85% Tempranillo, 10% Graciano and 5% Mazuelo from their Rioja Alta vineyards. Aged in American and French new and used oak barrels for two years. Total acidity 5.3, alcohol 14% vol.
Decanted 3 hours before dinner. On the nose a bit shy, black fruited with first tertiary notes, on the palate full bodied, good freshness and depth, smooth tannin and long finish.
According to the vintage, more on the modern side than the 2010 vintage and not the long runner but therefore already very approachable. Matched perfectly to the lamb and the gratin dauphinois. Drink within the next 12+ years and give it a long decant to get a good result.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Still very dark, inky and young. Smoky and tarry. Hugely concentrated and restrained. Doesn't have the perfect sphericity of the 2010, but really impressive balance between oak, sugar, fruit and tannin. Supremely elegant.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Will this had improved markedly since last tasting over 2 years ago. There is a buttery depth the oak brings that I don't mind at all surprisingly, but it is will integrated. Bright Tempranillo fruit. A medium finish. No rush.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Opened for 2 hours. Color is deep red/purple. On the nose: Cherry liquor, plums and some anise. On the palate: Plum, dark chocolate and spices. Nice length, acidity and mouthfeel. It’s a little one dimensional but very enjoyable. If it had a bit more complexity I would score higher. Decent value for money on this. It’s young and could use a few more years in bottle. I think it will score higher in a few years.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
I wasn't focused on making notes at the time of drinking this but can relate to most of what Oenoed says in their review. It's much too young to suit my palate at present and I'll certainly not touch another for at least3 years, possibly 5. I'm hoping that as well as softening (it's a bit raw and quite tannic still), the wine may fill out a little, since it seemed to show a slightly dilute character to the fruit.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Still very young, needs 5-8 years to fully exhibit attractive secondary flavors from its complex acidity. On the nose, after 3 hour decant, there are iron shavings, cocoa bean, black plum skins, and persimmon like spicy sweetness. As expected, this is light bodied, but not insipid, and the slightly tart plum skin acidity dominates. It’s clean and well made, light tobacco and cedar notes, with 20 seconds of dusty cocoa tannins on the finish. This will round out and gain a point or two over time. If you try it young, pair it with mildly spicy longaniza or chorizo (i prefer the former with its slightly coarser texture and aggressive pimenton smoke ) and braised white beans, so that the acidity can balance the meat, and the creamy beans can add richness.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Black cherry - red color. After two hour decant, the predominant nose is of oak followed by black fruit, spice and tobacco. The palate still exhibits tannins and black fruit. Might show better in time
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Blueberry and currant mask the cherry that I expected more from a Rioja, although it is still there. Pepper and spice in the middle with floral notes. An interesting chocolate / espresso finish yields a nice drinkable wine. We tasted it blind and actually guessed a cab at first due to the darker color of this wine than expected.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Apparence: teinte violette, pas si opaque pour un tempranillo. Nez: vanille, violette, un peu de fumée. Bouche: tanins très présents mais fins et agréables, pas mal de fruits, un peu de vanille mais pas sucré, assez corpulent mais pas lourd, moyennement long. Un vin certainement jeune mais tellement déjà bon. Content d'avoir du 2010 mais je prendrais bien d'autre 2011. Bon QPR.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This was a PnP on a Friday night. Upon opening, the nose was a little off-putting, but with a little shake, changed quickly to a pleasant and somewhat floral nose. Nice deep color in the glass as expected. First glass showed notes of leather and maybe a bit of tobacco, with a nice mouth feel. The second glass, about 30 minutes later, showed definite notes of chocolate, which was a surprise and very pleasant. A very nice value at $40. Glad I have a few more.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Etihad Business CLass & Lounges; 11/20/2017-11/24/2017 (Sydney, Abu Dhabi, Frankfurt): Dark graphite aromas. Iodine. Not oaky. Medium weight. Dark red fruit flavours. Despite the initial weight it’s a bit thin; the initial rich impression doesn’t really carry through on the palate which is a bit diffuse lacking concentration. Confected red flavours and faintly gritty but soft tannins. Short/medium length finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Pnp in the UK. Bright berry and cedar nose. The palate is bright red cherries, with a touch of raspberry. The acidity and fruit are extremely well balanced and complementary - a great food wine, today with bread cheese and hot steak and onion pie. Excellent QPR and a delicious, accessible expression of rioja.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
The first Rioja that I can say I enjoyed and we had 2 at Restaurant Els Tinars in Girona, Spain. Unbelievable meal and damn fine wine. Solid. Concentration spot on for this varietal. Personality is dark fruited with a bit too much oak right now but will be smashing in 5 years. Hard to fault. Solid buy, if you can find it in the wild.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
A polished, balanced, complex wine, showing mostly ripe plums, mineral overall feel, some freshly baked plum and blackberry tart flavors. The wine is not tannic and is drinking easily now. The fruit is multilayered with a good balance between ripeness and acidity. Oak aroma is prominent. More of an international style wine, with a more smooth though sophisticated interpretation of a vibrant young Rioja.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
A pitch-black colour with violet tones . Intoxicating wine , insulting because its youth. Aromas of slate and balsamics. Densein the mouth . Still drying by the presence of wood so needs time to suffocate but if you feel like a beaver, right now this is your bottle.
De un color negro, negrísimo con ribetes violáceos. Vino intoxicante, insultante de su propia juventud. Aromas a pizarra y a balsámicos. Denso en boca. Todavía muy secante por la presencia de la madera necesita tiempo para sofocarse pero si te sientes un castor, esta es tu botella.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Eðalklúbbur, vínsmakk #4 vor 2016 (Marbakkabraut 12): Og þá var komið að síðasta víninu í hefðbundnu smakki. Flottur litur. Ilmurinn frekar lokaður en það sem fannst var mjög gott. Blómailmur, snemmsumar. Þetta er mjög nýtískulegt vín. Mjög mjúkt. Eik áberandi og finnst vel fyrir tannínum. Það voru mjög skiptar skoðanir um þetta vín. Sumum fannst það yfireikað og óspennandi. Aðrir voru hrifnari. Ég get tekið undir að það hefði aðeins mátt dempa eikina. Hún gæti nú reyndar átt eftir að renna saman við aðra bragðþætti með auknum þroska. Miðað við verð þá fannst mér þetta vín ekki gefa nógu mikið af sér.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
12/16/2023 - amateur62 Likes this wine: 92 Points
85% Tempranillo, 10% Graciano and 5% Mazuelo from their Rioja Alta vineyards. Aged in American and French new and used oak barrels for two years. Total acidity 5.3, alcohol 14% vol.
Decanted 3 hours before dinner. On the nose a bit shy, black fruited with first tertiary notes, on the palate full bodied, good freshness and depth, smooth tannin and long finish.
According to the vintage, more on the modern side than the 2010 vintage and not the long runner but therefore already very approachable. Matched perfectly to the lamb and the gratin dauphinois. Drink within the next 12+ years and give it a long decant to get a good result.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/24/2023 - ricard Likes this wine: 94 Points
Still very dark, inky and young. Smoky and tarry. Hugely concentrated and restrained. Doesn't have the perfect sphericity of the 2010, but really impressive balance between oak, sugar, fruit and tannin. Supremely elegant.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/1/2021 - Smahlatz Likes this wine: 89 Points
Will this had improved markedly since last tasting over 2 years ago. There is a buttery depth the oak brings that I don't mind at all surprisingly, but it is will integrated. Bright Tempranillo fruit. A medium finish. No rush.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/7/2021 - salarvcj Likes this wine: 85 Points
Good mature Rioja, took a while to open up was better on the palate than the nose
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/3/2021 - salarvcj wrote: 90 Points
Lovely mature Rioja. Ready to drink now but will drink well for ages yet.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/2/2020 - Brian of Mull wrote: 92 Points
Opened for 2 hours. Color is deep red/purple. On the nose: Cherry liquor, plums and some anise. On the palate: Plum, dark chocolate and spices. Nice length, acidity and mouthfeel. It’s a little one dimensional but very enjoyable. If it had a bit more complexity I would score higher. Decent value for money on this. It’s young and could use a few more years in bottle. I think it will score higher in a few years.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
10/18/2019 - chrisdgsmith@hotmail.co.uk Likes this wine: 89 Points
I wasn't focused on making notes at the time of drinking this but can relate to most of what Oenoed says in their review. It's much too young to suit my palate at present and I'll certainly not touch another for at least3 years, possibly 5. I'm hoping that as well as softening (it's a bit raw and quite tannic still), the wine may fill out a little, since it seemed to show a slightly dilute character to the fruit.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/8/2019 - tjin Likes this wine: 89 Points
Interesting nose, fruitier than typical for a Rioja. Cherry, blackcurrant, mocha, and oak on the palate.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
7/21/2019 - OenoEd Likes this wine: 90 Points
Still very young, needs 5-8 years to fully exhibit attractive secondary flavors from its complex acidity. On the nose, after 3 hour decant, there are iron shavings, cocoa bean, black plum skins, and persimmon like spicy sweetness. As expected, this is light bodied, but not insipid, and the slightly tart plum skin acidity dominates. It’s clean and well made, light tobacco and cedar notes, with 20 seconds of dusty cocoa tannins on the finish. This will round out and gain a point or two over time. If you try it young, pair it with mildly spicy longaniza or chorizo (i prefer the former with its slightly coarser texture and aggressive pimenton smoke ) and braised white beans, so that the acidity can balance the meat, and the creamy beans can add richness.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
6/17/2019 - KSWinegeek wrote: 89 Points
Black cherry - red color. After two hour decant, the predominant nose is of oak followed by black fruit, spice and tobacco. The palate still exhibits tannins and black fruit. Might show better in time
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
3/2/2019 - NateR Does not like this wine: 84 Points
Austere. Aromas of black pepper and plum, but very mild. Flavor is also very mild, and dominated by the tannins. Rated after one hour in the glass.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/16/2018 - maxwell18 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Blueberry and currant mask the cherry that I expected more from a Rioja, although it is still there. Pepper and spice in the middle with floral notes. An interesting chocolate / espresso finish yields a nice drinkable wine. We tasted it blind and actually guessed a cab at first due to the darker color of this wine than expected.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/19/2018 - Tige Likes this wine: 91 Points
Apparence: teinte violette, pas si opaque pour un tempranillo.
Nez: vanille, violette, un peu de fumée.
Bouche: tanins très présents mais fins et agréables, pas mal de fruits, un peu de vanille mais pas sucré, assez corpulent mais pas lourd, moyennement long.
Un vin certainement jeune mais tellement déjà bon. Content d'avoir du 2010 mais je prendrais bien d'autre 2011.
Bon QPR.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/14/2018 - mydi Likes this wine: 90 Points
Past notes on on target. Nice wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/29/2018 - Bssuthar Likes this wine:
Drink now or hold (2018)
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/2/2018 - kgsrq Likes this wine: 92 Points
This was a PnP on a Friday night. Upon opening, the nose was a little off-putting, but with a little shake, changed quickly to a pleasant and somewhat floral nose. Nice deep color in the glass as expected. First glass showed notes of leather and maybe a bit of tobacco, with a nice mouth feel. The second glass, about 30 minutes later, showed definite notes of chocolate, which was a surprise and very pleasant. A very nice value at $40. Glad I have a few more.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/6/2017 - GTFreek wrote:
Medium nose shows menthol, roasted pepper, red plum, fresh herbs, mesquite. Palate gives medium bodied style, pretty notes of dried fruit, blackberry, peppercorn, dill, forest bark. Interesting style, nice wine.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
11/20/2017 - graemeg wrote:
Etihad Business CLass & Lounges; 11/20/2017-11/24/2017 (Sydney, Abu Dhabi, Frankfurt): Dark graphite aromas. Iodine. Not oaky. Medium weight. Dark red fruit flavours. Despite the initial weight it’s a bit thin; the initial rich impression doesn’t really carry through on the palate which is a bit diffuse lacking concentration. Confected red flavours and faintly gritty but soft tannins. Short/medium length finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/29/2017 - KRKacs Likes this wine: 90 Points
Bright cherry and plum on the nose, with grilled meat and iron undertones. Strong tannins with good acidity. A little young.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/28/2017 - skurtz Likes this wine: 91 Points
Pnp in the UK. Bright berry and cedar nose. The palate is bright red cherries, with a touch of raspberry. The acidity and fruit are extremely well balanced and complementary - a great food wine, today with bread cheese and hot steak and onion pie. Excellent QPR and a delicious, accessible expression of rioja.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/22/2017 - sdwineguru Likes this wine: 91 Points
Mid-dark ruby; rich Tempranillo nose, pomegranate, manzanita; mid-body; balanced; nice structure; long smooth refined finish. Good food wine. w/carne asada
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/6/2017 - Mech-E wrote: 92 Points
The first Rioja that I can say I enjoyed and we had 2 at Restaurant Els Tinars in Girona, Spain. Unbelievable meal and damn fine wine. Solid. Concentration spot on for this varietal. Personality is dark fruited with a bit too much oak right now but will be smashing in 5 years. Hard to fault. Solid buy, if you can find it in the wild.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/5/2017 - Neecies Likes this wine: 90 Points
Tastes more like sangiovese than Rioja with upfront sandalwood, then spice. Classy overall, fruit opens in the mouth. Loved this.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/1/2017 - swapdoc wrote:
A polished, balanced, complex wine, showing mostly ripe plums, mineral overall feel, some freshly baked plum and blackberry tart flavors. The wine is not tannic and is drinking easily now. The fruit is multilayered with a good balance between ripeness and acidity. Oak aroma is prominent. More of an international style wine, with a more smooth though sophisticated interpretation of a vibrant young Rioja.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/1/2016 - Harley1199 wrote:
A pitch-black colour with violet tones .
Intoxicating wine , insulting because its youth.
Aromas of slate and balsamics. Densein the mouth . Still drying by the presence of wood so needs time to suffocate but if you feel like a beaver, right now this is your bottle.
De un color negro, negrísimo con ribetes violáceos.
Vino intoxicante, insultante de su propia juventud.
Aromas a pizarra y a balsámicos. Denso en boca. Todavía muy secante por la presencia de la madera necesita tiempo para sofocarse pero si te sientes un castor, esta es tu botella.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/20/2016 - bitdrerik wrote: 90 Points
Eðalklúbbur, vínsmakk #4 vor 2016 (Marbakkabraut 12): Og þá var komið að síðasta víninu í hefðbundnu smakki. Flottur litur. Ilmurinn frekar lokaður en það sem fannst var mjög gott. Blómailmur, snemmsumar. Þetta er mjög nýtískulegt vín. Mjög mjúkt. Eik áberandi og finnst vel fyrir tannínum. Það voru mjög skiptar skoðanir um þetta vín. Sumum fannst það yfireikað og óspennandi. Aðrir voru hrifnari. Ég get tekið undir að það hefði aðeins mátt dempa eikina. Hún gæti nú reyndar átt eftir að renna saman við aðra bragðþætti með auknum þroska. Miðað við verð þá fannst mér þetta vín ekki gefa nógu mikið af sér.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment