Bodegas Faustino

Gran Reserva Faustino I 75th Anniversary Rioja Tempranillo Blend 2016

9.2

This wine takes me back to 1980. I had to check my very first wine journal, back when I was still a true wine novice.

What I wrote then was simple but telling: “wonderful, full, and ripe.” No elaborate analysis, just sheer admiration as my third wine ever.

Now, decades later, I taste it again. With experience, reference points, and countless glasses behind me. And yet, the remarkable thing is: my tasting note today aligns perfectly with what I wrote back then.

The wine remains classic, harmonious, and carefully crafted. Ripe fruit, integrated oak, soft tannins, and a long, elegant finish, exactly what you hope for in a Gran Reserva.

This time, I was particularly surprised at how astonishingly well it paired with smoked salmon and a touch of soy sauce.

Something I could never have imagined in 1980. Yet it worked beautifully: the wine’s umami embraced the salmon, and the soy’s saltiness found balance in the wine’s ripeness and softness.

A wine that has not only stood the test of time, but has also grown alongside my palate. Then impressive for its power and ripeness, now for its precision, balance, and classic craftsmanship.

Some first impressions, it seems, are simply right from the start. And in this price range it’s just a very good wine. — a day ago

Jan, Jeroen and 6 others liked this

Jeroen Koenen

Goed verhaal, B.

Bodegas Faustino Gonzalez

Amontillado En Rama Palomino

Benjamin Hickey

9.5

3 years under flor then 9 years oxidative. Salty, long. A little funky — 4 months ago

Monte Faustino

Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Corvina Blend 2000

David Kline

9.7

2000 Monte Faustino Amarone
Showing age with brick red and brown. Dark cherry nose showing baked fruit, brown sugar. Cinnamon, cedar, raisin, bread pudding, treacle, dried roses. Palate of dried cherry, dried red currant, baked plum, cola, sarsaparilla and clove.

#montefaustino #montefaustinoamarone #amaronedellavalpilicella #valpolicella #classico #amarone #rosso — 10 months ago

ESF, Paul and 3 others liked this

ESF

Great pull

Bodegas Faustino

Crianza Rioja Tempranillo Blend

Steve Bowen

9.2

Paired with chicken thigh paella. Dry with a fast finish. Somewhat bold flavor that paired perfect with bold flavor paella. The fast finish was perfect with the lasting flavor of the food making the wine not compete with the meal. — 9 days ago