Drinks of the Month

Off the Shelf: Desconocido 2013

Posted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on April 9 2015 at 11:09

The first of my random wine finds in this new series* is a young Spanish red called Desconocido #1 Tinto Joven 2013 from Alicante which is made from bush-vine Monastrell (or Mourvèdre as they call it in France).

It’s made by one of Spain’s most talented winemakers, Telmo Rodriguez, and is a rich, spicy, but at 13.5% not overly alcoholic red - at least not for that part of the world. The idea behind the range, which is called ‘unknown’ is to feature wines from less well-known wine regions, grape varieties or blends. The word 'desconocido' means 'stranger'.

As the blurb on the back label puts it it’s “an artisanal red that would be difficult not to enjoy with a variety of red wine foods”. It was perfect with the pot roast of pork with orange, fennel and olives that has been my recipe of the week this week but I think would go with other robust pork dishes too and costs a modest £7.99 from the Co-op.

* where I pick a bottle that appeals to me randomly from a wine store. See my blog post for the thinking behind this.

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