Picked this up for $36 figured it’s was about dead. However was pleasantly surprised. Lots of bricking, garnet color. Upon open heavy raisin and prune and flat. With an hour in the decanter this picked up weight and acidity and turned out to be a surprisingly delicious wine. Impressive especially for the meager price.
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Popped and poured. Rusty ruby hue. Nose of dried cherry, floral scents, vanilla oak, iodine. Bright, clear red plum and strawberry fruit on the palate with a subtle sour tangy note at the end. Freshening acidity combined with smoothed and slightly dry tannin leading to a long finish of red fruit, leather, and orange peel. Energetic and lovely.
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Brought to an outdoor get-together. One smallish pour that I watched evolve over an hour. Bricking on the edges, nose shows tar, cigar, ripe dark fruit. On the palate more of the same but the balance is exquisite and taste is long. Loved this wine. Where else does $30 buy you this quality of wine?
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Brick red core fading to orange at the rim. Cherry/raspberry nose overlaying some oak. Good acid on the attack, a bit of the red fruit in the mid-palate; finishes long with smooth silky tannins. I like! Nice with a prime dry-aged NY strip, too.
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Decanted 90 minutes or so before serving with dinner. Nose was a little tight showing dark cherries, a little floral and a bit of oak. On the palate this was wildly more interesting tart dark cherries, great earthiness, black tea, cola and just elegant, silky mouth feel. Serious comparisons to Bordeaux or Burgundy on the texture and length. Downright steal at this price point.
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Spain and Portugal at Craftsman: Soaring nose dominated by ripe fruit. Silky smooth on the palate. Maybe a little tart and showing plenty of red fruit with and some cola flavors. Very long finish.
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Another great blt.! Extremely complex and elegant. One of the best wines I've ever had. Probably deserves a much higher score than 93pts. Pop and pour.
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Very impressed with this! Beautiful red fruit and minerally flavors and nice dusty tanins. I think I'm discovering that semi old world to flat out old Rioja might be my sweet spot in Spain. I love how fresh and vibrant this wine is and that it comes in at such a supple weight. Delicious and a Burg lover's Spanish destination! Hard to believe this juice is 12yrs old???!
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Chef Nita's Tasting Menu (Craig's House): Very high-toned, bright red cherry fruit with just a hint of VA. A pretty, lacy middleweight. Smooth, silky, supple texture. A poster child for the virtues of traditionally-styled Rioja.
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Wines with Nita's Tasting Menu: Red fruit on the nose. Simple red fruit and mineral on the palate with nice intensity but relatively simple. Mild tannin (?). Nice length on the finish. Based on this bottle I wouldn't hold these much longer.
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Did I call this unlikely to improve? Color me dim. Now has it all, a perfect bottle with depth of pine forest, new velvet robes unpacked from cedar boxes, tarry licorice, and at last some grip. This is for real. This must be the peak, because only gran reserva can be better.
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Consistently impressive for the price. Less powerful than the Tondonia of same vintage, frankly thin in the middle, but oh-so-elegant. Impressions through tonight: 11/07 beautiful, seamless, 94 points; 1/08 lacks stuffing; 4/08 ditto; 4/09 like glorious old Burgundy; 1/10 ethereal nose, like Chambolle. My penultimate bottle. Should hold but unlikely to improve. Unknown to me whether Lopez will make a gran reserva Bosco in this vintage.
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Was still drinking well with smooth tannins after an hour of decanting in Jan 09. This is really a nice old school rioja, with red brick color, leather and cherry fruit. We all enjoyed this one. Very little sediment.
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Purchased in Madrid for 12 euro. No notes, but i was pretty shocked at how unevolved this was. Loads of ripe, almost rich primary fruit, a silky texture, and some flavors of cedary oak. No discernible secondary development. Not at all what i expected from this Bosconia, but i've never tasted one in Spain before either.
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I think this wine has aways yet to go. It was beautiful, but seems to be holding a lot in reserve. On opening it was dominated by the wood treatment. But after about an hour in the decanter it had unfolded a bit and the deep, black-cherry fruit started to shine.
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Pretty much the same impressions as last time I had this. Bright cherry, lip-smackin acidity, and dusty tannins. I like the old oak, the mid-palate is a bit thin, but the finish is fairly lengthy. Nothing earth-shattering, just a good solid tasty wine.
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Losing its colour - this wine was moving to old brick - very pale red at the rim. Vanilla, oak and red fruits (sour cherries?) on the nose. Well balanced, albeit with surprisingly vibrant acidity, complemented by notes of wood, honey and vanilla. Great mouthfeel and really tremendous length, it's a shame I only have one bottle left.
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Very well structured traditional Rioja. Tart cherry tastes, lots of old oakiness, lots (and lots) of mouthwatering acidity, and fine grain tannins. The finish adds some smokiness and spiciness to the cherry. From what I’ve tasted of 1998 Rioja, it seems like a fairly acid forward, less powerful vintage for traditional rioja than say, 1995 or 1996. I’m all for acid, and while I really enjoy this wine, if the acidity was throttled back slightly it would be fantastic
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Pure elegance. There is not a single rough edge to be found here. It goes down like pure silk, not even showing any tannin. Many wines would love to taste like this when they're fully mature. Can it get even better? The development in the decanter, with briary complexity emerging after about two hours, implies there's more here than meets the eye. But there doesn't need to be. Everything is so resolved and focused that it's impossible to imagine the wine getting any smoother, though maybe I'm just a little greedy and would like it to become more aromatic, too.
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10/4/2022 - Joelene wrote: 91 Points
Picked this up for $36 figured it’s was about dead. However was pleasantly surprised. Lots of bricking, garnet color. Upon open heavy raisin and prune and flat. With an hour in the decanter this picked up weight and acidity and turned out to be a surprisingly delicious wine. Impressive especially for the meager price.
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7/17/2017 - DougLee wrote: 92 Points
Popped and poured. Rusty ruby hue. Nose of dried cherry, floral scents, vanilla oak, iodine. Bright, clear red plum and strawberry fruit on the palate with a subtle sour tangy note at the end. Freshening acidity combined with smoothed and slightly dry tannin leading to a long finish of red fruit, leather, and orange peel. Energetic and lovely.
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8/9/2014 - Bellissimo Likes this wine:
Brought to an outdoor get-together. One smallish pour that I watched evolve over an hour. Bricking on the edges, nose shows tar, cigar, ripe dark fruit. On the palate more of the same but the balance is exquisite and taste is long. Loved this wine. Where else does $30 buy you this quality of wine?
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8/10/2013 - diggydan wrote: flawed
Dang...my first bad LdH. Corked.
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7/13/2012 - diggydan wrote: 92 Points
Brick red core fading to orange at the rim. Cherry/raspberry nose overlaying some oak. Good acid on the attack, a bit of the red fruit in the mid-palate; finishes long with smooth silky tannins. I like! Nice with a prime dry-aged NY strip, too.
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1/21/2012 - Bellissimo wrote:
Decanted 90 minutes or so before serving with dinner. Nose was a little tight showing dark cherries, a little floral and a bit of oak. On the palate this was wildly more interesting tart dark cherries, great earthiness, black tea, cola and just elegant, silky mouth feel. Serious comparisons to Bordeaux or Burgundy on the texture and length. Downright steal at this price point.
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1/16/2012 - Eubulos wrote: 90 Points
Relief. This bottle was o.k. Very good, higher score hindered by a sometimes rather "dirt" aftertaste.
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1/3/2012 - Eubulos wrote: flawed
Oxidized brown soup, bad storage, cork completely wet from wine, shame on the seller !
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11/27/2011 - Dave Dalluge wrote: 91 Points
Spain and Portugal at Craftsman: Soaring nose dominated by ripe fruit. Silky smooth on the palate. Maybe a little tart and showing plenty of red fruit with and some cola flavors. Very long finish.
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10/14/2011 - chablis28 wrote: 93 Points
Another great blt.! Extremely complex and elegant. One of the best wines I've ever had. Probably deserves a much higher score than 93pts. Pop and pour.
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10/28/2010 - chablis28 wrote: 91 Points
Very impressed with this! Beautiful red fruit and minerally flavors and nice dusty tanins. I think I'm discovering that semi old world to flat out old Rioja might be my sweet spot in Spain. I love how fresh and vibrant this wine is and that it comes in at such a supple weight. Delicious and a Burg lover's Spanish destination! Hard to believe this juice is 12yrs old???!
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10/27/2010 - Siggy wrote: 91 Points
Chef Nita's Tasting Menu (Craig's House): Very high-toned, bright red cherry fruit with just a hint of VA. A pretty, lacy middleweight. Smooth, silky, supple texture. A poster child for the virtues of traditionally-styled Rioja.
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10/27/2010 - Dave Dalluge wrote: 90 Points
Wines with Nita's Tasting Menu: Red fruit on the nose. Simple red fruit and mineral on the palate with nice intensity but relatively simple. Mild tannin (?). Nice length on the finish. Based on this bottle I wouldn't hold these much longer.
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6/14/2010 - Vinomane wrote: 89 Points
Proof that the great bottle of February was the exception. A reversion to the thin profile of earlier bottles, with rather less perfume on the nose.
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2/13/2010 - Vinomane wrote: 93 Points
Did I call this unlikely to improve? Color me dim. Now has it all, a perfect bottle with depth of pine forest, new velvet robes unpacked from cedar boxes, tarry licorice, and at last some grip. This is for real. This must be the peak, because only gran reserva can be better.
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1/14/2010 - Vinomane wrote: 91 Points
Consistently impressive for the price. Less powerful than the Tondonia of same vintage, frankly thin in the middle, but oh-so-elegant. Impressions through tonight: 11/07 beautiful, seamless, 94 points; 1/08 lacks stuffing; 4/08 ditto; 4/09 like glorious old Burgundy; 1/10 ethereal nose, like Chambolle. My penultimate bottle. Should hold but unlikely to improve. Unknown to me whether Lopez will make a gran reserva Bosco in this vintage.
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1/3/2009 - DNABog wrote: 92 Points
Was still drinking well with smooth tannins after an hour of decanting in Jan 09. This is really a nice old school rioja, with red brick color, leather and cherry fruit. We all enjoyed this one. Very little sediment.
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7/5/2007 - 5laton wrote:
Purchased in Madrid for 12 euro. No notes, but i was pretty shocked at how unevolved this was. Loads of ripe, almost rich primary fruit, a silky texture, and some flavors of cedary oak. No discernible secondary development. Not at all what i expected from this Bosconia, but i've never tasted one in Spain before either.
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6/30/2007 - Harley1199 wrote:
Very mature wine but still perfect; orange color and flavor to skin of bananas. Vanilla wood but very smooth to the flavor. Long seconds of pleasure.
Muy madura, color anaranjado y sabor a piel de plátanos. Madera avainillada pero muy suave al gusto. Largos segundos de placer.
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3/3/2007 - 14frimaire wrote:
I think this wine has aways yet to go. It was beautiful, but seems to be holding a lot in reserve. On opening it was dominated by the wood treatment. But after about an hour in the decanter it had unfolded a bit and the deep, black-cherry fruit started to shine.
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12/5/2006 - Double-A Likes this wine: 90 Points
Mint, leather, dried berry, and cedar spice nose. Medium-bodied, fresh and balanced palate; elegant, long and focused finish.
4/5
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10/28/2006 - BillB656 wrote:
Pretty much the same impressions as last time I had this. Bright cherry, lip-smackin acidity, and dusty tannins. I like the old oak, the mid-palate is a bit thin, but the finish is fairly lengthy. Nothing earth-shattering, just a good solid tasty wine.
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9/5/2006 - klang wrote: 85 Points
Delightfully youthful food wine.
Nice fruit, great acid/tannin structure.
No great complexity.
Long way to go - give it a couple of years at least.
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9/4/2006 - MF wrote:
Losing its colour - this wine was moving to old brick - very pale red at the rim. Vanilla, oak and red fruits (sour cherries?) on the nose. Well balanced, albeit with surprisingly vibrant acidity, complemented by notes of wood, honey and vanilla. Great mouthfeel and really tremendous length, it's a shame I only have one bottle left.
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8/22/2006 - blue wrote:
One of the best for this price, fresh fruit terminal acidity great.will buy more
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5/29/2006 - BillB656 wrote:
Very well structured traditional Rioja. Tart cherry tastes, lots of old oakiness, lots (and lots) of mouthwatering acidity, and fine grain tannins. The finish adds some smokiness and spiciness to the cherry. From what I’ve tasted of 1998 Rioja, it seems like a fairly acid forward, less powerful vintage for traditional rioja than say, 1995 or 1996. I’m all for acid, and while I really enjoy this wine, if the acidity was throttled back slightly it would be fantastic
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12/23/2005 - Keith Levenberg wrote: 96 Points
Pure elegance. There is not a single rough edge to be found here. It goes down like pure silk, not even showing any tannin. Many wines would love to taste like this when they're fully mature. Can it get even better? The development in the decanter, with briary complexity emerging after about two hours, implies there's more here than meets the eye. But there doesn't need to be. Everything is so resolved and focused that it's impossible to imagine the wine getting any smoother, though maybe I'm just a little greedy and would like it to become more aromatic, too.
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