The El Castilla Syrah 2019 is a $6.99 Trader Joe’s wine sourced from grapes from Spain. The front label has almost no pertinent information on the origin of this Syrah.
The label says Vino de Espana or Wine of Spain for the origin and the back label only mentions the bottler and not the producer. The bottler is a number and not a name so that does not help much.
European wines are subject to all sorts of regulations concerning how the grapes are grown and how the wine is made, but the El Castilla Syrah 2019 seems to have somehow slipt through the cracks.
This wine seems to be popular in Denmark and Singapore and a Danish wine shop mentioned online that a commune produced this Syrah. Do not be scared a commune has nothing to do with communism, it is a group of small farmers with vineyards that form a union to reproduce wine.
These small individual farms do not have the acreage or money to start a winery, but together they have the grapes and capital to compete in the world of wine. Wine from communes tend to be affordably priced and Trader Joe’s does sell wine from other co-ops.
For a wine with no known winery or place of origin, the El Castilla Syrah 2019 has very nice packaging. The label is the colors white, black, and gold foil in an artsy design that is attractive. The bottle weighs a ton. It has a punt (the indentation on the bottom of the wine bottle) that is as substantial as a $50 bottle of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.
This wine has to be shipped to the United States from Spain, so why the extra weight which also means more expensive shipping? This is not a wine that anyone would put in a wine cellar for ten years. This is a buy it, take it home and drink it wine.
This is a very curious wine, with zero expected information and packaging that goes beyond its $6.99 price tag. I do not know if this means anything, but in Singapore, the El Castilla Syrah 2019 sells for $26. The Singapore dollar is .74 of a US dollar. But then again I think everything thing more expensive in Singapore.
Normally I would not buy a wine that has this little information available, I would figure that if they told me what was up I would not buy it. So I would believe them and not buy them. But I have come to trust Trader Joe’s, they are a German company with strong European wine connections. Even if one of their selections is not my cup of tea or bottle of wine I am typically glad I gave it a try.
So on to the tasting portion where we will find the true story of this wine. The alcohol content is 14.5%.
El Castilla Syrah 2019 Tasting Notes
The color is see-thru raspberry jam with black highlights. The nose is brooding and interesting, there is ripe cherry, smoke from the BBQ, black pepper, spice, bitter dark chocolate, and baking spice. Very good aromas for a $6.99 wine.
This is a medium-bodied Syrah, fruit-forward with interesting sub-flavors. It tastes of blackberry, sleek licorice, and chocolate all swirled together, but not sweet. those flavors are followed by plum, vanilla, and orange zest.
The tannins are soft and sweet, but they are not completely missing as in most $6.99 Red wines. They are lurking in the background giving this wine a much-appreciated texture.
This is a soft, smooth, easy-to-drink Syrah. With a $65 Syrah, you ask more than that from wine, but at $6.99 the El Castilla Syrah 2019 gets the job done.
The Summary
- It looks like my trust in Trader Joe’s was rewarded the El Castilla Syrah 2019 is a wine well worth drinking.
