Wine of the week: Protocolo Tinto 2019

Once again, Spain’s Protocolo delivers a dependable and reliable cheap wine

Want to know the biggest problem with the various Spanish Protocolo wines, which have made regular appearances as wines of the week over the past couple years? They’re so well priced and so well made that when I buy wine, I buy them just to drink – even when I should be buying different wine to review.

The Protocolo Tinto 2019 ($7, purchased, 14%) is no exception. It’s the kind of dependable, reliable, and professional red wine that tastes like red wine that we see less and less of these days. (And is one of the reasons why I worry about the future of the wine business.)

What does that phrase, dependable and reliable, mean? It means the Protocolo tastes like tempranillo from Spain, and offers value at this price. So maybe some black cherry fruit and the requisite temparnillo acidity and background tannins. It’s not very complicated, and there won’t be orange zest or Rioja dustiness, but this is a $7 wine and not a $30 one.

And don’t worry about the 14 percent alcohol – that seems more of a labeling trick to evade the Trump tariff than an actual measurement. The wine is neither especially hot or rich; rather, it’s just a red wine to have with dinner, whether takeout pizza or meatloaf. Plus, it’s so widely available that even the crankiest among you should be able to buy it.

Imported by Fine Estates from Spain