A Change of Pace with Oniro

If you're a regular follower of our blog, you know that Pris and I consume a fairly sizable quantity of beef.  Or rather we tend to pair more of our wines with beef.  We can't help it that we're from Texas, and grew up with the commercials that said "Beef, its what's for dinner."  Still, I decided to switch things up a bit the other night and grilled up some lamb chops.  To go with the change of pace Pris selected a bottle of Oniro's 2009 red.

The Oniro is a Spanish red that is a blend of Monastrell ,Cabernet, Garnacha, and Syrah; and it was a great selection to go with our dinner.  The wine is made up primarily of the Monastrell grape, and it really showed in the flavor.  The aroma was heavy with deep dark berries and herbal undertones.  The Monastrell dominated the palate with full ripe raspberry notes followed by anise and mineral on the mid-palate.  The wine finished nicely with mellow tannins and the full fruit from the Monastrell.

We paired Oniro's red blend with a pair of grilled lamb chops and an orzo salad made with feta, cucumbers, olives, mint, lemon juice and olive oil.  The wine went very well with the earthy lamb and the citrusy salad.  The full fruit was a great compliment to the well seasoned meat.  It also managed to even out the richness of all the olive oil in the salad.  This would be a great wine for barbeque on the weekends as the fulll fruit seems tailor made for a rich barbeque sauce.

I picked up the Oniro at Feldman's here in Brownsville.  It costs under $10, and last I checked it was still available.  It was a great wine for the value.  Unfortunately I was not able to find a website to offer more information on this wine.