Brett happens

Utiel-Requena 2010, Bo, Vicente Gandia ($15.40*, 11676680)
*$13.40 through January 27, 2013.
100% Bobal. Fermented at 28ºC (82ºF) in stainless steel tanks, with 15 days’ maceration on the skins. Matured nine months in medium-toasted French oak casks. 13.5% ABV.
Dusty red berries, stewed plum, old leather, oak and a charred note. Medium-bodied and quite dry. Smooth and velvety with soft tannins and some oaky/earthiness on the finish. Decent length and balance, though the bright acidity seems a little incongruous with the rest of the package. Drinkable but not what you’d call memorable.

Vicente Gandia, the largest winery in the Valencian Community, has 15 products at the SAQ, all but two of them in the regular catalogue. This Bobal is the latest addition and it stacks up pretty well against similarly priced, “industrial” wines on the monopoly’s shelves. That said, it offers none of the purity and tart juiciness and little of the refreshment of Calabuig’s organic Bobal, available on a private-import basis from La QV for $15.00 (stay tuned for a note on the newly arrived 2011).