I was lamenting the lack of decent wine in Mercadona, cheap or otherwise with a friend of mine, Paul just last week. In case you're not familiar with Mercadona, who are perhaps the Sainsburys of Spain, they have a huge preference for Spanish made wine. Only very rarely do you see a wine from anywhere else on their shelves. While this leads to a inexpensive supply of half decent Riojas and Riber del duero's, after a while the lack of diversity leaves someone with a more internationally whetted palette crying out for something different.
Señorío de Fitero front
Señorío de Fitero back
Cheap?
I picked this bottle up for 1.75 euros (£1.37 approx on 5 June 2016) so not too expensive. Labelled as Señorío de Fitero, the alcohol is 13.5% and this wine is from the Denomination of Navarra.
This is a classic grape blend of Garnacha and Temperanillo. It is a roble, meaning it has spent a short time in an oak barrel - three months according to the labelling, and the year is 2013, so we're talking a three year old oak flavoured bottle of wine for the price of a cup of coffee - well less in some places!
I have to say this wasn't a memorable bottle. It has very little nose - hardly any smell at all, despite the air temperature being nearly thirty degrees on the day I opened it - most odd. The flavour was a bit more lively - one immediately says Rioja, but flatter with less tannin. No taste similies lept into my mind - it's just a bog standard cheap red wine - sorry. OK for quaffing with a bit of cheese but don't make this one the accompaniment for a special meal.