Anciano Tempranillo Gran Reserva (Aged 7 years)

NZ Master of Wine Steve Bennett regularly travels through Europe sniffing, swirling and spitting his way through thousands of wines to find the best and the best of the best to chuck on a boat and bring into Aotearoa. The Anciano brand is one that has been delivering amazing bang for buck in absolute spades for some time now and this is the latest release under this label – Anciano Tempranillo Gran Reserva Aged 7 Years.

This is quite simply crazy value for a well aged, mature European red. We were sure there was a pricing mistake going on here but we’re happy to confirm there isn’t!

Spanish Tempranillo (pronounced temp-rah-knee-oh) from 30 year old vines with 18 months aging in American oak – this is a medium to full bodied, smooth red that’s mellowed nicely thanks to its age. Another Master of Wine, Norrel Robertson, has also had a hand in the winemaking of this one. Heck, it even looks flash in its traditional European label and fancy gold wire wrap!

A steal for a snip under twenty bucks. They’ve done the hard work and aged it perfectly for you, all you need to do is hook in and enjoy it with red meats and mature cheeses.