Hola fellow travelers,

I am interested in finding a good Spanish red wine to order on-line (from a source in Spain)and send as a thank you gift to someone in Madrid. I have a budget in mind of around $100.00 US, for 2 bottles. Hope some of you will have some good recommendations. Muchas gracis, SandyB

That's a tempting question. I wish I knew someone willing to spend a hundred bucks on two bottles of wine for me!

There's actually a lot you can choose from nowadays. Three good ones that should match that budget and not let you down are:
Torre Muga (Rioja)
Marqués de Griñón "Emeritvs"
Alión (Ribera del Duero)

But there's a whole slew of fancy Riojas, Ribera del Duero's for you to pick from.

To add to that:

Ribera del Duero "Vega Sicilia", though you may not be able to get two bottles for 100!

Another fav of mine that should fit the price range is also Ribera del Duero (the best growing region in Spain as far as I'm concerned) And its "Protos", the Gran Reserva is excellent and will be recognized as such.

1997 Remureli (i know its mispelled runs around $30 ) is a nice wine for the price.

You won't even be able to get one bottle of Vega Sicilia for that budget, unfortunately. A bottle starts at about 140€. The winery has an "economical" line called Valbuena which costs "only" 70€. Both are great wines, but maybe a bit steep. The Alion I mentioned before is a separate winery but it belongs to the Vega Sicilia Group. It goes for about 30€. Protos is always a good bet too.

I've never tried the Remelluri, but the wines from the bodega are highly rated, and we have a taster to back it up? I tried to find it, and I see there is a 1997 Remelluri called "la Granja", and it goes for that price. Is that the one you were talking about Gregorio? I'll have to keep an eye out for it myself.

I brought 6 bottles back from my last visit in January, they are in my cellar now. I believe the 97 is a grand reserva, but could be mistakes. Very smooth drinking wine, that in my opinion is one of the best I have tasted from that region. I am no expert on vino, but do enjoy it and that's one of my top spanish wines. I have seen it in some stores in the states for anout $40 US. Another one of my favorites is Campillo, either a 1997 or 2000, those should run you a little lower than Remelluri.

One of my friend's families owns the Bodegas Juan Alcorta winery, which is not pricey but very good:

"The Bodega Juan Alcorta, perhaps one of the best in the world, is situated right in the heart of La Rioja, the prestigious growing region."http://www.wine.com/aboutwine/basics/winerydesc.asp?winid=1643

- International Winner 2004, Best of Wine Tourism Awards