Rioja Offline

11 folks in attendance; Wine Pages participants and friends thereof. Venue was excellent: excellent service and excellent food at a ridiculously low price! Can't wait to go back.

We started the event with three whites. My favorite of the three was the '09 Marques de Caceres.

• 2009 Marqués de Cáceres Rioja Antea Barrel Fermented

  Spain, La Rioja, Rioja

  -- popped and poured --
  -- tasted a couple pours non-blind over approx. 30 minutes –
  
  Nose was expressive, rich, and smoky. Medium to medium-full bodied on the palate, with an oily mouthfeel; flavors were fruity at the forefront, with some mineral on the backend. This was my favorite of the three whites that led-off this event. Viura and Malvasia blend.

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• 2010 Bodegas Muga Rioja Blanco

  Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja

  -- popped and poured --
  -- tasted a single pour non-blind over approx. 15 minutes --
  -- 90% Viura, 10% Malvasia --
  
  Lighter in color and mouthfeel than the 2009 Marques de Caceres “Antea” that was served immediately prior. Simple and mineral-driven. For early-drinking.

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• 2009 C.V.N.E. (Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España) Rioja Blanco

  Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja

  -- popped and poured --
  -- tasted a single pour non-blind over approx. 15 minutes --
  -- 100% Viura --
  
  Fun, expressive Nose of light powdery florals. Nice mineral palate, with a bit of spicy fruit and good acidity.

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The main portion of our tasting: the reds. Lots of *very good* wines here, making it incredibly difficult to choose a WOTN.

• 2004 La Rioja Alta Rioja Viña Arana Reserva

  Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja

  -- popped and poured --
  -- tasted a single pour non-blind over approx. 15 minutes --
  
  Ooooh, I really liked this! Obviously young (and oaky), but there is great acidity and beautiful underlying material here; purple fruits; a hint of funk (but not bretty); not overly tannic; needs a few years before it hits the beginning of its drink window; will be a very pleasurable wine a few years down the road and for maybe a decade beyond that. I preferred this to the 2004 Muriel – Reserva that was served immediately following. Hold. Drink 2015 – 2025.

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• 2004 Bodegas Muriel Rioja Reserva Vendemia Especial

  Spain, La Rioja, Rioja

  -- popped and poured --
  -- tasted a single pour non-blind over approx. 15 minutes --
  
  Quite internationally-styled: dark, smoky, and peppery --- really, this reminded me of many CA Syrah I’ve had; very oaky; low acidity. Needs time yet, but I’m not sure it will really *improve* so much as it should soften-out a bit. Hold. Drink 2015 – 2020.

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• 1982 Bodegas Muriel Rioja Gran Reserva

  Spain, La Rioja, Rioja

  -- popped and poured --
  -- tasted a single pour non-blind over approx. 15 minutes --
  
  Nice primary/tertiary balance between fruit and leather here; expressive; tannins are resolved; low acidity; this is sailing on its fruit, and I don’t see it getting any better. For my palate, this is at its peak right now, and is a very pleasurable wine. If you like your Rioja “old/fully mature” then I’d suggest you continue to hold this for another 3 – 5 years.

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• 2001 Bodegas Muga Rioja Selección Especial

  Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja

  -- popped and poured --
  -- tasted a single pour non-blind over approx. 15 minutes --
  
  Young. Dark-fruited. Oaky. Somewhat non-descript. Needs time. Probably suffered from its placement in this stunning lineup.

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• 2001 Marqués de Murrieta Rioja Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial

  Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja

  -- decanted for approx. 5.5 hours before tasting --
  -- tasted a couple pours non-blind over approx. 45 minutes --
  -- 93% Tempranillo, 7% Mazuelo --
  -- T/A: 5.70; pH: 3.43; r.s.: 2.10 g/L; 14% abv --
  
  Tannic; acidic; oaky. The Nose, at times, was very expressive, showing spicy black cherry and a hint of concentrated plum tomato. The palate was similarly showy at moments, but, for the most part, this wine is all structure right now. Excellent wine in need of serious time before it hits its prime drinking window -- if this has a build similar to the ’78 Ygay that was also included in this lineup (and I believe it does), then this will need a couple decades before it enters its drink window. This wine spent 31 months in 225 liter American oak barrels. Hold. Drink 2025 – 2045 (or beyond?).

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• 1978 Bodegas Riojanas Rioja Monte Real Gran Reserva

  Spain, La Rioja, Rioja

  -- popped and poured --
  -- tasted a single pour non-blind over approx. 15 minutes --
  
  Mature, and past peak, but not dead. Did seem to be a bit flat or wanting for drive and energy. Decent acidity. Nose and Palate mirrored each other, featuring aromas and flavors of coffee grounds, leather, and a touch of prune. Drink now.

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• 1978 Marqués de Murrieta Rioja Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial

  Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja

  -- popped and poured --
  -- tasted a couple pours non-blind over approx. 75 minutes --
  -- 75% Tempranillo, 10% Garnacha, 12% Mazuelo, 3% Graciano --
  -- T/A: 6.30; pH: 3.25; r.s.: 2.0 g/L --
  
  Showing very young, especially for a wine 33 years old: if I were served this wine blind, it would probably take me 30 guesses to correctly name the vintage. Furthermore, this wine spent an astonishing 216 months in 225 Liter American oak casks before it was bottled in 1998. Excellent concentration of fruit – plum and tart red berry, but does not come across as thick or gloppy; extremely well-balanced: still tannic, high acidity, 13% alcohol not noticeable, rich fruit. I do wish it had a shade less oak on it, but then again I usually feel that way about red Riojas. Showing even younger than the bottle I had a couple months ago. This bottle is a recent ex-Bodega bottle, and the perfect provenance shows. Honestly, this is not yet in its prime drinking window. As crazy as it may sound, continue to hold. Drink 2015 – 2035 (or beyond?). Laughably good. My WOTN, based on potential.

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• 1985 Bodegas y Viñedos del Contino Rioja Contino Gran Reserva

  Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alavesa, Rioja

  -- popped and poured --
  -- tasted a few pours non-blind over approx. 90 minutes --
  
  Nose was quite expressive: stinky, leathery, banana peel. Leather and strong pipe tobacco flavors on the palate. This has aged quite nicely and is fully mature: it should be consumed now. One of my favorites of the evening, for how it’s drinking right now.

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• 1995 La Rioja Alta Rioja Gran Reserva 904

  Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja

  -- popped and poured --
  -- tasted a single pour non-blind over approx. 45 minutes --
  
  Tart cherry and lots of oak on the Nose. Initially, I thought this came across as too oaky and modern, but after letting most of my pour sit in my glass for a good 35 minutes, or so, I returned to it and found a transformed wine; with time in the glass, additional nuance seemed to emerge from the dark-fruited palate, and the juicy acidity became much more apparent than it was at first. Needs time to integrate some oak, although I think I will always find this wine a touch too oaky. Heavy oak aside, I think this is a very nice wine, and needs additional time in the cellar. One of my favorites of the evening, based on its potential. Hold. Drink 2015 – 2035 (or beyond?).

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Our host for the evening, MedocMan, kindly arranged for a couple wineries from Portugal and Spain to send us some samples to try. Some of these wines have not been released, and none are currentty available in the UK. There were two additional wines tasted at the end of this flight (2008 Finca Sardina and the 2006 Dominio de Longoz), but I don't have enough information on them to add them to CellarTracker, hence their absence here.

• 2010 Dona Patricia Encruzado

  Portugal, Beiras, Dão

  -- popped and poured --
  -- tasted a single pour non-blind over approx. 5 – 10 minutes --
  -- barrel sample (wine not yet released) --
  -- Encruzado, Bical, and Cercial blend --
  
  Nearly colorless. Corn syrup and pineapple on the Nose. Good acidity; not much fruit; minerally; hides its 13% alc. well. Good quaffer.

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• 2010 Dona Patricia Reserva Branco

  Portugal, Beiras, Dão

  -- popped and poured --
  -- tasted a single pour non-blind over approx. 5 – 10 minutes –
  -- barrel sample (wine not yet released) --
  -- Encruzado, Bical, and Cercial blend --
  
  Riper Nose than the “regular” Dona Patricia blanco. 13% alc. but doesn’t hide it nearly as well as the “regular” bottling. Didn’t like this.

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• 2008 Casa Agricola Alexandre Relvas Ciconia Reserva

  Portugal, Alentejano, Vinho Regional Alentejano

  -- popped and poured --
  -- tasted a single pour non-blind over approx. 5 minutes --
  
  Spicy and light. Decent typicity; no structure; would make for a decent carafe wine.

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• 2008 Segares Rioja Crianza

  Spain, La Rioja, Rioja

  -- popped and poured --
  -- tasted a single pour non-blind over approx. 5 minutes --
  
  Thin; good acidity; needs more fruit; comes across as a bit green/stalky. Didn’t like this.

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