O'Briens Spanish Wine Sale

So I was down in O'Briens in Carrickmines on Saturday searching for an elusive bottle of Punk IPA, when I noticed a few interesting wines on special. I made a mental note and returned on Sunday; the wines above are the result. You may have noticed that only one is actually Spanish and I don't know what to tell you about it. From left to right they are:

Tandem Ars In Vitro 2010  €9-99 reduced from €14-99 link
This is a Tempranillo/Merlot blend from the Navarra region of Spain and all done in a very vegan friendly organic crusty manner. After an hour or so in the decanter this tasted...OK. Nothing special but "drinkable". Some acidity from the Tempranillo and some soft fruit from the Merlot I guess.  It accompanied a roast chicken and was perfectly fine. By the end of the night it had developed some nice complexity but it took a long while to get there. Fine as priced but not a runner for me at full whack.

Aruma Malbec 2010  €12-99 reduced from €17-99 link
Classic malbec. From the off, this had lots of fruit, but not in a shirazzy, in your face, fruitbomb way. Lots of fruit but plenty of other stuff, some little complexity and after it had been open a while, a delicious long finish. If you like yessir Malbec, then you won't go wrong here, especially at the sale price. This winemaker also makes the amazing Amancaya, twenty bills but worth every cent.. 

Volpetto Chianti Riserva 2009 €10-99 reduced from €17-99 link
Yummy. A very tasty Chianti. Smooth, fruity and delicious. Not sure I'd pay full price but great value at €10-99. I'd suspect it needs food to really shine but it's pretty good on its own.

Piuma Montepulciano D'Abruzzo 2009 €8-99 reduced from €10-99 link
I have to say I opened this last, because I suspected it might be "cheap and cheerful"; and initially I thought I was vindicated, with the wine coming off initially as a bit tart and acidic. But after a while the acidity receded into the mix and some lovely plummy fruit appeared. By the end of the evening, this was really rocking. Well worth a look at either price.