It’s been a long day, so tonight’s blog is going to be short, sweet and to the point.  We enjoyed a night of good food and good friends at the HEB Central Market, but what really made the night so special was getting home and sharing terrific stories with friends.

If there’s one thing we’ve learned over the years is that good friends and good wine go hand in hand and tonight was no different.  We enjoyed a 2011 Honoro Vera  Monastrell.  And, OMG, this is a beautiful wine.  The nose alone will catapult you into the stratosphere–the aroma is amazing–fruit, kerosene, leather–it kind of depends on your mood, but they are all there and pronounced.  Amazing!

Did you know that, “Bodega Juan Gil has hired Aussie winemaker Chris Ringland to do some of their winemaking; however, he doesn’t make this particular wine. The Ozzie-influence certainly comes through the other wines from Juan Gil i.e. in their fruit-forward approach. Some would argue this isn’t necessarily “staying true” to their regions of origin…but hey….to each their own…”  As huge fans of Chris Ringland wines, we can tell you that regardless of where he makes them, they’ll be amazing.  And this year’s wine is NO exception.

With a superb price point under $15 a bottle,  this wine is deeply colored with aromas of sweet herbs and spices, and the lush palate is bursting with ripe raspberries, blackberries, and cherries. Backing all of these aromas and flavors are firm tannins; which makes the wine a great match for braised lamb and pork dishes, as well as a plate of figs and aged cheeses  From our standpoint, it’s a wine that was meant to be shared with friends. . .which is EXACTLY what we did tonight.

Here’s what we’ll tell you . . .this wine has some serious life.  From a great nose to a great taste on the palate, we could tell that this wine was going to be special.  And, it was!  The more we tasted this gem; the better i tasted.  The More we tasted the wine; the better we liked it.  The bottom line is that—at 2:35 a.m. on January 13th,—we really like this wine and hope that you’ll give it a try.  Wines from this part of the world with flavor, structure and a history are tough to find.

As we settle into Sunday, we hope that  you’ll enjoy your favorite wine responsibly and remember to recycle whenever possible.