• Cheap Wine < $10
  • Cheap Wine +/- $20
  • Cheap Wine – Red
    • Bubbly (blanc de noirs)
    • Cabernet Sauvignon
    • Grenache/Garnacha
    • Malbec
    • Merlot
    • Mourvedre
    • Petite Sirah
    • Pinot Noir
    • Red Blend
    • Rosé
    • Sparkling Rosé
    • Syrah/Shiraz
    • Tempranillo
    • Zinfandel
  • Cheap Wine – White
    • Bubbly (blanc de blancs)
    • Chardonnay
    • Chenin Blanc
    • Pinot Gris/Grigio
    • Riesling
    • Sauvignon Blanc
    • Torrontes
    • White Blend
    • Other White Grapes
  • CheapWineFinder Podcast

Cheap Wine Finder

Remarkable wines that pair nicely with your wallet

You are here: Home / Cheap Wine < $10 / Matsu El Picaro 2019

Matsu El Picaro 2019

August 9, 2020 by Domaine Dave Leave a Comment

Matsu El Picaro 2019

The Story

The Matsu El Picaro 2019 is a Tempranillo wine sourced from 90-year-old vineyards in the Toro D.O. of Spain. Toro is located near the Northeast corner of Portugal, the northwest of Spain wraps around the Portugal border.

Matsu is a Japanese word that means to wait and El Picaro translates to the Rouge. Bodega Matsu is one of the projects from Vintae, which is three generations of winemakers who produce wines from nine separate regions in Spain. The El Picaro is the youngest wine of the 4 wines made under the Matsu name and I believe that is a photo of the youngest son on the label.

There is an old adage that wine grapes need to suffer to produce interesting wine. The two most commons ways for the grapes to struggle are poor soil or old vines that naturally struggle due to age. The El Picaro grapes are 90-year-old vines grown in poor soil, the struggle is real.

The grapes were fermented in large cement vats/ Cement works well with winemaking since the thickness of the cement keeps the juice contained inside the vat at a constant temperature. Wine grapes like steady temps and the winemakers’ ability to control the temperature assist in certain production techniques.

Sparkling wines/Bubbly is said to undergo 2 fermentations, but the reality is that most Red wines and sometimes White wines such a Chardonnay are fermented twice. The second fermentation is malolactic fermentation which changes the natural tart acids in the grapes to more rounded tasting acids. With El Picaro, the malolactic fermentation occurs when the wine is transferred from the cement vats to oak barrels.

The oak barrels are not there to age the tempranillo and oak conditioning, just to add a little character to the malolactic fermentation. This is intended to be a young wine, bright, juicy, and fruit-forward.

The grapes were farmed with bio-dynamic methods that go beyond organic farming. The vineyard decisions are based on the phases of the moon and complimentary plants are grown in the vineyard to attract the insects that feed on pests that plague the vines.

I sometimes read articles about the best places to find “cheap” wine is South America or South Africa, along with a few other locations. While those growing regions at one time may have concentrated on value-priced wine, they now are concentrating on more expensive offerings.

If you want to find the best location (outside of the West Coast of the USA) learn to like Tempranillo and Garnacha from Spain. There are more 90 plus point wines under $15 in your wine shops Spanish aisle than any other region. The Matsu El Picaro 2019 is an old vine Tempranillo grown with bio-dynamic practices and any interesting wine production style and I found it selling for $9.99. The alcohol content is 14.5%.

Matsu El Picaro 2019 Tasting Notes

The color is a very dark black cherry red. The nose is intense, ripe blackberry, licorice, a little cola, soft spice, raspberry, and faint herbs. This is an intense full-flavored wine with sharp spice and persistent acidity.

It starts with blackberry, Australian licorice, sharp spice, and blueberry. The mid-palate offers cherry cough syrup, a salty sensation, and dried strawberry bits. This wine is unfiltered and unfined, which removes solids from the wine. Anytime you remove something from the wine you also remove a certain amount of flavor. This wine is full-flavored, I do not think anything has been removed.

The Summary

  • The Matsu El Picaro is a lot of wine for the money. It is made with a very bold, intense style. Often ten buck wines have the edges smoothed off to appeal to greater audience. The El Picaro makes a singular statement that is refreshing in a value priced wine.

Related Posts:

  • Tenebres GSM 2019
    Tenebres GSM 2019
  • El Castilla Syrah 2019
    El Castilla Syrah 2019
  • Farmhouse California Red 2019
    Farmhouse California Red 2019
  • Aiolas Red Blend 2019
    Aiolas Red Blend 2019

Filed Under: Cheap Wine < $10, Cheap Wine - Red, Cheap Wine Podcast, Tempranillo Tagged With: best cheap wine, certified biodynamic, cheap tempranillo, old vines, Spain, Tempranillo, toro do, wine podcast technology fraud counterfeit trends

Cheap Wine Podcast – Latest Episodes!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Cheap Wine Photos

cheapwinefinder

New #podcast #episode: Angeline California Pinot N New #podcast #episode: Angeline California Pinot Noir 2020 (link in bio)
.
.
.
#AngelineCaliforniaPinotNoir2020, #BestCheapWine2020, #CaliforniaPinotNoir, #WinePodcast
Let's do this! It's Friday & there's dragonberry m Let's do this! It's Friday & there's dragonberry margs to drink! Dragonberry!
.
.
.
#margarita #tropical #dragonberry @salsa17grill
New #podcast #episode: Beauty In Chaos Pinot Grigi New #podcast #episode: Beauty In Chaos Pinot Grigio 2019 (link in bio)
.
.
.
#BeautyInChaosPinotGrigio2019, #BestCheapWine2022, #ColumbiaValleyAVA, #PinotGrigio, #TargetWine, #WinePodcast
New #podcast #episode: La Burgondie Cremant de Bou New #podcast #episode: La Burgondie Cremant de Bourgogne Brut Rosé (link in bio)
.
.
.
#BestCheapWine2022, #FrenchBubbly, #LaBurgondieCremantDeBourgogneBrutRosé, #TraderJoe039SWine, #WinePodcast
New #podcast #episode: Trader Joe's Reserve Alexan New #podcast #episode: Trader Joe's Reserve Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 Lot 225 (link in bio)
.
.
.
#BestCheapWine2022, #TraderJoe039SReserveAlexanderValleyCabernetSauvignon2020Lot225, #WinePodcast
New #podcast #episode: The Pale Rosé 2021 (link i New #podcast #episode: The Pale Rosé 2021 (link in bio)
.
.
.
#BestCheapWine2022, #IGPWine, #ProvenceRose, #ThePaleRosé2021, #WinePodcast
Load More... Hit us up on Insta

Cheap Wine Events

Cheap Wine Subscription

You know you want our latest & greatest cheap wine articles delivered right to your inbox, so go ahead and slide us your email.

Cheap Wine Info

  • Advertise
  • Cheap Wine Photo Gallery
  • CheapWineFinder Staff
  • Contact CheapWineFinder
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Service
©2022, CheapWineFinder.com
Advertise | Log in

Posting....