October 14, 2023 - *** See previous notes
On par with last year's bottle. Just delicious. Paired perfectly with steak, baked potato and scallops with green beans.
Medium plus finish. Perfectly balanced. Drink up now or hold. I don't think this will get any better.
July 4, 2023 - Medium ruby. Rounded tart red fruit, with well balanced vanilla, cedar and coconut, as well as tertiary aromas of mushroom. Smooth silky tannins at this stage, slightly hot finish (bottle says 14% but feels a tad stronger), but very good value for money
February 19, 2023 - Much better than our previous bottle. Vivid fruit, nicely balanced, hint of Rioja characteristics such as smokiness and sweet oak. Lovely
December 25, 2022 - Drinking beautifully. Best of 4 bottles drunk over last 4 years.
December 3, 2022 - This has had some great reviews but I was a bit disappointed with this bottle. There was a bit of the classic mix of redcurrant fruit, mocha and a touch of boot polish. However for a wine over 20 years old it tasted quite youthful, a bit shut down and with a fair amount of drying tannin. I will leave the rest for 5 years before I try another.
November 26, 2022 - Still so fresh and vibrant after 21 years! The biggest compliment I can give is that I can't resist going back for another glass even though there's not one element I can point to as being standout. Superb balance and bless Rioja for sticking to their traditions.
November 19, 2022 - WOW! What a difference 21 months makes.
Dark burgundy with a rusty rim. Full bodied
Iodine, leather, hint of oak. Fairground candy apple.
Very dry, grippy, tannin is still present. Tastes like the nose. This has entered its optimum drinking window. Some nice underlying herbaceous notes. Still some fruit showing. Medium finish. This was bloody delicious. Four bottles left.
October 31, 2022 - Rather hoping that this was just an odd bottle but for the first time we found ourselves asking whether this wine was beginning to fade. The Rioja characteristics were there but seemingly faded from previous outings. Perhaps it is just my palate having an off day.
May 20, 2022 - Corkscrew absolutely disinterested the cork (went in fine, then pulled a cylindrical plug out of the middle of it, tried with an ah-so, but no luck. Had to filter the wine through a coffee filter which was an inauspicious start. No idea why this happened as I have used that corkscrew with plenty of other older bottles without issue, and when the cork did come out in pieces, it wasn't stained or anything - looked brand new apart from the bottom circle, which was dark red.
It was a tasty bottle, but the cork palaver shook up the sediment and kinda ruined the experience somewhat. Had it with lamb cutlets and then over the course of the next couple of days. It was OK on day 1 and 2, but by day 3 it started to fall apart. Very much delicious acidity with tertiary character to the nose. My wife said it smelled of "a walk in the woods", so sous bois.
April 18, 2022 - Easter Sunday with lamb. Oaky nose, smoke. Long finish. Well balanced and not over the hill. Subtle nuances lost with mint sauce, but nonetheless a good wine.