Wine in a bag

Well this was different, I saw this on offer in Morrisons for £6 and because it was a Rioja, I thought I’d give it a go, I have seen it since and it’s now back up to around £12 a bottle.

Now I do remember seeing Siglo and the strange sack covering years ago, but I don’t think I’ve ever tasted it.

So what is the sack and why?

It is apparently a Jute covering, a biodegradable plant material, which is strong and durable ( I can vouch for that as I had a hell of a job cutting it away to see the actual bottle). It’s used mainly for covering plants, protecting them from the elements.

So why on the actual bottle?

The description below is taken from the Bodegas Manzanos website who took over the brand in 2018

"The sack was an innovative jute cover, inspired by the Rioja tradition in which workers, who worked in the fields all day from dawn, wrapped the wine bottle with a damp cloth to keep the wine fresh. Today, Siglo continues this tradition in collaboration with Asprodema, an NGO that promotes people with intellectual disabilities, which covers the bottles by hand with the Sack.”

Siglo Tempranillo Rioja

So what’s it like? I must say I was pleasantly surprised; it was unmistakably a Rioja in smell and taste, and a pretty decent one.

Very dry on first sip, but it was mouth watering, blackberries, plums, cherries and strawberries, followed by Vanilla, spice, some leather and chocolate, finishing with a slight earthiness. Muted but grippy tannins and moderate oak

I assume the wine is young, no indication on the bottle or the abv, which tasted like around the 14%.

This was extremely enjoyable and I only wished I had bought more at £6. Perhaps I should have tasted it sooner; I would have definitely gone back and cleared the shelf.

As I said earlier, I tried to cut away the sack to see what was underneath but as you can see, there was nothing, but blimey, they put it on well, I blunted about three scissors trying to cut through it

My Rating 8.5/10 Corks