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Price: $15.99 @ Vinnin Square Liquors (Swampscott, MA)
Recommended by: salesman at store
Comments: This is a really good Spanish blend. It is 50% Tempranillo, 26% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 9% Garnacha, and 5% Syrah aged for 9 months in new French oak. It has a nice taste of pepper, cherry, and some blueberry. The flavor is long-lasting and the wine is quite smooth. The only drawback is the price. The wine is good, but we've had a lot of good Spanish wines in the $10 range. Spanish wines are a great bargain in general. Perhaps we would get this wine again for a special occasion, but we wouldn't have it again with pizza!
Rating: 7/10
Price: $11.99 @ Blanchard's (J.P.)
Recommended by: store advertisement
Comments: We're generally fans of domestic red blends, and this wine's blend of Syrah (75%) and Cabernet (25%) was too enticing to pass up . . . especially after drinking two orders of sake with dinner. :) It was a good call. This wine started out very fruity (mostly cherry and plum) and peppery with a strong alcohol flavor (it IS 14.5% alcohol after all). It closed with a smooth cinnamon and licorice finish. Nice. It's worth noting that this wine got better as we drank it. Next time we might decant it for a bit before partaking. However, having finished the bottle, we have no regrets and feel no pain. Cheers.
Rating: 7.25/10
Price: $12.99
Recommended by: gift from Mike
Comments: We were delighted when our friend Mike brought this wine over, but we chose poorly when we ordered Chinese food to accompany it. The Chinese food was great, the wine was great, but the pairing didn't quite work. This wine, with 60% Shiraz and 40% Malbec, will go better with other foods, particularly grilled meats. It has a nice, earthy, cherry flavor with hints of cocoa and tobacco, and it exhibits a long smooth, happy finish. For the price, this is a great wine, and we look forward to trying it again soon!
Rating: 7.5/10
Price: $10.99 @ Gary's Liquors, W. Roxbury, MA
Recommended by: 90 points by Wine Spectator
Comments: We have been drinking mostly whites this summer, but decided to switch to red tonight. We normally enjoy Spanish red blends, and this one is no exception. It was very good! It is a blend of 50% Monastrell (Mourvèdre), 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Tempranillo, and 10% Merlot. It is a dry wine but has a nice, bold fruity flavor; the variety of grapes integrate with the tannins quite nicely. We would really enjoy this with pizza!
Rating: 7/10
Price: $11.99 @ Blanchard's (Jamaica Plain, MA)
Recommended by: sucked in by store advertising
Comments: We totally shouldn't have opened a second bottle of wine tonight. And yet, we're so glad we did! We so rarely drink old world wine, and yet this one is really good, and a fantastic deal for the money. We found strong flavors of plum along with chocolate and black cherry, and perhaps a hint of black licorice at the end. The wine consists of 70% Merlot and the rest is Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. The finish is quite long and smooth. We've never been happier to succumb to good advertising!
Rating: 7.75/10
Price: $15.00 @ Luke's Liquors (Rockland, MA)
Recommended by: we love CSM wines!
Comments: After visiting their winery last fall and enjoying just about every Chateau Ste Michelle wine we've tried, we were excited to find one that we have not tried. This red blend has 9, yes 9, varietals -- Syrah, Grenache, Cinsault, Mourvèdre, Sangiovese, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Souzão, and Touriga -- and was tasty to the last drop. It got better as we drank it (not with food but just as a "hard-day-at-work-and-now-chilling-out" wine). It has flavors of cherry, chocolate, and spicy pepper with hints of raspberry and vanilla and a smooth, long finish. It still is not as tasty as our favorite domestic red blend (Artesa Elements), but we'd definitely get this one again.
Rating: 7.5/10
Price: $8.99 @ Gary's Liquors
Recommended by: We like Spanish wines!
Comments: This inexpensive red is a tasty mix of Cabernet Sauvignon (55%) and Tempranillo (45%). Flavors of berries (mainly cherry) and chocolate dominate the palate with a bit of spiciness, and the wine has a longer finish than you typically find at this price range. We enjoyed it tonight with pizza with mushrooms and spinach and it was tasty. Not too fancy but very good.
Rating: 6.75/10
Price: $9.99 @ Gary's Liquors (W. Roxbury, MA)
Recommended by: display at store and charitable cause
Comments: Our wine rack has been empty lately (oh, the horror!), so we stopped by the local wine store tonight to stock up. We probably went overboard, but our wallets' loss is our blog's gain, right?!? Among our purchase is this interesting Cabernet/Syrah blend (50% each). We weren't expected to be blown away, and we really weren't, but it's a great value wine. It is a deep, fruity wine with a heavy cocoa flavor and very dry finish. We wish we would have tried it with food, because it would go very well with meat or pasta dish. Some of the proceeds (50 cents per bottle) are donated to the Hospice of Arlington, Va., and other breast cancer research foundations in the name of the vintners' mother. We look forward to trying this one again.
Rating: 7/10
Price: $9,99 @ Gary's Liquors (W. Roxbury, MA)
Recommended by: the cheesy B-movie label and price
Comments: We fell for the advertising and had no idea what we were getting with this non-vintage mystery bottle. Actually, we were surprised. This wine (a syrah, zinfandel, and petite sirah blend) will remind you that you don't need to spend a lot of $$ to get a decent wine. After decanting it for about 30 minutes (which the label recommends), it has a nice, fruity flavor (black cherry and plum) with some spice and a longish finish. And at 14.8% alcohol, it packs a punch. It's not an over-the-top wine, but if you are looking for a good wine to bring to a casual party, this would be a good one. It's also a nice pizza or burger wine.
Rating: 7/10
Price: $10.00 @ Solera (Roslindale, MA)
Recommended by: It just sounded good!
Comments: We enjoyed the Enate Gewurztraminer, and we have had some great Cab-Merlot blends in the past, so we decided to give this one a try. It did not disappoint. This Spanish wine is smooth, fruity, peppery -- everything you expect in a solid, balanced blend. It will not blow you away, but for the price it's very tasty and probably a great pizza or burger wine.
Rating: 6.5/10
Price: $4.49 @ the Wine and Cheese Cask (Somerville, MA)
Recommended by: the sale rack!
Comments: This Portuguese wine is pretty unimpressive. It reminded us of Three Buck Chuck and is quite acidic. (Well duh, it is under $5! What did we expect!?!) It got a bit better as we drank it, but we still would not recommend it. Perhaps it would be a bit tastier with some food (pizza?). Sadness.
Rating: 5/10
Price: $8.99
Recommended by: wine seller at the Wine and Cheese Cask (Somerville, MA)
Comments: Zut alors! This wine is tres mal! But what should we expect from a French wine under $10? It is fruit-forward with strawberry and plum tastes, and a bit of pepper spice, but there is no finish at all. (This wine is a blend of 60% Carignan, 30% Syrah and 10% Grenache.) We will definitely not be partaking of this wine again. If you want a decent red blend under $10, make a run for Espania!
Rating: 5/10
Price: $9.99 @ Luke's Liquors
Recommended by: on sale at Luke's!
Comments: We've had a fair number of Spanish reds now, and this one rates in the middle. It has a nice raspberry flavor and a decent, lasting, dry finish, but it lacks some complexity. We prefer Vina Alarba and Cortijo Crianza, to name a few Spanish blends.
Rating: 6.25/10
Price: $5.99 @ Trader Joe's
Recommended by: no one!
Comments: Reviews of this wine on other sites offer strikingly different pictures. While some find it mediocre and inoffensive, others find it watery and bad. Of course, in either case, we don't recommend this wine very highly. It has a fairly bearable flavor, but one that doesn't last very long at all. The dry finish is not too bad, but that's the best we can say about it. What a shame--we usually like Spanish wines. For the money, you can do better with Señor Dos Buck Chuck!
Rating: 5/10
Price: $11.99 @ Gary's Liquors
Recommended by: We liked the Cortijo III, so we wanted to give this a try.
Comments: This Spanish blend (70% Tempranillo, 20% Grenache, and 10% Mazuelo) is a fabulous wine for the money. When I first tasted it, I thought it was at least a $20 bottle. It's really smooth and complex, with a mixture of fruity, spicy, and tobacco flavors. The fact that it's aged 7 years can't hurt! We will definitely be enjoying this again.
Rating: 7.25/10
Price: $9.00 @ Solera (Roslindale)
Recommended by: Boston Globe
Comments: We enjoyed this wine, but it is very different from the New World wines we typically drink. It is an organic red blend (35% Syrah, 25% Grenache, 25% Carignan, 10% Cinsault, 5% Alicante, and 70% of the fruit is hand picked) with a nice fruit flavor (mostly strawberry) but it's not overpowering. Its earthy flavor, spicy opening, and dry finish are what make this wine distinct from other fruity reds we've tried. We suspect this wine would be wonderful with a few years' aging.
Rating: 6.5/10
Price: $8.98 @ Gary's Liquors (W. Roxbury)
Recommended by: our curiosity and cheesy advertising at the store
Comments: This wine (pronounced bozo!) is a fun, new California blend of 68% Zinfandel, 21% Syrah, 3% Petite Sirah, 3% Charbono, 2% Lagrein, 1% Valdiguie, 1% Grenache, 1% Tempranillo. (Takes a deep breath.) It had bold cherry and raspberry flavor, with a hint of cranberry and a smooth finish. It is quite comparable to several Spanish reds that we've tried recently. For the price, it is very nice. And it would be great for pizza night!
Rating: 6.5/10
Price: $14.99 @ Gary's Liquors (West Roxbury)
Recommended by: our curiosity
Comments: This Chilean blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Carmenère is bone dry. The peppery, tobacco flavor is nice, but we don't know if it's worth $15. If you're going to pay this much, you might as well get a Napa Merlot (or J. Lohr). Wine Spectator gave the 2002 Primus an 89 rating, so we might be full of crap.
Rating: 6/10
Price: $13.99 @ Gary's Liquors, West Roxbury
Recommended by: Artesa's reputation
Comments: We have been big fans of Artesa since our trip to the winery a few months ago. Their merlot is something to worship, and their merlot reserve may be the best red wine we've ever tasted. Artesa's affordable Elements -- a blend of Bordeaux varietals (cabernet sauvignon 51%, merlot 29%, syrah 15%, others 5%) -- does not disappoint. It starts out tasting like a bright, fruity cab but finishes like a smooth merlot. And it only got better as we drank it. (We recommend decanting it for an hour or so before enjoying.) We're not certain that it's as good as Artesa's merlot, but for the price, this one is a real winner. (And if you make a sojourn to Napa Valley, make sure to visit their amazing winery!)
Rating: 7.75/10
Price: $9.99 @ Luke's Liquors
Recommended by: no one -- we've been wanting to try more tempranillos and grenaches, and this one looked good (and had a pretty label!).
Comments: This Spanish old vine tempranillo/grenache has a really deep taste with smoky, berry flavors. It is smooth with a very dry finish. We drank it by itself, but we suspect it would taste better with a nice food pairing. We have enjoyed some Spanish reds a bit better, namely Vina Alarba, Rojo Mojo, and Panarroz Jumilla, but this one is tasty.
Rating: 6.25/10
Price: $15.99 @ Vinnin Square Liquors (Swampscott, MA) 
