Marco Real 2003 Tempranillo, Navarra, Spain

I have been drinking quite a few Spanish wines lately and many of them have been Eric Solomon Selections. Eric Solomon has imported many excellent value Spanish labels into the states such as Ercavio, Las Rocas, and Alba Liza. Navarra used to be a big Rose region until new regulations in the 80's allowed for more popular varietals to be planted. The region is now putting out some great Cabs and Merlots as well as Rioja style wines being mainly Tempranillo and Grenache blends.

Color: Beautiful dark ruby color. Darker than many of the Tempranillos I have had.
Nose: Ripe cherry and orange flavors with a crushed geranium character. With some glass time the wine opens up to some more spicy characters of white pepper and clove.
Palate: The wine is a bit disappointing in "la boca". The tanins are there, but not a whole lot more. It has a really bitter finish, definitely a food wine. Maybe some salty "Jamon" to balance it out.
Overall: There must be some Grenache blended in to beef up the wine a bit, maybe a bit too much. I missed some of the real Tempranillo varietal character in this wine and being an Eric Solomon selection at about $10.00 I have to admit, I expected more. C+