At this point, you must think I only drink white and rosé wines, but I swear I don’t! It’s just been a hot, sweaty summer. The other night, I had a hankering for a luscious red, so I picked up a 2010 Bodegas Balbas Ribera del Duero Ardal Reserva from Costco. It was about $18 there and I’ve seen it online for under $25.

It’s from the Ribera del Duero appellation in Spain and the blend was Cabernet – Tempranillo. Bodegas Balbás was born in 1777, the year in which construction of the first underground wine cellar began, and today it has been celebrating almost 250 years of tradition of six generations dedicated to the noble task of conceiving one of the great wines of Ribera del Duero and Spain. It has been more than 35 years since Bodegas Balbás, together with a small group of wineries, created and constituted what we know today as Denomination of Origin Ribera del Duero. Grapes from the vineyards are an average age of 60 years old, which gives elegance to the wine.

It has a heay aroma of sweetness and spice. Swirling it around the glass, it had a dark burgundy hue and long, long legs. It’s initially sweet and oaky – full of dark fruit – but is very tannin forward. It has a decent amount of acidity and dryness. I enjoyed it with steak, couscous and a Greek salad. I give it a 4/5.