Community Tasting Notes 41

• Swaggering Beaunie Likes this wine:

  May 5, 2024 - Well-balanced and delicious, even without a decant. Lots of black cherry. With air, floral aromas and flavors emerge. Excellent. Drink now.

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• nocowine Likes this wine:

  March 8, 2024 - 1 hour decant. Dark fruit, touch of vanilla, nice earthiness and good amount acid. We really enjoyed this bottle.

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• dsenni Likes this wine: 91 points

  August 7, 2023 - Still needs a very long decant if drinking now. Was best on the third night.

• Not647f wrote:

  July 8, 2023 - We had this big picanha, a very beefy cut of meat, that we wanted to grill, so we invited the neighbors over and opened this. Last bottle of the lot I bought a few years back, and it has really improved. Rich but not plodding, deeply fruited but not tiring. The oak is smoothed off, leaving just a light robe of vanilla aroma and light spice. As it lingers in the mouth, the leather and savory notes come out. This will probably continue to improve with age, but it's great now. Perhaps safer to catch on the way up than the way down. Keep eyes open for more in the marketplace.

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• sfwinelover1 Likes this wine: 92 points

  June 28, 2023 - Short note. First of 2 ($29.99@) from online discounter #1 from a couple of years ago. From reading prior CT notes and pro reviews, I sensed that this would benefit from a decant—I didn’t taste try on opening to confirm—so we (it was brought to dinner at Steve & Patty’s) dumped it into a decanter for 3 hours. On the initial taste and nose, fairly subdued notes of black and blueberries, black currants, black plums, figs, incense, lavendar, a trace of dark chocolate, and the usual, but at that point well-integrated, Rioja notes of vanilla and oak. Medium-full bodied with thick legs. Medium acidity and tannins, no heat. VG+ persistence, VG intensity and complexity. The last Spanish wine I had was that wondrous VSU, and while this wasn’t that, it didn’t disrespect that memory. I’ve found many Riojas at this price point to be on the rustic side—there was even a note of that in the VSU—but this wine was beautifully balanced, with an almost Bordelasian elegance. Nothing seemed to be sticking out nor lacking integration, so I wouldn’t be in agreement with TNs indicating that this needs to be put away for 5 years, but unlike last weekend’s PM LP, don’t feel a need to pop it tonight. Really nice sipping on its own, but an immaculate accompaniment to Steve’s chicken tagine. Would certainly buy again at what I paid. I tend to view Spain as the redheaded stepchild of Italy and France, but I’ll confess my curiosity is piqued, and while no one should expect to see Spain hit double digits in representation in the collection, the arrow is definitely pointing up. 92+

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Pro Reviews 5

Wine Definition

• Vintage 2015
• Type Red
• Producer Bodegas y Viñedos del Contino
• Varietal Tempranillo Blend
• Designation Contino Reserva
• Vineyard n/a
• Country Spain
• Region La Rioja
• SubRegion La Rioja Alavesa
• Appellation Rioja
• UPC Codes 051497037192, 8410591003359

Community Holdings

• Pending Delivery 15 (0%)
• In Cellars 1,946 (63%)
• Consumed 1,115 (36%)

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