The Best Red Wines For Grilling

The last days of summer are upon us, a time to be sure we get enough grilling and barbecuing to last us until next spring. Whatever you flip on the grill, we have some killer griller wines to match.

For the best asada or top juicy steaks:

2010 Terrazas Mendoza malbec reserve ($19). Lean yet generous fruit, mainly dark cherries, with refreshing bitters nibbling around the edges. Made for rare beef.

For fire oven pizzas and focaccia:

2007 Cóndita Castilla y León red wine ($28). Mature wine with dark cherries and a rusty, citrusy finish, that special coda for many Spanish wines. A straightforward, not complex drink.

For hamburgers fully loaded:

2012 Alvaro Castro DAV Dao red wine blend ($16). Juicy red cherries with modest tannins and a crisp finish from this traditional Portuguese area. Somewhat assertive with savory notes and hints of brown beans, just in case you're having some on the side.

2008 Casa de Santar Dao red wine ($11). A good wine to sip while you're waiting for the coals to get hot. Rounded fruit — more berries than cherries — with some creaminess and mellow tannins in the finish.

For ribs:

2009 Pitticum "La Prohibitión" alicante bouchet ($25). From northern Spain, a very savory wine with notes of oaky brown butter and dried blackberries, a great mixed for pork or beef cuts.     

For lamb chops:

2010 Château Le Peyrat Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux ($14). Dark ripe fruit from merlot country, with some candied fruit flavors, and cocoa earthiness and some spices in the finish. A very big wine.

2010 Château La Grand Maye Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux ($20). Fruitier yet leaner than the prior. Lots of blackberries and in a more-traditional Bordeaux style.

For roasted goat or lamb shanks:

2011 Ouled Thaleb Moroccan red blend ($14). Mixture of 70 percent cab sauv and 30 percent grenache, it has tart but full currant and cranberry flavors with hints of apple skins and a light chalkiness in the finish.

2011 Ouled Thaleb "Médallion" Moroccan red wine blend ($16). Another blend — cab, merlot, syrah in that order — with a little more grip and lean but fragrant dried blackberries flavors.

2010 Ouled Thaleb Moroccan syrah ($16). A combo if two styles of syrah, it starts with red, fleshy cherries followed by darker, earthy tones. Fragrant, but lean.