Cheap Grapes: Marques de Valcarlos Crianza 2005

I'm always on the lookout for nice, inexpensive wines from Spain; a country that is terribly underrepresented in LCBO stores here in Ontario. This Navarra from 2005 hit shelves two months ago, and we're nearly onto our second case of it in the SOTI household. This one has something for everyone. It's medium bodied, but dark fruit flavours - mostly in the vein of cherries and blackberries than strawberries. There is also a subtle 'smoked' effect that lingers nicely. The thing I like about Spanish wines is that they often hit shelves with a couple of more years of mileage than French or Italian wines. That makes most of them ready for immediate consumption, but I think this one could handle another 2 or 3 years in the cellar. It sells for $13.95 here, so my guess is that it could be found for $10 in the US and maybe 7 or 8 quid in the UK. Highly recommended.