“Alceno Romeo” is a Monastrell-based wine hailing from Jumilla, a small region on the Mediterranean coast of southeastern Spain. Most of the grapes grown in the area are Monastrell, better known as “Mourvedre” (in France, as well as Australia (the M of GSM blends), and California. The wine is not a heavyweight, like a robust Syrah or Petit Sirah, but it’s not a lightweight, either. You can taste black-raspberry and red-currant flavors from your palate’s first encounter, followed by a touch of spice as it prepares to cruise down your alimentary canal. A great wine to accompany pizza, burgers, or even a nice, thick steak. According to wine critic James Suckling, “This is a suave, rich and polished Monastrell with a very attractive blueberry nose that follows to the fresh, smoothly rendered palate.” Suckling gave the wine 93 points, a score one commonly associates with wines that sell for $20-$30 and, more often than not, $40 and above. While Suckling is noted for being somewhat generous in his scoring, I’d say he’s not that far off this time. Even if you take it down a notch pointwise, it remains a delicious quaff, and – at $7.99 a bottle (WHAT?!) – it’s a real bargain.
