I must say I find these tintilla de rota wines very drinkable – not only do they pack a nice punch of fruit they also seem seem to generate nice spice for relatively little structure. I am told that the reason is due to the relative lack of pips by comparison to your varieties from more Northern climes.

This is by the chaps at Forlong and is an excellent example of the breed. As you can see it has that dark tone to it that must be behind the name, a really deep looking dark cherry. On the nose there is a similar dark cherry style of fruit and, as I may have mentioned, a nice bit of herb and spice about. Then on the palate you get all of the above again, a nice entry, then quite a big, concentrated dollop of fruit, those herbs and spices and even a bit of mouthwatering salinity.

Very nice stuff with no edges. Only drawback is that it appears to evaporate quickly.

A lot of data in the above photo – as you can see we have a red wine, made by Barbadillo, which I had a go at at an event in Lavinia (metadata would reveal that the event in question was this year’s Feria de Vinos last Friday) and there is even a reflection of the inept cameraman.

I am, however, pretty pleased with the composition here because it shows off one of the qualities of this wine – just look at the colour of it. Such is the density of colour in the wine that the bottle appears fully black, to the point that when opened and poured it comes as a shock that the glass is absolutely clear. This is almost certainly where this grape gets its name (tintilla meaning “little ink”) and it strikes me as a neat bit of packaging by Barbadillo (although the brand name is not the easiest for the locals to pronounce).

The wine is also pretty good it must be said, and again surprising. When you look at that colour (it paints the glass pretty handily too) you are half expecting something structured and concentrated, even sweet or port-like, but the actual wine is all red fruits on the nose and dry and refreshing on the palate. It hasn’t had any time in the barrel at all and is extremely drinkable – I was surprised to find that it was 14.5% because it comes across as lighter.

According to the ficha 2000 bottles were made – I guess they may need to make a few more than that.

Enjoyed this at lunch today in my current watering hole of choice. Black of blackcurrant in appearance with a nose of more black berries and undergrowth. Then on the palate rich, concentrated dark fruit, sweet notes and a slightly peppery, mineral and ashy/tannic finish.

Concentrated but enjoyable.

A 100% Tintilla de Rota dry red wine by Bodegas Luis Perez (and the big brother of the Garum and Samaruco, both of which I also enjoyed).

Tintilla is one of the traditional grapes from the region that until recently had all but disappeared but is now making a strong comeback. It is said to be an Andalucian cousin of Graciano, but while I am not that familiar with Graciano whenever I have come across Tintilla in dry wines it has reminded me of shiraz/syrah (indeed once I tried an unoaked Tintilla blind and thought it was a shiraz).

This is from vines planted on one of the great pagos of Jerez, Balbaina, and specifically from a vineyard named Calderin del Obispo (one of the two “Calderin” on this plan I guess) and has had 16 months in oak.

The resulting wine is a refined, elegant but tasty animal. It has the mineral quality – salinity even – of the other wines, but also beefy, peppery aromas (in the interest of full disclosure I was roasting a joint of beef as we drank this, so my mind may have one tracked a little). On the palate if has very refined blackberry fruit – maybe just a hint of bitterness – and again that salt and pepper and meatiness on the palate, a nice texture with a nice touch of acidity and a lovely fresh finish.

Like this very much – and it was brilliant with that beef too.