Phew, finally getting a chance to sit down and relax. I’ve been on the go with a bunch of new stuff all hitting Wiz Manor all at the same time. Monday, I got a new dishwasher (yay!), because the old one died (boooo). Today, I got a new camera (yay!) because my other non-iPhone camera is lost somewhere (boo), and probably will show up now that I forked out for a new one. And there’s another new thing on the way very soon… But I have to save something for next week, right, Constant Reader?

I spent a few hours down in the basement today. The house cleaning team I hired to do a long overdue deep-clean (yay!) turned out to have a fear of dogs (boo), so Johnny and I hung out in the basement. He was a total champ, I got some stuff taken care of, plus I found this yummy wine under a few empty boxes. 2012 La Antigua Clásico Rioja.

Like Burgundy, Rioja is the name of the region in Spain. The primary grape is tempranillo. Most wines from the area are blends, with tempranillo and garnacha (Spanish for grenache) leading the pack.

The color is garnet, and there’s almost a cherry pie scent on the nose. I get more ripe cherry on the palate, and a little bit of black tea at the end. Tannins are calm, and close around my lower gums. It feels a lot younger than its age. It’s medium body and has lots of acidity, so it’d go great with almost anything. Roasted chicken and grilled salmon spring to mind, and anything with lots of fresh red bell pepper. I’ll definitely be buying this one again!

Really looking forward to all this new stuff, but also looking forward to just sitting down and taking it all in. Catch you up next week!