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Drama Dark Blend, 2019
750ml
$14.99
+CRV
Mix 6 for $13.49 each
*Price, vintage and availability may vary by store.
*Price, vintage and availability may vary by store.
Product Highlights
James Suckling-La Mancha, Spain - "Rather inky and rich with dark-berry, blueberry and chocolate aromas and flavors. Full body. Chewy finish, yet polished. 50% garnacha and 50% tempranillo."
Black FruitSpiceVanilla
Product Details
OVERVIEW
Geography
The enormous La Mancha DO is Spain’s, as well as Europe’s, largest designated quality-wine area, with close to half a million acres under vine in Central Spain. About three-quarters of that acreage is planted with Airén, a white grape traditionally used in Spain to make brandy.
Now newer producers are braving the prairie-like region’s baking-hot summers and brutally cold winters to develop a wide range of high-quality table wines. Excellent reds produced from Tempranillo, Monastrell (known as Mourvèdre in France) and other native grapes are now commonly exported from La Mancha, as are some crisp, fruity, aromatic white wines made with Airén and Viura varieties. Look to La Mancha for great values in modern Spanish winemaking.
Varietal / Type
Red grapes produce an amazing array of red wine types: from the boldest, heartiest big reds, to elegant and structured dry red wines, to sweet and simple picnic sippers. So much depends on where grapes are from and what the winemaker does with them, but the most important factor is the variety of the grape itself.
There are the familiar international red varieties – Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Merlot and more – produced in the world’s top winemaking regions. Then there are regional red varieties, which produce types of red wine nearly synonymous with their place of origin, such as Sangiovese, from Italy, and Tempranillo, from Spain. There are hundreds more red grape varieties regularly used to make wine around the globe.
Most red wine varietals fare best in warmer climates, where they can ripen fully before harvesting. So climate and soil – as well as market demand – determine the best grape types to plant in a particular vineyard. In Europe, centuries of tradition, trial and error determined what wine grapes grew best where, and modern regulations have enshrined those winemaking practices into law.
Our red wine guide details the flavor profiles and regions of the most popular red varieties – plus a few you may not yet know. Use it as a road map for Total Wine & More’s selection of more than 8,000 wines. You’ll learn everything there is to know about your favorite red wines, and we’re sure you’ll find some new red wines to love.