Codice Tempranillo

Dominio de Egurin, Vin de Tierra Castilla, Spain. 2009.

Protocolo’s Older Brother!

Style: Tempranillo is Spain’s great Noble grape. The backbone of Rioja (one of two D.O.C. regions in Spain), Tempranillo tends to make softer, medium-to-light bodied wines that nonetheless showcase a vibrant dark fruit character. Spice and oak can vary greatly from producer to producer.

Description: Codice is excellent for its pricepoint and intended style. While it remains strongly representative of a true table-style Tempranillo, it shows its age well. A lightly inky color gives way to a medium body, balanced and with a certain heft that its younger brother lacks. Wild cherries dominate the palate, while the soft tannins leave just a touch of a brown sugar note on the finish. Look deep enough, and one might find a little bit of basil hidden within the noticeable oak structure.

Notes:  Any wine such as this, necessarily must be placed within its own context. As to its relation to Protocolo, it is, perhaps “Not as spicy, a bit bigger, and more properly balanced.” As a wine with dinner, it demands slightly heavier fare than its easy-going counterpart, but still makes for an enjoyable glass all on its own. We do warn that if you are a “Light-bodied Tempranillo Only” type of palate, this wine may be a tad bit too big and dense for your liking. However, this particular vintage is nearing the end of its run, so we encourage you to try it while you can. We hope to have Protocolo itself back in stock soon, but until then, we recommend that you try a bottle of Codice, if you’re open to exploration and to a wine that is quite different – and yet reminiscent – of its magazine-cover-model younger brother.

- Jarrod, with commentary by Will and Meggan, Adega Wine Cellars (Reviewed 2/7/12),

$15.99, retail and dine-in!

Enjoy Heavy Seas’ Loose Cannon IPA? Read on!

Black Ale (also called Black IPA and Cascadian Dark Ale) is a beer style that has been growing tremendously over the past few years, as brewers experiment with the new style. It’s also a favorite of ours here at Adega – black ales will commonly feature the intense hop backbone of an IPA, but blended with a strong malt presence and full body.

Black Cannon is a seasonal release from Heavy Seas (formerly Clipper City) in Baltimore: you may know them from their Loose Cannon IPA, one of our best sellers, or any number of other pirate/nautically themed offerings. This particular beer shows a good restraint on the part of not being overly-hoppy. Where other black ales tend to showcase a sweeter side of malt, this take on the style showcases a nuttier, toasted character, while retaining a slick, almost crisp mouthfeel.

It’s hard to say if this is a “true” example of the style, as the style itself is still being hammered out by various breweries across the country. This beer is certainly worth a try, however, especially if you haven’t experienced the Black Ale movement for yourself. Fans of Heavy Seas should find that this beer will fit right into your refridgerator – just be sure to drink it before March or so, as I can’t see this particular brew as able to be cellared for very long.

- Jarrod, Adega Wine Cellars (Reviewed 1/26/12, based on bottle serving)

$9.49

Hey, Adegans!

Stick with us — in the next few weeks, we’ll be moving towards updating this page far more regularly. For today’s post, let’s discuss Oktoberfest.

I know our stationery says “wine cellars”, but we also sell great beer, too!

This week, we’ve got Spaten Oktoberfest in the six packs. Spaten is (very arguably) the world’s oldest continuously-operating brewery.  I remember my trip to Munich, and being able to tour the Spaten brewery. It’s a class act, and despite the volume, there’s still an attention to detail that’s unrivaled by many of the worlds’ bigger breweries.

The Oktoberfest is a Marzen. In Germany, a Marzen is a specific style of lagering, which produces Helles (think Spaten Premium and Lowenbrau) and Dunkel, and everything in between. The Oktoberfest Marzen is a beer style developed for the celebration of Oktoberfest itself. It’s based on a malty, yet bold understanding of the lagering process, but still with a depth and firmness not found in other German lagers — this means, for those of you who love Yuengling and Sam Adams, you’ll want to give this one a try!

It’s just $8.99 while supplies last, and truly is a great beer with which to welcome in the Fall.

Check back with us soon, as we introduce more of our wines, beer, employees and specials. Make sure to join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter (@AdegaWine)!
We’ll see you soon, Silver Spring!

For Adega:

Cheers!
Jarrod