tempranillo or Garnacha. Why did Graciano fall out of favor? Apparently it offers low yields and is prone to mold (so, economically, its a bitch). The joke is: "Graciano? Gracias. No." But its tasty, and coming into vogue by virtue of that plus the appeal of being relatively unknown.

"Vina Zorzal" D.O. Navarra (Spain) 2009 
varietal: Appears to be 100% Graciano
cost: $15
verdict: Try!

My impressions are favorable. The wine is less tannic than most of the Tempranillo wines I have tried from this region. It has soft fruit, slightly minty nose and a smoothness that some may discern as borderline flabby (or a bit low on acidity). A quick digression is that I understand flabby to refer to an imbalance in which the acidity does not keep pace with the alcohol and tannins and fruit. Others, such as Parker, appears to imbue all sorts of additional character into the descriptor, attributes that I would describe as simply "high alcohol" or over-ripe to the point of "cooked." Anyway. The wine is a "joven" style meaning it is young, with little or no oak aging. 13% abv.