1993 Vina Albali Gran Reserva de Familia

[hotwine]

Ro-Tel Tomatoes is a canned product from ConAgra consisting of diced tomatoes and green chilies. Great for mixing with melted cheese to make chili con queso as a chip dip.

Vina Albali carries the Valdepenas DOC designation; see vinaalbali.com. A Web search hasn't turned up much more in the way of details regarding production techniques. But the Web does show many notes on much later vintages (and at lower prices in the UK and Europe), so I hardly think the '93 has been held for 11 years and just now released; much more likely, Sam's Club has bought a bunch on close-out from a distributor. Normally, that kind of "bargain" would be a loser, which is why I was suspicious when I first spotted it, but it's a very pleasant surprise. And doubly so, given that it has nearly 10 years of bottle age and yet hasn't cooked or faded.