Campo Viejo 2013 Tempranillo: At right around $10 retail, it’s easy to think of this Spanish charmer as “Tempt-ranillo.” Even easier is the common quandary of, how do European winemakers make and ship us such tasty values when it’s so hard to get a tasty bargain from California?
This medium-weight red offers plum and berry flavors underscored with a bit of earth; it’s far from being as rustic and rich as many riojas, but that makes it an even better food wine — especially this time of year, when we get to start roasting vegetables and braising meat.
Think of it as an Old World grape using New World methods — it’s fermented in stainless steel and then aged in American oak for four months. That leads to a very approachable wine.
See campoviejo.com.