A couple of wheezy old geezers...

I have, on occasion, bought old Spanish wines which crop up in Supermarkets (mostly Tesco and Dunnes), every so often, at alleged bargain prices (< €10). I am almost inevitably disappointed; see here, here and infacta here

So today in Dunnes I spotted two potential old offenders and thought I'd try them out horizontally, so to speak. I opened and decanted both at 6pm and we (me and Herself) tried them at approx. 8 bells.

Castillo de la Pena Campo de Borja Gran Reserva 2003 - €7
Rich and fruity with a little acidic sharpness and maybe a whiff of THC TCA. This one is a blend of Garnacha and Cab Sav. Tastes old and tired and on further tasting it's definitely a tiny bit corked and/or unpleasant, so down the sink with it.

Castillo del Rey Carinena Gran Reserva 2006 - €7
Lighter in the glass than the wine above and with its own unpleasant characteristics. Allegedly a blend of Tempranillo, Garnacha and Cab Sav. Its a bit sharp and may improve so I'm going to rebottle this and give it a day, on the off-chance, although I'm not hopeful.

Update - While this improved after 24 hours, there was still an unpleasant aftertaste to it so it also ended up down the sink...

In conclusion there's a reason these wines are priced to clear - TANSTAAFL.

However as I am careful by nature, I anticipated this possibility so I also picked up a Gerard Bertrand Tautavel 2009 - on perennial sale for €8, thank FSM, so we'll have that tonight.