Ijalba Graciano Rioja 2005

Hi everybody and Happy Monday.  How did everyone's Fantasy Football teams debut over the weekend?  Haha, the jurry is still out on mine.  But that's alright because my Green Bay Packers got their season started right with a victory.  And how about those 1st place San Francisco Giants?  I'm pumped too. 
Also got the confirmation that I am moving to Bari, Apulia, Italy because I got accepted to a work program.  I am so excited to be beginning this path in my life and look forward to sharing it with everyone through my tasting page here.  T minus 10 days, September 22!
 http://travel.yahoo.com/p-map-485848-map_of_bari-i

I wanted to start today by saying thank you for the stream of comments that are starting to come in, I really appreciate it and they are helping a lot.  Tomorrow I will tackle the issue of Merlot vs Syrah and how to distinguish the 2 varietals in a tasting panel.  So stay tuned.....

The topic today though is one of a more unique route, because I want to continue to support my idea about experimenting with wine drinking.  It is of course most important to know what you like, but remember how you got there, by figuring out what you didn't like too.  I could make a broad stroke statement like 'I don't like Zinfandel' but that is ignorant.  More truthful should be 'I don't like the Zinfandels I've had' because you really never know what the next one could be like.  I am constantly analyzing wines and although I do not like them all I have to step outside of my box and think of others.  This is the great thing about wine bars, you can try tastes of things without committing to something you aren't sure about.
Take for instance today's featured wine, a true rarity:

Ijalba Graciano Rioja 2005

This is one of the only bottlings of pure varietal Graciano in all of Rioja to my knowledge, and possibly all of Spain.  Graciano is famous for its blending with Tempranillo and Garnacha (Grenache) in the Rioja region of Northern Spain. 
From looking at this wine it was noticably darker than Tempranillo and is blended to darken Rioja wines.  Medium concentration with a garnet color and some staining to the tears.
Aromatically speaking, the wine showed why it is considered a blending grape.  There was not a lot of complexity to the dark fruits and the subtle earth.  I found the wine to be balanced but it never really turned the corner for me personally.  I remember remarking that its a good burger wine, it will hold up to the flavors without going over the top.
Although I was  not blown away by this wine, it was good for a couple of reasons.  First off now I know what Graciano actually tastes like, a first for me.  I think just as important is the concept of trying new things.  This wine was selected for me in an off the wall wine club, a bottling that for $23 I probably would have passed on, but I am glad to have had the opportunity to try it now.  So next time you go to your local trusted wine shop, ask a trusted employee there to recommend a good value wine of something that's off the wall too.
Salute!