Community Tasting Note

forceberry wrote:

Friday, March 3, 2017 - A blend of Tempranillo (90%) and Mazuelo aka. Carignan (10%) from a very acclaimed vintage. Fermented in large oak vats. Aged for 4 years in American oak barrels that are on average 4 years old, but includes some new barrels as well. 12,5% alcohol. Tasted blind.

Translucent pale garnet color with slightly developed dried blood hue and almost clear rim. The nose is smooth, slightly sweet and expressive with complex aromas of leather, sous-bois, some savory plummy fruit, a little bit of vanilla, a hint of dried figs and a reductive touch of fireworks smoke. The wine feels rich, full-bodied and pretty intense on the palate with very complex and rather powerful flavors of dark juicy fruits, robust Asian spices, some stony mineral character, a little bit of aged beef consommé, a hint of sweet vanilla oak and a touch of pruney fruit along with a light touch of sour cherry bitterness. The mouthfeel is incredibly smooth and supple, yet the wine feels more structured than soft with moderately high acidity and somewhat resolved medium tannins. The finish is rich and very complex with very persistent flavors of ripe dark berries, prunes, some leather, a little bit of vanilla and a hint of sour cherry bitterness.

A real stunner of a Rioja that is starting to show some aged character already, but is still remarkably youthful in style. Very harmonious and still going up; probably will take more than a decade to reach the apogee. I think I prefer this kind of savory-fruited style over 890 Gran Reserva 1995's more vanilla-driven style. Stunning value at 50€.

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