Tried last night:
1. Fronton de Oro Dd'O: GranCanaria (13%; www.josepastorselections.com; Negra Comun/Tintilla) JosePastorSelections 2009: Med.light color; very intense cracked black pepper slight earthy very terroir-driven complex nose; fairly tart very strong cracked black pepper bit earthy/spicy some tannic flavor; very long very strong cracked black pepper finish w/ modest tannins; needs a few yrs of age; very good wine for $19.00
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And a wee BloodyPulpit:
1. I had this wine last week at BayWolf and liked it quite a lot. Picked up a btl and VintageBerkeley and shared it at BacchusBadBoys last night. They were mightly impressed. It is a blend of NegraComun and Tintilla. NegraComun is widely planted on the CanaryIslands and is none other than the well-known ListanNegro grape. It is found by DNA to be identical to the Mission grape of Calif. Tintila is most well known in the Molise region of Italy. They claim it to be indigenous to the area, but JancisRobinson states it is of Spanish origins.
At BayWolf, I was very taken by its intense cracked black pepper character. It reminded me of a cold-climate Calif Syrah, like TreViti, w/o the intensity of fruit those usually show. The cracked black pepper character may be a bit too strong for some folks, though. This is the 2'nd or 3'rd CanaryIsland wine I've had and been impressed with. All from JosePastor Selections in Richmond. The vnyd from his WebSite likes extremely rugged.
Tom