Community Tasting Note

• Callum's Corkers Likes this wine: 94 points

  July 15, 2022 - Bought Majestic UK £24.99 Sept 2021
  
  Tasted at room temp' at the kitchen table dinner time, decanted 30 mins at least.
  
  N....intense, young at 10 yrs old; mocha, espresso, leather, liquorice, oak is there but is subtle, some red black fruit. But it faded sooner than I expected (10 mins); big and bold but short-lived.
  
  C....red with a hint of tawny at edge, doesn't yet look 10 yrs old.
  
  T....lovely floury soft tannins give structure; soft mouth-feel and great fruit but it has elegance, it's not a mushy desperate-to-please mess, I'm pleased to say; it feels med-H body; gorgeous red/black fruit; style is med-dry; some decent length of flavour here; coffee, bitter dark chocolate, some savoury flavours; at 10 yrs is in a settled drinking window, a nice balance here. Just a lovely glass of Rioja.
  
  Not yet mature, obviously; feels like it will get pongy and interesting - more interesting - later on towards maturity, maybe another 5 yrs?
  
  VFMoney?....costs almost £25.00 but feels worth twice that. Proper bargain. Good Rioja off the shelf in the UK continues to be one of the great UK wine bargains. What's not to like about a 94 score wine with 10 yrs already on the clock for less than £25.00?

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6 Comments

• Stoic Warrior commented:

  9/21/22, 11:37 AM - FYI, Just bought more of these today at Majestic, price still £24.99, more than a year later. I don't know many wines which deliver such a great QPR.

• Callum's Corkers commented:

  10/12/22, 8:52 AM - Stoic Warrior.....agreed, brilliant VFM/QPR. Rioja just isn't fashionable, maybe that's because more people are moving over towards lighter reds. I have to admit that's me too, even though there are some amazing bargains around like this wine I reckon I'm drinking less of the 'big' reds - and I've more or less stopped drinking Claret altogether, and Rhone reds. BTW, my latest bargain in lighter reds is at The Wine Society UK, a Greek red: Xinomavro Jeunes Vignes, Thymiopoulos, 2020, at £11.95; a classy quaffer, vibrant and juicy and light(ish) with plenty of personality, drinks like a £15.00+ wine. Perfect example of the huge progress Greek wines have made in the last 15 yrs.

• Stoic Warrior commented:

  10/12/22, 10:18 AM - Yes Callum, I too am at an age when I should be indulging in lighter wines. However, my cellar is handsomely stocked with a good selection of more robust and elegant wines, many just coming into their best drinking windows. Mine are not silly money auction-able wines, just well chosen favourites with great QPR's. So while I may have a tough job ahead of me I shall persevere :-). And, yes, I saw that offer on TWS for the Thymiopoulos Xinomavro. I shall consider it. In return I commend to you my most recent pleasures in lighter wines - Loire cab francs ... I was down there this time last year and there are some lovely lighter ones out there for us these days.

• Callum's Corkers commented:

  10/31/22, 8:42 AM - Stoic Warrior.....cheers re heads-up re Loire Valley Cab Franc, any you especially liked that are available here in the UK? At the Wine Soc' maybe?

• Stoic Warrior commented:

  11/3/22, 2:55 AM - I haven't been overly impressed with the cab francs from the Wine Society; among their Chinons the Noblaie I bought was okay but the Bouchardiere Cornuelles was not to my liking (it may have been an off bottle). Last year from the Loire I brought back some lovely Chinon from Bernard Baudry as well as both some Bourgueil and St N de B (Domaine de la Butte and Amirault, respectively). From here in the UK I have recently bought a case of Thierry Germain's Saumur-Champigny Les Memoires. Except for the Baudry the others will lay in my cellar for a few years yet.

• Callum's Corkers commented:

  11/3/22, 11:20 AM - Stoic Warrior.....cheers for the recommendations. Will follow up via wine-searcher.

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