Bodegas Agronavarra Agramont Graciano Navarra 2021

Graciano! 97 POINTS…and…wait for it…ONLY $12!!! TWELVE! Each and every red wine lover in the whole of the Last Bottle Universe should be RUNNING, nay, sprinting to lock in a few at this skin-tingling price. Bodegas Agronavarra, good people! Load UP!

Agronavarra…I like that. Feels like a word I might have made up in my middle school days while rocking my Vans “checks” slip-ons, and showing off the shiny new chromies on my BMX that I liberated from my dad’s sedan. Dude. Anywho…this wine…what’s the word? Contrary. As in – a $12 wine should NOT be this inky, structured, or layered. Or – a wine this (let’s just say it…) CHEAP should no way, no how, in any universe cost just $12! Insane. Unbelievable. Contrary. And yet…YET! Here we are!  

Graciano is one of the ancient, key varieties in Rioja, and lesser known locations throughout Spain, like, say…Navarra! Sadly, plantings across the map have dwindled in recent years – low yields and later harvest dates than tempranillo means more work for the farmers that grow the grapes. But man, oh man…when it is done right like this 97 point beauty is…LOOK OUT! It shines. Bright red berries, dusty cherries, this high-toned floral note of fresh-cut heliotropes, some raw coffee scents, and this delicate woodsy note of fresh-picked mushrooms and damp pine forest! So much going on here, all of it good, but super unique and like nothing else I’ve ever tasted! Is that agave? Fresh pipe tobacco? Raspberry compote? Yes!!! Light in the mouth – like a soft Burgundy, but with a spicy, soul-warming quality that reminds me of great CdP! Toss in the mysterious, sneaks up on you structure of a Cru Barbaresco – and you just might be beginning to understand what this baby is all about. It’s just not fair to have a wine this good at prices like this. This is a definite “Case Me” offer…while it lasts!