Opened on March 31, 2021 for anniversary dinner from Trio. — 13 days ago
This Rioja Reserva is made from 100% Tempranillo grapes. 💃 The “Reserva” designation in Spain means the wine was subject to certain minimum aging requirements prior to release. More specifically, it must have aged a minimum of three years prior to release, where at least one of those years was spent in oak barrels. Producers, especially those from Rioja, often exceed these minimum requirements, but the labeling designation certainly helps give a sense for what you may expect to experience in the glass.
👁 This wine is medium ruby with secondary garnet hues and pink rim variation. There’s noticeable tearing.
👃 It has those quintessential, front-stage notes of oak, 🪵 cedar, nutmeg, coconut, and vanilla on the nose along with notes of lush cherry, 🍒 plum, strawberry,🍓 molasses, taro, toasted caramel, hazelnut, cigar, sweet tobacco, balsamic, olive, and saddle leather. This wine has good aromatic intensity.
👄 The palate is dry, with medium acidity, a medium(+) body, high alcohol, medium tannins, and medium(+) intensity in flavors consistent with the nose. The finish is medium(+). This wine is ripe, soft, smooth, and delicious. 👏👏
It has received, deservedly so (IMO), critical acclaim from the likes of Robert Parker/Wine Advocate (91 pts) and James Suckling (93 pts).🤩🤩
I have never had a wine I didn’t love from this producer – La Rioja Alta, S.A. @lariojaaltasa — 8 days ago
Clear garnet red. Inviting nose and medium-bodied palate of black cherry cobbler and woodsy earth. Medium plus-ish acidity makes up for the next to no tannins. Argentina’s high altitude vineyards prove to be ideal for a uniquely Southern Hemisphere style that’s great as a casual sipper or with cheeses, but serves equally well as a meal accompaniment. Enjoy with pork, vegetarian dishes, lighter cuts of beef, or the classic salmon (I’m having Atlantic). Drink now or next year. — 14 days ago
20 år var ingen ålder för denna. Ruggigt vital med pigg syra, snygg och väl integrerad ek, tanniner som ger struktur utan att vara utanpåliggande samt massor av mogna mörka bär, tobak och örter. — 6 days ago
Estructura compleja, suntuosa y però algo ligera al mismo tiempo.. muy interesante — 13 days ago
I’ve seen mixed reviews on this wine and must advise to properly aerate this bottle. Initially the nose is tight and the pallet a little too acidic. After about an hour though, the wine really opens up to scents of blackberry, raspberry, sweet tobacco and cocoa. On the pallet there is red plum, raspberry, blackberry, and vanilla with a medium plus body, medium alcohol, medium acidity. The wine is dry with a sharp dark chocolaty finish. Definitely not a pop and pour kind of wine despite its youth. If you have the time to spare the wine will pay dividends, both, in tasting experience and value.
PS This a high altitude wine; grapes grown at over a thousand meters above sea level in the Andean Slopes, and I’m tempted to correlate its initial tightness with it; however, there is no evidence to back it up my assumption. May be just a myth, but cheers to myths! — 16 days ago
Red cherry, herbs, and olive brininess with chalky minerality. Well-integrated but firm tannins and fresh acidity. A graceful wine with a bit of a wild side, too. Purchased at Suburban Wines in Yorktown Heights, NY. — 24 days ago
Palmer Emmitt
Owner/Winemaker Judge Palmer
I still have quite a few wines like this from my early days of wine collecting - stuff that was highly rated or recommended in the $15-30 price range (this was $18 from Wine Library in 2009). Wines that could provide a great quality for the price, but that no one, including me, ever expected would spend a dozen years in my cellar. Many people would assume wines like this one to be hopelessly past prime, but over and over again I’m surprised how well so many of them - from both the old and new world - hold up. At first this wine seemed to be over the hill, with some brownish tinge to the color, balsamic aroma and leathery mouthfeel, but the longer it’s in my glass the more I’m enjoying it. The sweet and intense red cherry fruit is sightly raisiny in character yet still somehow bright, the tannins are integrated but still firm, and the acid is balanced and mouth watering. Pretty classic Grenache-Carignane that would hold its own against Priorats costing several multiples of its price. Sometimes wine makes you smile (most times). — 7 days ago