Baron de Ley
Varietales Rioja Tempranillo
La Rioja, Spain
What a great Tempranillo! Great aromas, fantastic flavors - ah, it’s a 3rd bottle - not bad.
What a great Tempranillo! Great aromas, fantastic flavors - ah, it’s a 3rd bottle - not bad.
1 person found it helpfulAug 21st, 2021Fantastic wine♥️ The perfect balance of fruit, acidity and tannins. It is at the same time a big, fruit forward wine, and a highly focused, multi layered, lower alcohol content beauty🍷🇪🇸
Fantastic wine♥️ The perfect balance of fruit, acidity and tannins. It is at the same time a big, fruit forward wine, and a highly focused, multi layered, lower alcohol content beauty🍷🇪🇸
1 person found it helpfulJun 15th, 2021
Tim’s Wine Market. $15 case sale.
Tim’s Wine Market. $15 case sale.
1 person found it helpfulFeb 9th, 2020
Must cellar nose, opens after while to expose more acid laden fruit.
Sharp fruits and high acidity.
Needs a bit more time to mellow..
Must cellar nose, opens after while to expose more acid laden fruit.
Sharp fruits and high acidity.
Needs a bit more time to mellow..
Barón de Ley – Varietales Tempranillo – 2014
Rioja DOCa – Spain 🇪🇸
Overview
A 100% Tempranillo from Rioja’s esteemed Barón de Ley Varietales Collection, crafted to highlight the noble face of the region’s flagship grape. Although structured in a crianza style with a projected drinking window of 10–12 years, opening it in 2025 revealed the wine perched right on the twilight edge of maturity. This is bottle #04400, now showing the soulful evolution that Rioja Tempranillo is famed for.
Aromas & Flavors
Initially faint cherry fruit, now firmly in the tertiary spectrum: leather satchel, dried rosemary, forest floor, and faint cigar box. Gentle hints of balsamic and dried fig linger in the background.
Mouthfeel
Medium-bodied with softened, polymerized tannins. Acidity remains fresh enough to carry the wine, but fruit presence has largely faded, leaving savory and earthy notes to dominate.
Food Pairings
A fine match for aged Manchego cheese, braised lamb shank, mushroom-stuffed peppers, or even a rustic stew where earthy and herbal notes harmonize.
Verdict
This Tempranillo no longer plays its youthful cherry trumpet but rather resonates like the old violin sound of Rioja—mellow, textured, and contemplative. A fascinating study in maturity, best enjoyed with reflection rather than exuberance.
Did You Know?
Rioja wines are often classified not just by grape but by aging designations (Crianza, Reserva, Gran Reserva). This bottle leaned into crianza timing, showing beautifully at first but demonstrating how Tempranillo gracefully transitions from fruit-driven vibrancy to complex tertiary elegance.
Barón de Ley – Varietales Tempranillo – 2014
Rioja DOCa – Spain 🇪🇸
Overview
A 100% Tempranillo from Rioja’s esteemed Barón de Ley Varietales Collection, crafted to highlight the noble face of the region’s flagship grape. Although structured in a crianza style with a projected drinking window of 10–12 years, opening it in 2025 revealed the wine perched right on the twilight edge of maturity. This is bottle #04400, now showing the soulful evolution that Rioja Tempranillo is famed for.
Aromas & Flavors
Initially faint cherry fruit, now firmly in the tertiary spectrum: leather satchel, dried rosemary, forest floor, and faint cigar box. Gentle hints of balsamic and dried fig linger in the background.
Mouthfeel
Medium-bodied with softened, polymerized tannins. Acidity remains fresh enough to carry the wine, but fruit presence has largely faded, leaving savory and earthy notes to dominate.
Food Pairings
A fine match for aged Manchego cheese, braised lamb shank, mushroom-stuffed peppers, or even a rustic stew where earthy and herbal notes harmonize.
Verdict
This Tempranillo no longer plays its youthful cherry trumpet but rather resonates like the old violin sound of Rioja—mellow, textured, and contemplative. A fascinating study in maturity, best enjoyed with reflection rather than exuberance.
Did You Know?
Rioja wines are often classified not just by grape but by aging designations (Crianza, Reserva, Gran Reserva). This bottle leaned into crianza timing, showing beautifully at first but demonstrating how Tempranillo gracefully transitions from fruit-driven vibrancy to complex tertiary elegance.
Sharp onset, low tannin, gets a little sugary at the end
Sharp onset, low tannin, gets a little sugary at the end
Feb 6th, 2022
