the last of my bottles and without question the most delicious - mature without any hard edges and with the fruit still shining through, this was excellent - would be good for a few years yet
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55F SAOR - Dense translucent ruby black - ready clean and fresh florally pushed sweet strawberries and plum - oak gone - amazing freshness for 23 yr old - rich velvety and alcoholic- a real vinous treat.
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Served from half. On pouring, a weird kind of volatility - almost floral / soapy? This blew off quite quickly and it got back to where it should be - thoroughly lovely, paired well with smoked beef and pork ribs and the 11:27 from Kings Cross to York.
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Drank from magnum. Beautiful bouquet with autumn forest impressions, coffee and mushrooms. Same on the palate. Some licorice, beautiful acidity. Still very much alive and was still a pleasure on day 2.
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From 75cl, defective cork crumbled into bottle on opening, filtered off into a decanter, wine seemed unaffected. I sometimes find the smell of American oak hard to take, but when the wine is this good, even the volatile/burning/dill gherkin notes seem to fit perfectly. Entry fatter and darker-fruited than I remember from previous bottles; bright mid-palate acidity. Alas my last bottle of this great vintage of Ardanza, but if you have stocks, they will surely hold for as long as you can keep your hands off them. 92P
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Small dinner with friends old and new (Heirloom Café): This was great - I was about to say super clean but maybe the slightest hint of VA? Real energy and zip. Tertiary character starting to show but the fruit is still there, and a real line to it. In spite of this being one of the best bottles of this I’ve had - I found myself drawn to the quieter pleasure of the Verité. Certainly neither of these reds was flattered by being tasted by the other.
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Still aging gracefully with the brilliant acidity. Fully moved into the teriary flavors that come with age. all leather and cigar box. not much fruit left at this point.
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Superb developed Rioja with plenty of legs left. Blackcurrant, black plum, leather, beefy, spicy, slightly tangy acidity. Long ++ finish. Probably more enjoyable than the Rioja Alta 904 2004 we had alongside it, although I think that bottle was imperfect. Very popular during tasting. (@Tufa, Rioja tasting I 2024).
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Decanted for approximately 30 minutes before pouring then over the course of an hour and a half. Not as good as my last couple of bottles. The last one being over a year ago. Seemed a bit weak and thin on the palate. May be running out of gas. Will have to break into my last two for comparison. Hoping they are holding up better.
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Retains (disconcerting) deep colour; sumptuous nose, vanillin oak remains; luxurious texture, flashy fruit, refreshing acidity, good concentration; plenty on the finish with a moderne feel. This has time in hand. Best with food.
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Still solid. Definitely a step up from the 2001 Pecina that we also drank this evening. Bright yet with some lovely cherry notes, dill mostly out of it. Will not improve but will go more time. No reason to wait.
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Fresh and relatively dark red color. Lovely developed aromas with dried red fruits, coffee, mushrooms, old cellar and liquorice root. Sweet-and-sour on the palate, with pronounced acidity and a long finish. This will last another 20 years!
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Iberia Wimps July 2023 - Malhão de Estrela; 7/28/2023-7/30/2023 (La Trompette): My handwritten notes say "standard" but I have to say that while I really enjoyed this, I get the sense it's not one of the best bottles. It's all there but slightly disjointed - some good discussion at the table about how wine aged under American vs French Oak age - there is a sense in which the American oak never fully integrates, it's always there as a separate harmonic. A generously shared sip of the 904 from the same vintage was a clear step up.
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Blue hill stone barns 3rd bottle. This wine is at a great place. Still has strong primary fruit flavors but aromatics are more tertiary. Well integrated tannins providing structure but only a bit of grip. Very nice
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Post ride Sunday BBQ: From half. Interesting reading my notes how many of these halves have been opened, somewhat spontaneously, on hot evenings. Well - here we go, a warm night in London and it’s Ardanza time. Colour, garnet. Some zing on the nose, you get the american oak. On the palate - the oak is there of course, and that lovely acidity to balance it. Just great.
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From half. Precision and a kind of anime zing to it. The nose makes promises and the palate keeps them. Long and exciting. And so much upside - these will get better for at least a decade. Somehow though I was not meeting this where it was. Perhaps fatigue from the previous night’s exertions, or just the humidity and heat.
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Nose: Rich aromas of dried cherries and plum, clove, toasted caramel and tobacco.
Palate: More darker fruit presents itself along with spices, violets, orange peel, leather and dried cedar. Very savoury with a balanced structure. In my opinion this is fully mature but nowhere close to even hinting that it might start to decline. The tannins are very fine and well integrated providing a very smooth and velvety mouthfeel. Very long finish.
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Tasted after 5 other Riojas including two other well-regarded reservas including a 2006 Valenciso. It was plainly the best: very attractive perfume leaps out of the glass, then lots of sweet fruit at first tasting, developing depth and complexity with the smoky character typical of Ardanza present but not dominant because the other elements were so well balanced. It lasts and lasts, demanding time in the mouth before swallowing. A great wine, fully deserving its “especial” designation.
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this was amazing! beauty of a wine with its super present freshnes (light fruit of cherries) and nice acid level. wow! all flavours nicely embedded despite its light density. buy more and store;)
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Still lively, mostly shown through aromatics & the nice supporting acid. Tannins barely perceptible but likely has a couple/few years left. Cedar, dried florals, a bit of dry forest floor on the nose. Fruit is in the red / dark red range and not too dried out; pretty fresh given the age. Smooth medium mouthfeel with some herbal tinges.
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This was excellent. Light to medium garnet. Typical aged nose, with aromas of stewed fruits, dried nuts, leather, vanilla. Light to medium body, soft and elegant, savoury, with intense flavours of stewed fruits, ripe red berries, vanilla. Very long after taste. Great complexity, balance and energy for an aged rioja. I still remember a bottle of 1988 I drink few years ago which was so perfect aged rioja. This one is as good with less age. Ridiculous QPR.
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Deep ruby/garnet color with discoloration on edges. Intense aromas of cassis, prunes, lemon, spices, tobacco, vanilla. High acidity, medium body, medium chewy tannins. Taste of cherry jam, balsamico, spices. Wine is complex, intense and elegant. Superb old style Rioja. Will keep last bootle 5 years.
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Classic LRA Ardanza. Still very young and primary. Sour cherry, tomato, and some earth/forest floor. Perfectly integrated oak. Elegant. Balanced. This is drinking great now if you prefer more fruit. I'd like to see this in 10-15 years. A pleasure to drink!
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Work tasting and dinner (Home): Deep ruby. Really obvious creamy vanilla on the nose. Mellow mulberry and damson fruit, velvety frame, but with some quite grippy tannin still evident. After a couple of days open in the fridge this has softened and mellowed and shows more raspberry fruit. Drinkable now but its best years are ahead of it. ***(*)
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Friday Night - dinner with the kids followed by Sandman: From half - hadn't planned to open it but we were enjoying the previous bottle so much we just felt like an extra glass. Double decanted and quickly chilled. Just lovely - the balance of the fruit, the still present American oak and the acidity works perfectly. Of course they have decades ahead of them but there's no shame in drinking something which gives such pleasure now.
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Wine and BBQ Dinner (At home in leafy West London): Bonus half bottle opened at the last minute. My favourite of the Riojas - really shining - although I did chill it, and wonder if the others would have benefitted from being cooler?
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This baby is singing. Going on 21 years with gas still left in the tank. A beautiful nose of red fruits and florals with the same on the palate with strawberry dominating. Balanced and supple. This wine is in a really good place and I can't imagine it getting any better. Matt loved it! Drink up!
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RZ's Rioja Offline (Ariana II, Kilburn): Blackcurrant fruited nose, youthful with spice and vanilla. Medium/full bodied, quite rich and dense still, sweet blackcurrant fruit, vanilla, soft tannins, fresh acidity. Long finish. Excellent, just about drinking but probably still some upside here.
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RZ's Rioja Dinner (Ariana II): This has almost become my reference wine at this stage. Never fails to delight. Consistently superb - and fully ready to drink now. Just edged it to be my WOTN - although I could just have easily chosen the Tondo 05.
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Just entering maturity. Beautiful nose full of sweet fruit. The wood is integrating well and the fruit is now dominant. Tannins are becoming soft and silky, but are still present so this is still in early maturity. Distinct acidity balances the fruit, but makes this a food wine. Delicious and possibly 92pts.
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Aromas of cherry jam, ripe blue and black plum, cranberry, tobacco, dark miso, iodine, dill, clove, diverse airy spices, a little roasted meat, roses and dried orange peel... Full and savory on the palate, lots of dark and spicy flavors, mostly dark fruit but there's bright red cherry and cranberry too, resolved tannins, tangy acids. Long finish is earthy, woody and herbal, a clear dill note competes with tangy stone fruits, toasty spice and antique cabinetry. This is mature, but will surely keep going for another 10+, and may very well improve.
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As usual my favourite did not dissapoint, fantastic! Enjoyed with roe deer steak. However, as last time again bad quality dry cork, which is surprising for this vinyard or Rioja at all from my experience. Wine had luckily not been affected though!
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Last of 6 bottles enjoyed over the past 9 years. Outstanding QPR and a testament to how Rioja, in the traditional style, can age. Score is not influenced by QPR to be clear.
Dark red color with very fine sediment. Stunning nose - soy, meat, dark cherry, tobacco, fig and orange rind - awesome mix of sweet and savory. Palate was similar ex. soy/meat. Medium body, medium+ acidity, very fine tannins and very long finish. Excellent. 94+/- Viva Espania!
From 1/2 bottle. Some bricking, an open-knit, generous bouquet. Tobacco, cigar box, some cherry and plum with a top note of of roses. This bottle is a touch more mature than the last bottle which was a 750ml. The first sip was loaded with the tobacco and cedar notes, but as it opened in the glass, teh fruit emerged. Raspberries and currants, blueberries and blackberries, and a rich mouthfeel. Refreshing acid and a longish finish. This is a thoroughly enjoyable, hedonistic wine without being heavy, overly big or cloying. Time to drink the 375’s.
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$100+ Blind Tasting (Bin 75 Alpharetta, GA): Chocolate core with orange rim; less structure especially after previous wine, age, nutty, Burgundian of sorts, cedar, vanilla, faint dill, elegant; would have liked to have had this earlier to pick out more nuance; definitely liked it more than previous tasting.
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Always a pleasure to come back to one of the finest Riserva’s of Rioja and only a 3rd Especial ever made by La Rioja Alta. Medium garnet red. Intense and rich aroma with rustic touches, notes of cherries, dried cranberries and raspberries, clove, violets, old cupboard and medicinal hints. Medium body, rich and well polished, complex and elegant, lifted by bright medium+ acidity, grained chewy tannins, ripe red fruit flavours along spices and long finish.
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Wow. First full bottle from the case. This is still young and mostly primary. Absolutely decadent and delightful. Boysenberry, cinnamon, cedar, nice structure and enough acid to keep it from being jammy. At least another 10 years before this peaks, but it's going to be hard to wait.
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Love this wine! A core of slightly sour cherry fruit, enveloped in complex layers of cedar spice and earthy notes. Coming to the end of a case, but really no rush at all. Bargain at less than £20!
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Beautiful bottle. At peak of maturity. Notes of cherry, leather, and tobacco. The oak has melded into the wine and the acidity gives it great lift. The finish is very long. In a great stage and this should linger for a few years under good storage.
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As always, a beautiful expression of Rioja. Opened for 4 hours, then decanted an hour, which was about right. A bit more wouldn’t have hurt. Wine has plenty of years ahead of it.
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"Running" Club Rich Man / Poor Man dinner (The leafy West London suburbs): Woof! "I'm going to stop drinking through these so fast" he said. "They're going to run out before long" he said. And yet - so hard to stop drinking these. Reliably wonderful. Deep expressive nose - just a hint maybe of undergrowth. On the palate - the oak is clearly there, some high toned red fruit notes, but all so well integrated. If Carlsberg made wine... My #1 wine of the night.
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Excellent Rioja with a bouquet of vanilla from the american oak, tobacco, spices and blackberries. The palate is smooth, but not very evolved. Since I had a few bottles over the last decade, it's quite interesting that this wine develops quite slowly. I don't see this to change over the next decade.
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BWC X1 Dinner - Hawksmoor: Double decanted just before lunch. Best bottle of these I've had - so balanced, so refined, and somehow the oak just felt a little better integrated than the last bottle. No rush for these but in a really good place just now. 2nd WOTN for me.
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Tasted next to 2005/2009/2010 Ardanza and 2001 904. Excellent bottle. Notes of spices, tobacco, red fruit, orange peel, hint of vanilla. Soft and generous on the palate, good acidity. Complex, mellow and long. 92-94
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Deep garnet color. This gorgeous Rioja is still going strong at 20. Loads of peppery spice, tobacco leaf, leather, and red berries. Medium bodied with a long, juicy finish.
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At a dinner party with a Premier Crus Côte de Nuit pinot and a Central Coast pinot, this magnificent Red Rioja blew the doors off. No contest. It's the time we've waited for, I have no idea how long it will last. Previously noted 2013, 2014, 2015.
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I think this still needs a little air to get going but it’s starting to hit maturity, the oak is getting more integrated, the tannins have melted, there’s some lovely leather and spice notes along with bright and vibrant cherry fruit, the acidity is just right. Plenty of time ahead too
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My plan to leave these and consume one or two every year has somewhat failed - more like one or two every month at the moment. Thoroughly lovely - ready to drink but a long way ahead of it. Singing red fruit in balance with the American oak - so good to drink now but I think it will be amazing in a few years.
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From 75cl, perfect cork, decanted 1 hour. An exquisite bottle. Bright red fruit (redcurrant/cranberry/morello) with just a hint of darker (loganberry?) in there somewhere, also gentle fresh tobacco, very gentle leather, and of course vanilla, but not the in-your-face American oak of less successful bottles of Tondonia. All in all: rather more like a wonderful old red Burgundy than a typical 20-year-old Rioja. Tannins fully resolved, but still plenty of delicate structure. Bright acidity. This superb bottle could have lasted another decade. 93–94P
Still great acidity, but the wine is drinking at peak now. The nose is stewed dark fruit and wet mushroom and forest floor. The taste is more dark cherry and a cedar finish. A nice dry wine to pair well with a fatty steak or a nice lamb chop!
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Valentines Weekend Wines: Popped and poured. Drunk too quickly with lasagne. Colour - purplish-red. On the nose - vibrant, oak and forest floor and a hint of red fruits. On the palate - the American oak is clearly there, but well integrated, and there's an acidity to it that gives everything definition and makes it almost thrilling. Not as enjoyable as the 1989 of this wine I drank over Christmas, but I feel that this will be a better wine when it gets to that age. Hopefully I will be able to exercise sufficient restraint to have some of this left in 10-15 years time.
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Chú Xī (除夕) Dinner at Home for Chinese New Year (Our House, Hong Kong): Opened and shared with friends at our place over a home-cooked Cantonese traditional new year day dinner. Decanted for 5 hours. Hard to pin down. Cranberries. Light. Quite dilute. Hard to figure where this is headed. Have had better bottles.
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Mid ruby with a touch of deep garnet at the rim. Starting to settle comfortably in to early maturity. Mellow mulberry and damson fruit, velvety frame, hints of leather and spice and still a healthy dose of vanilla on the nose. Lovely, very drinkable now but years ahead. ****
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decanted one hour. muddy ruby center, lightening on the rim: nose is toasted & nutty, red currant jam, sweet brown spice, worn leather, eucalyptus; silky palate weight; ripe, yet restrained, red fruits, leathery & earthy; fine-toned acidity, tannins mostly resolved.
when young, this was a pickle barrel-inflected pina colada w/exaggerated fruit; wasn't sure if correct, or more importantly, the wisdom of purchasing it. now, shows its oak, but is integrated, & well, more enjoyable.
Decanted an hour, Zalto universal glass. Simply a fine and mature wine with dark fruits, some oak, caramel and good depth. I didn't find strawberries, maybe they disappear with age. Smooth with healthy acidity and moderate sweetness. Not terribly long but such a pleasure.
VERY good and in its drinking window but no hurry. American oak certainly in evidence but a welcome component rather than overblown now, and there is plenty of sweet fruit remaining. An excellent match for glazed baked ham.
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Opened a bottle to go with Christmas lunch: turkey, sausages, cranberry sauce etc. Beautiful - really settled and integrated. Good berry + cassis nose, good structure without being tough. Lovely.
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Double decanted two hours prior - just a little bit of silty sediment. Enticing aromas out of the decanter - cherries, some raspberry, herbs, oak and vanilla. Terrific mouthfeel, lots of red fruits combined with herbs, balsamic and animal meat. long, sweet finish with just enough oak tannins and acid to provide good balance for food. Seems at peak, but well stored bottles should hold another 5+ years. Superb!!
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Excellent with moose, fullbodied, oak. Wine has peaked, but still very high standard. Never dissapointed on this wine, although the cork was of surprisingly bad quality this time.
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Another beautiful bottle. Similar to the one we drank earlier this year. Entering the peak of maturity but very lively, vibrant with great density and length. It still has quite a lot of life left.
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Light to medium garnet. Attractive and complex nose of red fruits, a dash of vanilla and dill, forest floor; acid spine emerges on entry and remains throughout, a smidge of tannins remain, red fruit, twist of licorice, medium bodied, good length.
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gut gereift nach 19 Jahren und schön zu trinken. Etwas fruchtiger als Vina Tondonia aus dem gleichen Jahr. Hält sich noch Jahre. Freue mich auf die nächste Flasche im nächsten Jahr.
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Slightly darker than the Tondo, dark red fruit with a good core of raspberry. Slightly brighter acidity too but with lots of mid-palate padding. Resolving nicely. Properly integrated and just at the start of its window but with a couple of decades of potential. Really very good. ****
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3/8, crumbly cork. Decanted then served. Deep ruby/garnet core, pale garnet rim. Aromatic nose with strawberry, vanilla, touch of leather and spice. Medium bodied, polished, fully resolved tannins, strawberry fruit, a middleweight wine with fresh/vibrant acidity and a long, harmonious gently leathery/spicy finish. Drinking well.
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Drinking the final bottle from our cellar. Definitely aged, a bit beyond the peak, but still good. The dark cherries are very forward, a bit of leather, with only a little tannin left for the finish.
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Classic rioja... this wine exhibited all the textbook traits in the nose and on the palate. There was a bit more of an oak presence than I expected, but it was harmonious.
The tannins had resolved almost entirely, and the fruit, while still present and somewhat bright, had married with the secondary traits so the overwhelming impression was of balsamic roasted strawberries served on a leather plate
Balance, poise, and gusto all come together in this bottle. Drink now, or hold for a few more years - while I think it’s done developing in the bottle, it doesn’t seem to be in danger of fading.
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Still big and somewhat brash. The wood is still prominent of course but it's integrating nicely with the fruit. They seemed to be playing off one another. Very expressive and showing plenty of complexity. The nose and palate are lively and precocious. There is some tartness that made me wonder about tartaric additions. It's not way out of balance give the expression of the fruit now but it certainly seemed more tart than a red should be. On the second night this went more subtle showing some more mature leather and balsamic notes. I enjoyed this quite a bit. Really good but don't put it in front of wood-o-phobes. It is a classic Rioja in most respects.
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Just amazing!! Drink them now, but you will love them. Faded berries, tobacco and leather. Smooth, subtle with a long finish. Slight sour note as it is aging, otherwise flawless.
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Opened one hour in advance. Used a corkscrew and the cork disintegrated, I should have used the ah-so. Cinnamon aroma on top, fresh berry fruit underneath. Flavors of cherry, tobacco. There was a bit of dill in there on first opening, but it integrated with time. Full, rich cherry finish.
This is classic Rioja, and it's just coming into its own. The cork may have been shot, but the wine itself is going strong.
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I liked it before but this is now great. Sweet cedar and vanilla nose. Palate is now well integrated. Tart black fruit, soft tannin, cedar and smoke. I have one more that I may drink soon as I don’t see it getting better.
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A much better bottle. Still masses of acidity but matched by a depth of cranberry, raspberry and plum fruit. The finish is seriously long and tasty. Decant at least 2 hours before drinking. Preferably more. This still has some ageing to do....
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Nothing wrong with it though a little one dimensional for the first 2 hours plus. It eventually developed some secondary flavors. Goes down easily. A little thin at first but easy drinking.
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Wow... This bottle is so much better than my last one. I popped and audozed for an hour. The nose is not as funky and there are notes of red cherry, red plum, charred wood, leather, tobacco. On the palate it has pronounced intensity. It is dry and vibrant with medium plus acidity, polished tannins, medium plus body and medium alcohol. No heat detected. Cedar and dried cranberry notes pop in the mouth. The finish is long, dry and complex. What a beautiful bottle. I hope my next one performs as well. Cheers! PAIRING: Pollo a la Brasa Peruano [A+]
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Coravin sample from a bottle that was professionally stored with the Wine Society for 7 years or so; recently retrieved. Classic aged Rioja nose, red fruit with rather bright cranberry, orange peel notes that I usually find in the Ardanza. Acidity is evident but not excessively so after breathing. Still best with food. 15 minute decant is essential, maybe a little more (my sample's aeration was enhanced because I filtered it with a coffee filter to avoid any trace of floating sediment that I get with a standard/vintage Coravin needle; I've yet to try the multi-hole strainer-like needle). Holding on nicely and certainly much better than the bottle that languished in the flat the last two years and lost a bit of edge - some wines survived the heatwave stored in north facing room but a few clearly suffered. Not enough wine fridge space in the flat - all reserved for Coravin-accessed wines that become much more sensitive to temperature variation when gas/liquid ratio increases (because gas will expand more, increasing pressure). Even if you start with a noble-gas like Argon, temperature and pressure fluctuations could allow oxygen in (when a warm bottle cools down). Here endeth the physics lesson.
Pop'n'Pour. The first impression was a wave of acidity followed by a wave of reddish fruits, strawberries mxed in with something darker. Once the two came together the whole became very moreish. But probably best to have this with food.
From Magnum. Medium/deep garnet. Nose shows creamy red fruit, vanilla, coconut, dill. Quite a lot of oak. Medium/full bodied, waves of lovely ripe strawberry fruit, quite rich and broad but with lovely contrasting acidity, soft tannins, touch of orange peel on the long, harmonious finish. Lovely and more to come in this format
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This has meaningfully evolved over teh past few years. Drunk out of a 1/2 bottle. Beautiful round, red fruits. elongated finish. Sweet nose. Baking spices and cedar are secondary notes as the wine opens. Beautiful.
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Rubin farge med mursteinsrød kant. Tørket solmodne jordbær, karamell, smør, marsipan. I munnen friskere med parfyme, jordbær mineraler, tobakk, karamell, lakris. Skogbunn og blomster i ettersmak. Lang, ren og frisk. Så presis og rødbærspreget. Dette synger burgund, Rioja ble nevt. Helt polert, detaljert. Ekstrem syre. 93-94 Volnay, Chambertin eller kanskje pommard ble gjettet rundt bordet. Så ren og pen!!
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Slow oxed. This wine continues to hold up beautifully. Its hue remains quite youthful with slight bricking on the edges. The nose is interesting and complex with a mixture of red and dark fruits, some menthol and herbal earth notes. On the palate, strawberry, cherry, licorice, and wild mushroom. Yummy. Love this wine. Great qpr. Drink or hold.
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Medium garnet in color. It is light violet around the edge. Red fruited nose with wet leather, raw cedar and faisandage. The nose is wilder than I recall. It is gaining complexity as time goes by. On the palate it is dry with high acidity and mild medium tannins, well integrated into the juice. The finish is dry and of mid length.
At nineteen years old, it's hard to call it advanced but maturity has definitely arrived. Is there room for development? I'd say a handful of years, and then the decline will commence. Start drinking now.
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Good without (yet) being great. Still a fair whack of vanilla, but smooth palate and slightly spicy finish. No real fruitiness but red fruited in style. Not loads of complexity either. Accomplished without being gripping. Hard to know whether this will really hit the heights in the future.
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slowly the oak is getting integrated, but this wine is still in need of a long decant and aeration. With air, there is ample sweet cherries infused with a healthy does of orange peel. ncie acidity and structure. This will be long lived and can easily see enjoying this for next 20-30 years.
Mid ruby to garnet. Briary red fruit, a touch of leather and woodsmoke. Bright. In a slightly halfway stage; moved beyond primary vanilla-oaked fruit but not yet at full secondary complexity. Reasonably long. Positive finish. ****
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From memory. Decanted for 1h then back into bottle and drank over 3h. Lovely rich blackberries and barely ripe plums, tobacco, mushrooms, earth, and herbs with still a hint of dill. Balanced by nice acids. Drank well and becoming more balanced with greater depth as the night wore on.
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Now firmly out of an energetic phase, but open and beautifully rich with sour cream, dill, cedar flavors and sweet fruit. Delicious, and gives the impression that it’ll stay like this for a bit.
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From 75cl, excellent cork, decanted 1 hour, continued to improve until final drop. I think recent TN scores are inflationary, but there is no doubt that this bottle is a model of loveliness, a fully-mature, silky-smooth, red-fruited, not-too-heavily-american-oaked dream of traditional Rioja. Gorgeous, but let's remember that there are still brighter stars in the 2001 LRA firmament (904 / 809) and other superb 2001s (Ygay Historic Vintage, Tondonia Gran Reserva) which are still to be released, and will surely stake out the mid-90s range more exactly. 91P
Red/brown color with a fair amount of fine sediment - showing it's age. Very savory, beautiful, nose - sweet tobacco, saline, meat, iron, dried cherry and all-spice. Palate had similar complexity and flavor profile. High acidity, medium tannins and very long finish. Probably my favorite Rioja. 94+/-
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Served with beef bourguignon, decanted one hour. This was delicious. Classic Rioja aromas of oak, dill and olive. It was quite spicy too. Went really well with the food. Lots of life left in this.
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This was first opened and decanted for three hours on Sunday evening to pair with slow-roasted St. Louis-style pork spareribs. It was nicely open, featuring cherry, red alpine currant, Herbs de Provence, and sandalwood. Was vacuumed and opened up again on Monday evening to accompany grilled beef kabobs. Wow! Now this was fully opened, literally soaring from the glass on both nose and palate. Decidedly full-bodied now, with a powerful mid-palate that almost tears up your eyes. This is still very youthful, and those who claim this is over-the-hill are obviously inexperienced with top-quality Rioja wines. This was nirvana for this red fruit-loving red wine drinker! Highly recommended.
My third Magnum from this vintage, if you have to share some fine wine at a big family barbecue this format is prudent, very intense fine nose, lots of herbs, dark fruit in the background, on the palate still fresh and very lively, the herbal touch is prominent here again, very good pairing with all kinds of meat, an energetic acid showing in the long finish, evolves in the glass with more aeration, this bottling is from normal bottle in its beginning prime, no need to hurry, in wellstored bottles and from MG(+) with a long life ahead, I would guess a decade++, great bottle, outstanding, **(**), 91,92(+) potential
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From a half bottle over dinner, no formal notes. Quite evolved with fully resolved tannins. Expressive, layered and open on both nose and palate, at times a little flabby and tired. Very enjoyable still. 88-90?
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Crranberries, warm plumpudding, compost, porcini, cinnamon, dill and gingerbread. Well-judged acidity adds freshness and intensity to the otherwise slightly gloomy and brooding aromatics. Very nice.
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Opened one tonight with some bbq. Amazing stuff. Totally in the drinking window. It’s drinking well. Loads of coconuts and spice and cherry. I saw a note from GOLDSTONE that said thai green chicken curry and cherry. I can definitely see that!!
Had it in a magnum sized decanter for an hour. It’s in the window, but I think will last and possibly improver for ages.
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From magnum. Complex nose with notes of spices, smoke, vanilla, red and dark fruit, old leather. Slightly vegetal at times which I didn’t pick up with previous bottles and I found slightly unpleasant. Less complex on the palate compared to the nose but very nicely balanced - generous, vibrant, spicy. Good length. 89-91
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2nd of 2 bottles, and this was significantly better than the other somewhat uninspiring bottle I had in 2017, so I am assuming bottle variation.
Classic, bright and fresh but with the complexity one would expect at 18 years past vintage. On day 1 in a blind tasting, this was the group's #1 out of 9 other Rioja Reservas and Gran Reservas, including 5 bottles of LRA 904 Gran Reserva from vintages 2004/2005/2009 (some of which, in an interesting blind twist, were duplicated). This was my #2 in that flight, behind one of the two 2005 LRA 904s.
Floral notes on the palate mixed with light earthy and cherry Lifesaver and/or liqueur, the latter in a good way - not over the top. Quite tasty, and good on its own and with food. Surprisingly to me, I actually enjoyed this more on day 2 than on day 1. 92-93
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Decanted for about 2 hours. Had with grilled tomahawk ribeye and dessert. Yum. This wine is so expressive right now and in such a good place. See previous notes. Drink up.
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Dinner For Returning Friends (Our House, Hong Kong): Decanted for 2+ hours then drank slowly over the next four. The 10th time I have drank this wine. Dark, semi-opaque purple/ruby colour...still looks very young. Nose of Thai chicken green curry - galangal, fresh ginger, chicken broth, small Thai green aubergines - plus some lovely dark fresh cherry fruit. Palate is light, bright, fresh but starting to show a touch of cherry liqueur. Very high-toned piano notes ....but followed by massive heady cherry-toned 'lightness but weight'. This is a wine that polarises opinions but ....not having drank it for a couple of years... I'm now more convinced than ever that it needs another 10+ years to show its true colours. The last glass, 7 hours from opening, was by far the best. 91+ with lots of headroom.
After a couple of hours this starts to open up. Still young and fresh, tight structure. Bright fruit, raspberry, long. Beautiful structure, lovely wine.
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Per my previous notes, but.....Took the 2nd half, night 2 down my to local to share with wine enthusiasts. They were blown away, and now get all the fuss about fine wine. To be honest, I got bored with all the flavours/aromas they were calling out (only joking) but came away delighted that they had experienced that life-changing wine moment. Brilliant!
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A classic in every sense. And yet another example of the vintage of the century so far in Rioja. Superb nose of truffles, leather, tobacco, vanilla ice cream. Velvety, soft, pillowy and luxurious. Stewed fruit compote with cinnamon (blackberries, prunes). Beautifully long and sensual finish. An absolutely lovely wine. The 20% Garnacha gives lift and structure to the Tempranillo.
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Lovely wine, soft tannins and faded acidity makes way for mature secondary notes of fleshy fruit, but hints of a wine slightly past peak. Very enjoyable still.
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Still quite a deep colour. Strong nose of dark fruits, still with that blackcurrant fruit gums aroma (sweet, slightly confected dark fruits to the uninitiated), touch of vanilla and liquorice.
The palate is starting to express more secondary and tertiary flavours - the fruits, again, have a slight cooked element to them, and there is still that huge dose of liquorice on the finish. Acid not as noticeable as is usual in Ardanza/Rioja.
Interestingly seems to be in a transition phase. I think I might leave this for a couple of years now (which could be a gamble). It's a lovely bottle, but I'm not sure it's going to age as gracefully as the '04 and '05. The best bottle I had was a couple of years ago, normally I presume Ardanza to keep evolving/improving for at least 20 years - I can't help thinking that whilst the 2001 vintage has provided some marvelous drinking pleasure, on the whole it's not a consistent vintage, and considering the quality, the ageability does need a close eye keeping on it.
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First opened lovely ruby color and youthful on the palate. Savory herbs and some meatiness after a few hours of air. Layered maturity, great with Pam's birthday chocolate strawberry shortcake. Time to drink up it may be past peak.
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Delicate aromatics with notes of white pepper, violets, and cherries. Poised, with a soft, feminine texture and gentle tannins. Cherry palate with a lot of floral influence. Satisfying. This is drinking wonderfully now and there is no rush to consume, however it is softening into a more mature Rioja that some may not be into.
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lots of layers of flavor and depth in each. This is a wonderful Rioja and is drinking quite well. I suspect that it is on the downward trajectory, but still wonderful.
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Another fantastic bottle, with classic tertiary notes, ample fruit and almost completely resolved tannin. Perhaps waning a bit in energy, I'll drink my last bottle soon.
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Bought 6 of these 4 years ago from Majestic at £18 a bottle. They have been stored in the cupboard under the stairs. Tonight, the cork crumbled, the nose was incredible but the taste was bland, bland, simplistic and very short. And then I went back an hour later - wow! Smooth rich red fruits, cedar, spice mingling and lingering for ever. 2 left, wish I'd bought more. One of the best value wines i've ever tasted.
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Was hoping for greater integration after a few years laying off these, but got just the opposite. Sweet oak juice with a powerful nose of roble amerciano, hedonistic notes of oak on the palate, and an incredibly long, velvety oak finish.
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Again great performance from Ardanza. Beautiful Cherry nose, hints of tobacco and leather. Smooth in mouth, medium body, high acidity, lots of fruit and long finish. This is first class wine, sadly I have no more, love its balance and complexity.
Tasted next to 2001 La Rioja Alta 904 Grand Reserva. Spicy, red fruit, vanilla, old leather on the nose. Lovely on the palate, a little simple in comparison, good acidity, nice grip, fresh, long. Lovely. No rush. 91-93
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Une belle bouteille. Un peu de tertiaire, terre et champignons mais bien supporté par le fruit (cerise et prunes) avec des tannins serrés et une finale longue et minérale.
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This was the last of four bottles. This was the third bottle where the cork broke while being extracted. The wine was fine this time. The taste of the wine only seemed affected with the first bottle. However, after that, I accelerated my drinking schedule on the remaining bottles.
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A fond goodbye to the last bottle of this characterful old style Rioja. Perhaps the fruit has receded some. An extra point for all the pleasant time spent together!
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Complex nose. Great complexity on palate with balance. No need to decant as this begins to decline an hour or so after pulling cork. Drink now, beauty!
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Very nice expressive Rioja, probably still a few years too early. The nose is more like 95 - you smell chocolate, caramel and all the good fruity stuff, but there is somehow underdelivery on the palate - perhaps unresolved acidity. I have not compared this to the regular ardanza, so cannot comment on the "only three vintages in history" stuff...
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So it’s been a few years since the last bottle. Popped and poured this one. Actually drinking a bit like a fruit bomb right now. Bright red fruit with soft tannins and a good deal of juiciness. I was a bit surprised. I did like it but it was almost too fruity.
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Excellent, fragrant nose immediately after opening. Tannin nicely balanced with fruit. A bit acidic but that's perhaps expected. Improved a bit two hours later, but not significantly. Very enjoyable.
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2/8, Bttle #254961. Excellent cork. Decanted 1/2 hr. Medium garnet core, pale garnet rim. Aromatic nose, sweet dark fruit, vanilla, leather notes. Medium/full bodied, with rich dark fruit, leather and earth notes, vanilla, quite rich but with vibrant contrasting acidity. Still some firmness on the extended finish. Whilst certainly drinkable I think it will be better in 5-10 years and then go for at least another 10.
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Bit of a ho hum bottle. Everything correct but didn’t really shine and tasted surprisingly mature. Warm weather didn’t help. Other bottles have been much better. Try again in the autumn.
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This cork came out in two pieces. However, the wine was drinking OK. I do not see any argument for further cellaring. I will continue to work through my remaining bottles this year.
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Cork dry and broke in two. Ruby, with just a trace of browning. Nose of wood, leather and cherry. Light-medium body, tannins fully and beautifully integrated. Just slightly acidic. Dusty, old red fruit palate. Everything you could ask for in a well-aged rioja. Wish this hadn’t been my last one.
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2001 was a great vintage - I have drunk and enjoyed the 904 and 890s from Rioja Alta. However this was something special - it is at its peak; well-rounded and an absolute classic rioja.
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This one's a real winner - everything has come together and reached its peak:
Sandalwood, strawberries and a hint of black cherry on a moderately strong, pleasant nose. Medium to full bodied with ample, earthy fruit leading to a round, long, very mineral finish. Tannins and acidity completely integrated, don't wait much longer !
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This smells wonderful right after you pull the cork though the palate opened up after an hour. Coffee, mellowed wood spices, and stewed fruit. This still has some life to it though I don't know if it will neccasarily improve.
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Decanter for at least and hour and a half. Had towards the end of a nine bottle flight and several voted it as the WOTN. This is always a crowd pleaser. Each bottle better than the last. 16+ years old showing some bricking. An outstanding balance of fruit, acid, and notes of vanilla and wet stones. Tannins are well integrated with a long soft yet focused finish. Can't see this getting any better. Drink now.
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Side-by-side with a 904, this was the better of the two on the day.
Quite dark colour in the glass, but naturally after so much time in wood, and with a decade and a half under its belt, bricking appearing at the rim.
Whilst the 904 is almost exclusively red fruits, the Ardanza displays a good heft of dark fruits thrown in, with blackcurrant (and possibly blueberry) principle amongst them. It also has more sophistication around it's woody elements beyond vanilla, with a touch of dill and now quite a pronounced liquorice edge.
However, one caveat I will add is that I have a feeling that this is going to hit an awkward phase over the coming year or two, as it appears to be passing from it's earlier, fruitier and vanilla phase, with the emphasis shifting to more secondary and tertiary nuance. I could be wrong though, so don't let me dissuade you from cracking a bottle!
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Monthly Tuesday group "The Dead Sparrow" #025 Rioja (By MN): Mature bouquet with herbs, chocolate, coffee, rust, nuts and figs. On the palate red berries, rust, blood tea, coffee, good fresh acidity, still slightly sticky tannin and a good length. Although beautiful the wine shows more mature than you would expect.
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A Spanish wine and tapas evening (Restaurante Meson Galicia, Hamburg): Two Magnums, same taste: first of all right after opening, too young, we are commiting infanticide, very tight, compote, sweet intense compote, opens up after one+ hour, complex, vanilla, montecristo no.2, 4, 5, I do not know, a stunning persistent finish, a mouthfull of delicious Rioja Reserva! Needs at least 5- 10 years more in MG! Highly recommended! **(**+-?), 92+ potential
Really aromitic, lovely dill, slight aged quality, V.A., but still ripe fruit, savory, fine tannins, soft-ish tannins, long, complex, extremely fine, very nice. Very good right now and with aging to spare. So good with chorizo! Blind at Monica's.
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A really, really young wine, and definitely has the power and structure to last another 10+ years. Big concern here is the overwhelming dill/coconut/American oak flavors that haven't receded much. I'm not sure it'll integrate over time so if you have a bunch I would just drink a few now and save the remainders to test every few years.
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Red brick fading colour. Looks very evolved but needs over an hour decant. Nice nose in the beginning, awkward phase in second half hour (dominant olive notes). Begins to open up after 60 min in the glass (this was a Coravin sample). My recommendation: Ready if decanted 1 hour. Follow up for a further 2 hours. Seems that you could keep it if you insist, but I don't think it will improve further. Drink the Ardanza now while you wait for the 904.
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PNP and paired with chicken stew. Dark red with large variation from rim to center. Great nose - earth, menthol, cherry, dried cherry, cranberry - savory is great overall description of the nose & palate. Medium body with high acidity (low ph), sweet tannins and very long finish. Flavor profile is still pretty bright given the age of the wine (cherry, red currants, tart cherry). I love this. 93+/-
Has improved from last tasting.
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Relatively dark red (compared to the Tondonia Reserva 2001). Traditional Rioja aromas with dried red fruits, leather, coffee, vanilla and liquorice. Intensely sweet and sour on the palate. I guess this will benefit from more cellaring
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Very good, come on leaps and bounds since my last bottle 3 years ago, totally balanced, very old school Rioja, caramel, earthy, stewed fruits and vanilla. We drank alongside 904 and that was better because it had more complexity, having said that this is delicious and drinking so well at the minute. 90 points
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From 75cl, spongey cork, broke during extraction, about a teaspoon-full of slimy deposit remained in bottle. Strong vanilla oak (amazingly, much stronger than in a LdH Tondonia Reserva 2001 tasted recently), velvet-textured, pure, ripe bright red fruits, lively but not penetrating acidity. Not particularly complex but soooo delicious... Long, red-fruited, warm finish. The last pour was the best, so I'd say this has several years in store. 91P
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This is great stuff and remains one of my very favorite Riojas. Still youthful, multi-layered, and very characteristic of the region. I would think this still has another decade of great drinking ahead.
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really good. it still, of course, has its signature taste and for many (of us) it's not the most alluring. but for an occasionally different taste (resolving American oak; the dill pickle thing in the background) this remains a fantastic wine for the money.
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The QPR that Vina Ardanza delivers is remarkable, as the '01 is maturing beautifully, displaying a remarkably fresh and vibrant bouquet of red fruits and dried florals along with hints of sweet spicy oak still lingering on. It was still youthful on the palate with zesty acidity and fine tannin leading to fresh red berry fruit, savory herbs, peppery spice and minerals. It finished youthfully structure with tart red berry, balsamic tones and zesty acidity.
For me, probably best on day 3, when it seemed to come together vs. on PnP + 15 mins of air. It was OK and good with several kinds of food, but I'd say I was expecting more. 89-90.
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Despite the fantastic company and high expectations I was not amazed by this bottle. But it was also had very late in the evening, when much else had already been consumed.
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Monthly Men's Wine Dinner (Carmine's Bellevue): Aged Rioja is probably the easiest wine for me to identify because of the characteristic acid backbone, which I suspect is what makes it age gracefully pretty much forever. This was a delicious 2001, medium body, long finish, that went through a funky/confused stage and emerged with beautiful secondary flavors. 92 may be conservative; it suffered by comparison with the big wines. #4 of 5 for me and the group.
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Medium ruby color. Aromas of red cherries, dried red currants, red berry compote, and a host of really earthy, savory and floral notes (fallen leaves, tobacco pipe, pine resin, dried roses, smoky herbs) – so much to unpack. The palate is beautiful, tannins provide serious structure and grip, but there’s moderating acidity. Lots of red plum and currant compote, the fruit is slathered in forest floor, chewing tobacco, loamy earth, dried roses, leather – so much complexity. Long, long finish, crisp and bright with mineral tones. Gorgeous stuff for sure, but this could be even more elegant and expressive 10 years from now. (Not sure why I was so much more excited about this bottle than the last time I tasted it, cellar condition, not enough time with it, but this bottle was stellar.)
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Took some time to open up. Initially, cherries, american oak, a touch of VA. With air, developed a real richness and earthiness, everything became integrated. Turned out very nicely.
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No dill, more coconut this time. Some drying oak, also dried fruits. Nice overall, seemed inbetween modern and traditional style. Not a blockbuster type of a Rioja.
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Served in Riedel Vinum Burgundy glasses in which it showed more complexity and authority than in the Zalto Universal: The nose had an organic side (caramel, wet dog) and beautiful depth of aged complexity and earth. In the mouth there is a kind of savoury sweetness and a quite full-bodied complexity ending in marked acidity. Fine aftertaste. Approaching greatness when seen from the right angle.
Still good on the second day.
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Cata Histórica de Viña Ardanza (Bodega Santa Cecilia - Madrid): Intoxicating lactic notes, a cream caramel-like. Pastries and meat. In the mouth is still spectacular the grip and the high level of acidity. In my humble opinion in five-ten years will be a little gem.
Embriagadoras notas lácticas como de un caramelo de nata. Bollería y cárnico. En boca es todavía espectacular el agarre y el alto nivel de acidez. En mi humilde opinión en cinco-diez años será una joyita.
Almost completely opaque cherry red color. Heady, opulent and sweet nose with very over-the-top, oak-driven nose of sweet vanilla, blueberry yoghurt, strawberry jam, toasted oak, some pruney plummy fruit and a hint of dill. Full-bodied, weighty and quite concentrated on the palate with high acidity and ample, ripe and chewy tannins. Intense flavors of sweet oak spice, vanilla, ripe cherry, extracted coconut character, some juicy plummy fruit and a hint of dill. Very chewy, mouthfilling mouthfeel. The finish is rich and chewy with some sour cherry bitterness and persistent, intense flavors of vanilla, toasted sweet oak spice, some dried pruney fruit and a hint of strawberry jam.
At over 15 years of age, the wine is still remarkably youthful and very heavy-set with no signs of maturity whatsoever. The intense vanilla oak character feels very pronounced and despite the ripe, concentrated fruit, I can't imagine this amount of oak integrating with the fruit any time soon. Meaning, not at least in couple of decades. The wine is all about cellaring potential, so there is no point opening these in the near future - the pronounced oak character still is the most dominant characteristic, so I can imagine it will take at least 25 more years for this wine to become truly enjoyable. At least the vintage and the denomination "Reserva Especial" signify that this wine is something special and obviously built for the long haul.
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Still love this wine. Such unique flavors--vanilla and cigar box. Maybe just a little less sweet than the last few I have had but still a real crowd pleaser. Great QPR and will be sad to see these go.
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Solid, but boring. This is smooth and polished, but done so almost to a fault. All the character of the wine comes from the oak, which while not over the top, quite dominates the palate. Good crowdpleaser at a reasonable price.
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Opened an hour before dinner and drunk out of Zalto Universal glasses which underscored its bordeaux-like dimensions instead of the strawberry Burgundian ones. Lots of vanilla from the American oak in the nose and a wonderful spicy taste with depth and earth. Really good.
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Soooo good! Overwhelming nose, strong black currant taste and, what surprised me, this bottle delivered very long finish. It is definitely at its peak.
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Traditional Rioja (RSJ, London): Currently a bit fuller. Nicely plush whilst keeping its line. Similar profile on the finish. Just a bit broader and possibly simpler on the attack. ****
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Striking; you would pick this as Rioja in a blind tasting. There's a smokey leather tone that is pronounced. This is light-bodied, red fruit, with a bit of edge. Not sure it's my style really though this may be very appealing to some.
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PNP. cork perfect. color bricking garnet. nose is all oak. and some dill with dark cherry. swishing shows good acid, some cherries and then a wall of oak - the brawny kind that sticks. sipping gives better feel of the plummy currants and fruit and really hides a lot of the oak. much better than my previous two bottles, but still not my favorite. if I had any more would wait even longer and hope that the oak integrates further. fruit is going strong
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This bottle was absolutely singing, great dark cherry fruit, spices, leather, tobacco, really fresh and long. The last couple of bottles were nowhere near this, lots of bottle variation which is no so surprising with the volume I guess, on this showing it has plenty of life ahead of it
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This wine is soooo good ☺️ Fruity nose, dark red color and amazing taste. Balanced, some forest fruit, liquorice, some acidity. Only finish might be longer.
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At this moment, IMHO naturally, this is the best bottle of anything LRA. After a fabulous Faustino 1, I'm also starting to 'get' the 2001 vintage.
Very bright, with a blackcurrant leaf and sweet vanilla nose, it also has a hint of liquorice. The liquorice and dill profile was further enhanced (in a very positive way) on the palate by the fennel we had with roast lamb. I'm guessing it's gone through Malolactic, with the tell-tale creamy and soft mouthfeel, but still with that bracing Rioja acidity. Very balanced. Just superb. Definitely Burgundian with some nice red fruits.
I would say the next 3-5 years is going to see this peaking, but the evolution of this wine over the last few years has been so dramatic, it's possible that it could keep going for decades. I'm going to have to ration the remaining bottles!
Outstanding value, by the way.
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My wine of 2016. Everything I'd hope for from a quality 15 year old Rioja. Elegant, complex, long and (pretentious comment alert) versatile. It was great on its own, with steaks and accompaniments, and even after a sweet course.
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Briefly decanted than drank over a couple of hours. Transparent, dark red cherry colour. Nose of sour red and black cherries plus some spice. Palate is slightly sour but rounded and harmonious but very light in mouthfeel. Moderate length. This was much better than the prior two bottles I opened a couple of years ago but it now seems a very young wine at the beginning of a long journey to maturity. This is such a hard wine to pin down, as so many CTers have noted.
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Very red in colour surprisingly prominent sour cherry on palate not how I expect a 15 year old Ardanza to be - not unpleasant but rather strange and fruitless. This now appears to be one of the faulty bottlings.
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Medium red color with some browning around the rim with a clear meniscus.
On nose, dirt, dried cherry, menthol & dried cranberry. On palate, medium body, high acidity & tart cherry, red currants & dried cranberry + touch of sweet tobacco. Long finish. I really enjoyed this. 92-93+
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It seemed a bit over the hill. There still was some acidity en even some far away tannins but it seemed to have lost its power. I did not decant, just openend it an hour of two before drinking. A bit of a disappointment for me, but my wife thought it was great. I'd say: drink, don't hold any longer. But maby it was juist this bottle. I only had one.
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A lazy sunday afternoon (Eric&Megan's): Nose: The nose is classic Rioja with dill, sour red cherries, herbs, leather, earth tones, strawberries, and tobacco. There is excellent depth with the signature american oak notes.
Taste: Medium bodied with medium+ acidity and medium+ tannins. The tannins are fine grained and supporting with sour red cherries, strawberries, dill notes, leather, tobacco, and earth tones.
Overall: This is drinking beautifully. It's well balanced and quintessential Rioja Reserva.
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LRA Ardanza & 904 (The Medlar, London): Quite lush on the nose. This does have fruit. A touch of smoke across damson and plum fruit. Quite fat and leggy in the glass. Just a touch of VA on the finish. ***(*)
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I've been greedily drinking these since I pulled one last year and found the overbearing oak finally subsided allowing some fruit to emerge. Unfortunately, this bottle was back to my experiences some years ago where acrid oak paints everything in a sickly cotton candy kind of sugary sweetness and leaves a bitter rather than harmonious finish. The next day this was greatly improved so I think there's reasonable expectation that every bottle of this will eventually come into balance, it's just that some seem to have already done so while others are not there yet.
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Red cherries, orange peel and spice. Delicious!! Drinking beautifully right now -- paired with Mixteco Grill carryout (chicken in mole sauce) and worked perfectly.
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Terrific bottle of Ardanza! This bottle was dominated by fruit and spice notes showing red cherry, orange peel, cranberry, nutmeg, leather and tobacco. Classic traditional Rioja sour acid with just an faint hint of dill, vanilla, coconut from the oak. Pretty wine, so easy to drink!!
I've been struggling with La Rioja Alta over the past few years. Several bottles (not all bottles) of Ardanza, Arana and Alberdi have been absolutely undrinkable. They've been lifeless, limp wines wines with little/no fruit dominated by overpowering notes of American oak (dill, cedar and vanilla) as if the bottles were slightly corked. For example, in a case of Alberdi, 7 of the 12 bottles were this way while 5 were absolutely terrific. For 5 bottle of 2004 Ardanza, 2 were "flat" and undrinkable but 3 were good. Very strange.
Has anyone else been finding similar problems with LRA?
Another fascinating bottle, this time on the pop 'n pour by itself. A striking green olive note joins that previously described on both nose and palate. Another thought it smelled of prunes, but I didn't think so. Will treat with a lengthy decant next time.
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Beautiful bright and shining red color, with some orange hue and whitish narrow rim. At the beginning opens with lots of red fruits, licorice, orange peel, some earth. After couple of hours - less fruits, more wood, some leaves and sugar cotton candy... On the palate tasty and integrated, pretty dry , tannin is very smooth and silky, medium finish. Due to nice acidity - very good with food. Very good wine, but not as perfect as many bottles we had last year and years ago, maybe slight bottle variation. We have another, last one, will see how good it will be in about a year...
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I took this to a friends birthday party on 7/4/16. It had a fragrant, earthy bouquet of leather, violet, black cherry, anise, sassafras, cinnamon and spice aromas. The palate was rich, complex and layered with flavors that followed the nose. 92+
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So obviously Rioja. Blood orange and balsamic acidity. Tobacco and tapenade. A little minty. Coconut oak. Nothing in common with jammy New World wines.
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From magnum. Even more impressive than the last time I had it around a year ago. Lovely nose, dark fruited, notes of dried fruit, sweet spices, leather, earth and cured meat. Soft on the palate with layered sweet fruit, great intensity, melting tannins. Superbly balanced. Very long. Wonderful. 93-95
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This wine seems to be evolving nicely. After a one hour decant the nose and palate were shinning beautifully with just the right balance of fruit,earth and spice with well rounded tannins and a pearl essence finish. I will be dipping into my holdings each year to see where this wine goes.
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Work bbq (Home): Deep ruby, still very youthful and vibrant. Bright red fruit, a faint touch of vanilla, and just a hint of leather and spice. Quite vibrant, briary red fruit. Bright and fresh, plenty of acidity and some medium fine unresolved tannin. Approachable, but more to be gained in the future. Lovely. ***(*)
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It's hard to envision a more quintessentially Rioja wine than this - sure it's still a pickley from the oak but that has been largely consumed by the youthful and intense core of cherry and tobacco. Love the sweet/tart balance, so much personality and pairing potential. Curious to see what this becomes in full maturity, it could be something great.
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Tobacco filled nose with blackberry and leather aromas. Lovely silky texture with a bit of grip. Nice balance between the ripe berry fruits and the more savoury cigar smoke note underneath. A subtle touch of vanilla on the finish. Really good.
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Wild and funky. Barnyardy, leathery, and bretty. Tastes more like a framboise lambic than a red wine. Slightly tarry. Good mineral bite. A little toasty. A little coconut cream. Moderate tannins. Subtle interwoven bitterness. I hope Rioja always makes wines like this.
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ok, ok , Ill say a bit more. So Im on a business trip to Mallorca. And After the official business, Im trecking with these Italians, and we start talking about wine. They are absolutely appauled by the fact I speak so highly of rioja wine. They know the cheap crap rioja in their country that it is impossible that I know anything about wine and can like rioja. then we switch topic to itlaian wine where I mention I like pian delle vigne brunello 2000.
that makes them pause. and go; so, you taste all these wonderful wines, and still you say rioja is one of your favourites?? how is this even possible??? [with italian accent, which sort of enhances the exclamation]
So, one of the italian has found "the best place in palma to have paella". We agree to go there and I choose the wine.
Im sceptical about this port facing tripadvisor place, I cant find a wine list, but I see that have Jamon Iberico, which is on my todo list. and they have lamb cutlets which would go wonderfully with a rioja, if they have it! Meanwhile I look for winebars and find 2 potential places were to have good wines afterwards.
We agree. and meet in the evening for dinner. I go straight for the wine card and talk to the waitor (that speaks the most english, which isnt a lot, so Im going Italian mode. which works a bit better. Turns out they have ardanza res. esp. 2001 and immediately I go Thats the one! we take 2! Turns out its their last 2 bottles.
the waiter opens and pours in decanter (even though the spaniard in our midst doesnt know any spanish word for decanter) and lets me taste first. One whiff and Im in heaven!
i say "this is EXACTLY what I think real wine is and what I think rioja is , when I mention rioja and think of rioja! And I did not expect to find anything like this here.
the iberico ham comes in as well. the italian wine enthusiasnt tries it and goes " wow, what the fuck , this is REALLY REALLY good. this night is turning out to be really something alreadY". i managed to convert a sceptic. He kept talking about how amazing that wine was during the entire evening.
it had that transcended broken down fruit with wood and tobacco, that fills me with joy and gives me goosebumps, brick colour, lingering finish. the label described that they made this version in only three vintages. 1964, 1973, and 2001, where the weather was in a certain way.
Drinking beautifully now, this wine could have another 5 years. Bright acidity but also a touch of sweetness, the fruit is prominent and this rioja has perhaps a little less spice and terroir than most but it is perfectly balanced and surprisingly it paired beautifully with seared scallops, meyer lemon risotto and soy foam. All components brought out something different in the wine.
Bright cherry, mulberry, flowery, a bit of tar at first but it melted over the next hour.
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I've had this wine (2001 vintage) a few times. In 2011 at a Barcelona restaurant where one bottle was amazing and another bottle not so much. Bought 2 bottles of same to take home, drank one a couple of years ago and it was OK, somewhat one-dimensional, far from the great 1st bottle I drank in Barcelona.
I just drank my 2nd of 2 bottle brought home and it less OK than the last bottle. This one was tart, raspberry, cherry. Medium body medium tannins at mid-palate. It didn't change much with more air time. Not very complex, certainly not like the first bottle I drank at that Barcelona restaurant that was great.
So after drinking 4 bottles over ~5-year period, I have to agree with others that this wine suffers from bottle variation - i.e., some bottles good, some aren't - significantly more variation than I've tasted with any other wine. Thus if you're thinking of buying one of this, it's caveat emptor, buyer beware.
If you have one, drink now. I don't think it'll get any better with more age.
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Medium purple in the glass. No bricking noticeable, but then the light was low and the setting intimate.
Nose of fresh flowers and sweet tobacco. A palate of lively red fruit, tea leaves and earth combined with low acidity, a medium body and silky tannins present a package of remarkable balance and finesse. The Rioja exhibits a vibrancy that belies its age. Of course none of the foregoing description matters unless the wine can deliver pleasure and this one delivers it in spades.
Love at first sip.
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Excellent bottle (and very different experience than a bottle I drank 2 years ago). Wonderful nose of red fruit and spices. Very traditional rioja with restrained red fruit and oak and dill accents. The texture was the best thing about the wine--reminiscent of a good burgundy with some age.
Based on the community notes and my experience, it does seem that there is some pretty significant variance between bottles.
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Bonhams Pre-Sale Tasting (San Francisco): Pale. All whisky barrel on the nose. Light to medium body. Supple with nice sweetness of fruit and good length, but the American oak returns in force at the end, rendering the finish green and astringent.
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Sausage & Mash Dinner: Great wine and what great value too! Bought from Majestic for £20 years ago. Still a great wine, truly classic Rioja and at its peak now, I would suggest. Superb nose with classic strawberry, vanilla and spice. Palate a little faded relative to the nose, but still overall great stuff.
Presented this wine in an eclectic blind tasting flight with a right bank Bordeaux, an iconic Napa cab and a lovely brunello di montalcino and this was the WOTF. The nose was big and beautiful with dense red fruits, flowers and earth. The palate was medium to full bodied with the perfect balance of fruit and acids. The tannins are soft but firm enough to give this wine solid structure and depth. I can't wait to see how this wine continues to evolve as it is still young within its drinking window.
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What a fine wine. It amazes me how really good wine files above the fray. This is a lovely integrated Rioja. I think it's getting close to the end of its drinking window but I will say this is a lean elegant wine firing on all cylinders. Great color that reveals bricking near the bottom of the glass, a vibrant grassy, vegetal nose. But mature and engaged. The front palate is a bit astringent on the edges but the mid and back palate reveal a lean well thought out wine. That astringency may burn off with time, I'll let you know. But this wine has personality all its own and embodies why wine is so alive. After about thirty minutes I am still noticing the astringent edges not burning off. That's a drag. The cork broke on opening but the wine is intact. I have a two more and will comment on those. DAY TWO. This wine has a backbone. It still sings after twenty four hours. The astringency is still there, but the lean vibrant focused fruit does not fade. I fully recommend but have pause due to the lack of smoothness on finish. Still kind of amazing.
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Perfumed, floral nose with rose petals. Overly well resolved on the palate. The acidity is gone. Fruit is muted at best. More cigar box on the palette than anything, but not overly pronounced. Not a bad wine, just underwhelming.
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Cork failed on extraction, but the wine seemed to be fine. Drunk over an evening with braised beef and polenta. From memory, two days later - complexity is the overriding impression. Nose certainly had underbrush, black berry fruit, earth, pine, maybe a faint hint of brown sugar. Palate quite tart, very firm tannins, berry fruit coming forward a little. Very long finish, very stable in the mouth. A terrific wine, showing no signs of age other than that crumbly cork.
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Wow, this has really transformed in the last 5 years into a classic Rioja. What ostentatious oak there was is now finely woven into the structure and perfume, incense, red cherries, crunchy and sweet and fresh. I loved this and so did the non oenophiles.
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Light reddish orange in color with a watery rim. The aroma is intense with notes of red fruits, creamy vanilla oak, tobacco and dried herbs. The impression on the palate is medium-bodied, dryish with flavors of pomegranates, underripe cherries, cranberries, creamy oak, dried autumn leaves, damp earth, fennel, tobacco and some underlying leather. The creamy vanilla oak component dominates and persists long after the finish. This Reserva Especial is a nuanced wine to say the least and smooth to a certain extent though not fully resolved. Perhaps I should have waited for another 3 – 5 years. A very decent price for a very monumental wine.
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3rd LRA Tasting Event of the Q4 (Enoteca Barolo - Madrid): Rockets and gunpowder. It is shown reduced. Notes of pastry and yeast. Perhaps lactic sour cream too. Dense and tasty in the mouth. At this stage I would not open any of my bottles.
Cohetes y pólvora. Se muestra reducida. Notas de pastelería y levadura. Quizás también lácticas a nata agria. Denso y sabroso en boca. En esta fase no abriría ninguna de mis botellas.
Drank at TG, with a variety of other wines, so impression was somewhat unfocused, but came across as fruitier and simpler than my prior bottles, still good
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Outstanding. Great purity and depth of red fruit (cranberry, pomegranate, and red currant), generous acidity, mild fine tannins, and some cocoa and anise at the finish, along with that unique "Rioja" character.
I wish I had a case of this. Worth much more than the $30 I paid for it.
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surprisingly young for a 2001 with some alcohol heat remaining. The wine has orange notes to its ruby. the nose is cherry, plum and earth with hints of leather and oak. the taste is very well balanced with depth and nuance. the finish poersists. opened 40 minutes before serving. The wine started to fade after three hours.
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2001 Rioja (Maryland): Smooth and ripe on the nose, rich, velvety waves of cherries, rose petals and vanilla. Juicy with smooth yet structured tannins, the bing cherry, red apple and tangerine fruit maintains a fresh vibe. I get lots of peppercorns and tobacco and an earthy-vanilla finish. More “hedonistic” than the first two wines, but this is, at heart, a bright and vibrant wine.
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Just outstanding. At a dinner after a bottle of Remelluri. Not fair to the Remelluri. Modest cherry notes now and a little anise finish. My big California cab buddies could not stop talking about this wine and its value. Compared it to their $150 bottles.
This Especial version of the Reserva is made only in great vintages. So it ought to be significantly higher in quality than wines merely very good. On the whole, the 2001 Spanish wines remain remarkably rich and are strong competitors for the best vintage of the decade. Against those very high expectations, this Ardanza is somewhat disappointing. Strong oak flavors still stick out, the acidity often comes across as tart, the texture is several steps from caressing, the fruit is only moderately delicious, and the overall taste is not seamless. A high volatile acidity may be the main source of these problems. We hoped that prolonged tasting would resolve those problems, but alas, now we are at the last inch on the 6th day open, with little improvement.
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Haha, well I guess this is where I go against the grain and confess that I wish I'd bought cases of the stuff. Starting to mellow from that facefull-smashing-fruit-and-oak combo, and is easily in Gran Reserva territory for other vintages.
Still bags of fruit, on the nose and palate, heading more towards blackcurrant and blackberry, maybe a hint of cherry and a nice lingering liquorice-like aftertaste. The acidity is starting to balance out and become refreshing and mouthwatering, as you would expect from good Rioja.
Entering its first flush of mature drinking window, this is a simply stunning wine that cannot be beaten on price and highlights what all the fuss is about with regards the 2001 vintage. Reserva Especial indeed.
PnP into a Burg glass. Drank better and better as the night went on. The vanilla receded into the background and the flavors became more complex. Nose took on forest floor and tobacco elements. Very happy with this, my last btl. Might benefit from a few more years too? Paid $30 and worth it.
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This is still good, but beginning to fade. In 2011, this was full of bright fruits, vanilla, and some (region appropriate) leather/wood. Now, the brown/brick colors are coming in and the fruits are darker, with a slightly balsamic finish. Loved the pairing with our Spanish tapas, but I feel that this was fresher a few years ago. 90-
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Really great nose with inky black fruits and lighter floral notes. Layers of flavour, starts leathery and meaty, becoming brighter revealing sweet but tart strawberry fruit and balsamic. Velvety texture and perfectly poised, a touch of spice on the very fine tannins and coconut oak on the long, long finish.
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Vina Ardanza vertical: Concentrated, integrated oak. Dry, peppery feeling, pronounced accidity, dry, some vegetable beetroot notes. Seems young and lacking elegance after all the oldies. Of course, on its own, it wouldn't feel that young.
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Previously tasted and noted on 6-3-13 and 6-1-14. This 375ml version remains fresh and delightful, concentrated but light-footed. Drinking well right now, with plenty of stuffing for further evolution.
Medium garnet core, pale garnet/mahogany rim. Developed, classic Rioja nose, tobacco, leather, creamy vanilla, underlying red fruit, hint of mint. Medium bodied, soft, resolved tannins, elegant, leathery red fruit, creamy vanilla, harmonious with attractive fresh acidity, good length finish. Delicious, drinking well.
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A perfumed nose of ripe red fruits, mint, sandalwood and vanilla which lead way to a juicy palate with a plum and blood orange flavored palate that carries good acidity on through the finish. A delightful wine for the price.
vanilla and oak up front which quickly faded into the background; smoother than i recall; medium body with lovely red fruit and citrus--agree with the blood orange comment from another taster; perfect with the paella at Venga. Still getting better.
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Garnet with slight bricking. Herbal nose with dill dominant. Needed about an hour to open. Wonderful red licorice, lots and lots of cedar, orange marmalade, with a tartness that holds it together. Dusty raspberry finish. Great place right now.
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5th bottle in several years. I served this to my friends blind at a party. It changed all throughout the night in the decanter. Vanilla and American oak followed by sweet cherry and blood orange. Long finish. Traditional rioja that most got blind. Will last for decades. A special wine.
From magnum. Wonderful nose, complex and open with rich fruit, smoke, slightly meaty. On the palate fresh and mineral with round, soft tannins. Nicely balanced, vibrant and long. Very good. Drink or hold. 91-93
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Really good, was entertaining friends so did not take down specific tasting notes, but the years in the bottle definitely provided a balance and smoothness, but it still tasted fresh and vital, it was enjoyed by all.
Only one bottle left....
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Great wine. Really good qpr. Wish I had more. Really easy drinking and at a very nice place right now. Give it about 15 - 20 min decant and you are good to go.
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Plommesyltetøy, bjørnebær, lær, varm stein, røyk, svidd treverk og dill. Friskt og saftig anslag, god konsentrasjon og lengde. Frisk, spenstig syre og lett tørrende tanniner. Sursøt. Følger nesen, men med litt rosin og mye mer dill. 88p.
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Winner of the night, compared to two other Riojas on Mother's Day. (all left open to breathe for 1-2 hours) Bright red fruits (mostly cherry) and masculine but balanced oak, a medium body with generous fruit and pleasing, substantial, food friendly acidity. Classic tannins now getting mellower with age. Would not hold on to these too much longer.
This is what I think of, when I think of Rioja.
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This is the last bottle of this wine I have. The previous two I tasted were downright awful while the ones before that were quite nice. Opened this yesterday, this bottle is one of the good ones. Cedar, cherries and a smooth lightish weight for Rioja. Will report back tomorrow.
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Classic, old school Rioja, just as before. A lot of dill and pickle from US oak, medium body, some red fruits, rather high accidity, very nice food wine, that becomes fatter and bolder with air.
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Dense and bright but desperately oaky at this stage. Fierce acid, flavour profile much more shouty than the last bottle. Also lacking harmony and tannic integration although this will hopefully improve with age. Leave til 2017.
From the Cave of Ali Kebob-a: oh my! while Muga was mature-ish and polished - this wine is a young wilderbeast!! Started of funky and meaty with vanilla notes but evolved over the night into mint and herbs and forest floor. bright cherry mid with powerful tannins and refreshing tangy acidity. like biting into and handful of berries. finish is long, tangy with smooth tannins that will require years more of aging. another ridiculous QPR and a reminder - I NEED MORE RIOJA. this is just awesome, mindblowing young wine. (93++)
Completely unlike the last bottle. Now that i've tasted through a few of them, tremendous bottle variation. And while not off, just scatter shot and brisque.
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Damn fine impression of a Gevrey-Chambertin. Sweet strawberry and cherries, black tea, and spices. Still bright and alive, but the wine was all about texture. Silk.
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Aerated more than an hour in a carafe. Too much oak from my point of view. You can find less expensive wine in Bordeaux with the same taste. I'm bit disappointed regarding to the excellent Gran reserva 904. This wine is still young
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February Rotating Wine Dinner (Mon Ami Gabi - Chicago, IL): In a flight of older Rioja's this absolutely stood out. Denser, darker, and years away from the beautiful 1985 vintage open alongside it. I think the material here is quite good, but I worry about the oak here. Tons of oak everywhere you look in this wine and you have to wonder if this will age in a similar arc as the 1985?
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Decanted an hour before drinking and served in Riedel Vinum Bordeaux glasses. Needed a bit more time than that to show all its spicy, earthy, dark-berried aromas with a distinct strawberry note. Juicy and vigourous. Hard to decide if its best now, in this kind of relative Rioja youth, or in ten or twenty years when it will presumably be seamlessly mellow.
Super Bowl Sunday - Last bottle of this, much better than the previous. Strong notes of red fruits and very light tannins. Paired well with lamb. Easy drinking, not too complex. Still very nice.
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Blind tasted. Sweet caramelized fennel on the nose, dried red cherry, crushed violets, stewed strawberry, sour cherry, a tell tale coconut note. Clearly developed with some age. Medium tannins, acidity. The whole room (13 people) correctly guessed aged Rioja.
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Domino nigth @ home w/foursome (8 btls consumed), consistent notes, everybody loved the wine as Well as food (burrata con tomate deshidratado y huevos rotos sobre espárragos)
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Aromas de fuerte intensidad, repleto de matices. Abunda la fruta roja, reducida, con una fuerte impronta de madera tostada, cedro, y una batería de reductivos (monte umbrío, hojarasca, yute, duelas envinadas). Brilla en exceso, aún sin mucho orden, sacando notas tostadas, regaliz Zara, cacao en polvo, especias ahumadas. Muchísima fuerza. Después de 14 años este vino sigue jovencísimo.
En boca es grueso, amplio, maduro, con un apunte de dulcedumbre tan varietal que nos da a pensar que aquí hay más que el 20% de garnacha declarada. Sabroso, vivo, enérgico, de una solidez tremenda y personalidad arrolladora. Taninos firmes, aún marcados, y una acidez que envuelve el conjunto como la cobertura de un caramelo. Un Viña Ardanza en gran estado de forma que apenas ha iniciado su andadura. Tiene todo lo necesario para disfrutar un recorrido larguísimo y seguir puliéndose. Y vaya si lo necesita!!! El mejor Ardanza desde 1996!!!
Esta botella procede de uno de los primeros lotes vendidos por la bodega y el resultado es absolutamente diferente de los otros que hemos probado. Muchos de ellos eran vinos simplones, excesivos y faltos de equilibrio. Las dudas son claras: cómo se pudo vender tantísimo Ardanza del 2001 sin realizar ensamblaje de cosechas? Cuesta creer que durante 4-5 años se haya podido encontrar este vino en casi cualquier lugar. Por muy abundante que fuera la añada no puede dar para tanto... Damos por hecho que ha habido un ensamblaje, sin saber hasta que punto, con las cosechas de 2002 y 2003. Lo de "Reserva Especial" ha sido una gran operación de marketing y un éxito de ventas pero nos ha dejado con muchas dudas. Mal asunto!!
- - - Wine Info - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 80% tempranillo, 20% garnacha - 13.5% vol. La garnacha procede de viñedos ubicados en Tudelilla y el resto de uvas son originarias de la finca Viña Ardanza de Montecillo así como de pequeños productores de las localidades de Haro, Briñas, Briones, Villalba y Labastida. Realiza la primera fermentación en depósitos de acero inoxidable durante 14 días. La fermentación maloláctica tardó en realizarse 21 días. Trasegado a barricas de roble americano de 225 litros de 3 años de edad media, en marzo de 2002. Es sometido a crianza durante un periodo de 36 meses, con un total de 2 trasiegas manuales cada año hasta la fecha de su embotellado, en septiembre de 2005. Un mínimo de 48 meses de guarda en botellero en los calados de la bodega antes de ser comercializado. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Similar notes to my last bottle. No variation like some have seen. Love the saddle leather, orange peel, and game meats on the nose and palate. Really a nice wine
Decanted for an hour. Amazingly no sediment. Lovely deep crimson/violet hue. This wine is drinking beautifully at the moment. I can't imagine what this might continue to evolve into. A very smooth combination of fruit and smoke with mild herbaceousness. A well made rioja.
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Fairly consistent with last year's note but showing its age a little more. Still excellent acid but either this bottle isn't quite as good or it's starting to go downhill. This one was almost a little gooey. Still delicious.
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Just turning the corner into early maturity. Drunk with two guests alongside the 2004 Reserva, this was the clear favorite, with much better balance. Still too soon to score after 6 bottles over the course of 3 years.
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Outrageously oaky, even after a couple hours of audouzing. Eventually this rounded out and was enjoyable and fairly complex. Bright spicy fruit. Needs some more time in bottle.
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Obviously did not decant this for long enough, as in day one this was just rather light with pronounced acidity. Day 2, much better showing with a little more substance. tart red fruit, still lots of wood, spice, tea, mint, tobacco and a promising finish. Gased and refrigerated and tonight 4 days later this was still very solid with no signs of oxidation and perhaps even a little more enjoyable. It is hard to say where this will go but i suspect this may become a lot more interesting with some serious cellar time. Lets hope.
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Blood red. A touch vegetal on the nose, initially. Needed time to open up. As it did, notes of fruit washed over the herbs and cedar. Needs more time in bottle. Still youthful.
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Nice rioja with bright acidity. Some cherries, leather, tobacco, earth. Initially too much bitterness but smooths out on the second night. Might need few more years in the bottle.
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Interesting developments over the past year. Ruby color out to the edge. Spice notes on the nose seem more akin to sandalwood now, with black cherry and a faint bit of leather. Flavors are more integrated now with a sweet impression on the attack. Luscious mouthfeel. Acid and tannins are moderate and seem to come from the oak. It's possible this wine is now at it's peak, as the fruit flavors seems to be progressing faster than the wood. We'll see in a year. Very enjoyable.
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The oak is integrating, though it is still pretty huge in this. What disturbs me more is that my last two bottles have tended more toward the fruity and a bit sweet, which is not how my first bottles were, nor is it what I expect from my old school rioja. That said, this bottle was better than the last, nothing pruny about it at all. My remaining few bottles will be left to rest for quite a while.
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after giving it a slow ox for an hour the taste was sour cherry and a strong taste of dill pickles. Having had experience with this wine, I am hopeful this will blow off, but don't expect to until tomorrow. thus a small pour, vacu seal, in the fridge, and then enjoy tomorrow - hopefully. 2nd day. While the oak has subsided, I have noticed the fruit not strong enough to hold up to the oak. What is there is nice, pleasant, feminine fruit, that darn oak... This has become an experiment for me. Day 4 - still vacuum sealed. The wine is now more about sweet balsamic melded into the oak. less sour cherry. Hmmm. Maybe there is a future. Acidity seems stronger on the finish now as well. I am coming to the conclusion this wine needs a lot more time to integrate and show its true potential. I would project something like another 7 years or so and drink this at 20 years of age and more.
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Garnet with slightly browning edge I color. Nose of brandied cherry, oak, and brown spice. Medium to full body, the alcohol overrides the fruit. Definitely has the spiciness on the back of the palate and the finish. A little out of balance and the fruit starting to lose the battle. Drink now.
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From 75cl, perfect cork, decanted one hour. Wonderfully fresh, with the bright acidity and red fruit of a superlative Burgundy (Chambolle Musigny 1. Cru, perhaps, but with more body?) but with American oak, of course, and some serious dry but perfectly ripe redcurrant-pip tannins, just to show that this wine is no pushover. No hurry. Now–2020. 92P
Consistent with prior bottle. This is really singing - bright ripe fruit, coffee/mocha, good complexity & long finish. Drinking beautifully now, but showing no sign of slowing.
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I took this to a 10/4/14 Tempranillo tasting. It had a deep, fragrant bouquet of violet, black cherry, sandalwood, sassafras, cinnamon, vanilla and spice aromas. The palate was medium-bodied, elegant and dry with flavors of black cherry, cola, cinnamon, anise, vanilla, spice and minerals. Our group’s average score was 90.25.
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Just a bit of age at the rim and an tinge of orange in the pour. Nose open and inviting. Mouth balances sweet, savoury, vegetal and enough cut to keep it all clean. Super place on day 1 and just a little below on day 2.
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Priorat, Montsant and Rioja; 9/5/2014-9/18/2014: From 75cl, perfect cork, P+P at room temperature in a restaurant in Laguardia. Fully mature and open from the start, improved over 90 minutes. Purringly smooth, the old-style Rioja equivalent of a super-luxury limousine —it moves so silently, so gently, you barely notice the immense power and weight. Less thrilling than the RA 2001 Gran Reserva 904 tasted last night, it is nonetheless a fantastic, if more gentle wine. Balsamic, warm, perceptible American oak, but no sign of volatility. Great now and for years to come. 90-91P
Some Spanish Wines on a Saturday afternoon (Some very old ones) (CB): Very nice. Ruby/purple in color. The nose has dusty cherries with slight vanilla. A bit of red licorice but also a bit of mint. Lovely texture. Slight tannins. Showing nice layering of fruit and forest floor. Nice balance. Dirking great right now.
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Much better than previous bottle...the raisin sweetness has subsided, replaced by juicy dark fruits. Also more depth on the palate. Not sure how this garnered the ratings, but I am looking forward to seeing how this evolves.
Still feeling fresh, no bricking in this one. All the usual generous oak & fruit, tasting sweeter than ever! Particularly good with a Chorizo & Garbanzos stew.
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initially thought there was too much age by the color,nose and first taste but in a short while this settled down into a dark fruit earthy treat that held up over a three day period hard to ask for more and a great qpr
decanted for an hour still very youthful, palate wise very refined, balanced loads of acidity, red fruit beautiful but also very young, with good brought out the best in it. Loads of Savory Gamey notes also
Conc: Still young and needs another decade of sideways time
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Might be better that the 2001 LRA of which I also have a case. Funny nose, kind of cork and cedar but not unpleasant. Definitely pleasing cherry notes and limited depth, length. Still, very nice with lighter pork tenderloin and well liked by all.
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Excellent drinking tonight. Bright cherry and oak on the nose; bright and rich cherry and oak on the palate. Yes, the finish has a bit of dill pickle flavor from the 'merican oak but that tastes good to me.
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Drinking very well after a decant, and even better after a night in a poured off half bottle. Has great fruit and balance. Limited complexity, but excellent with food and alone. Very easy drinking wine at this point.
Very nice bouquet. Full taste and long aftertaste. Better than other bottles of this wine I have had before. This was perfect last night, with grilled tuna and vegetables.
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I had so much hope for this bottle, as I enjoyed a great RdD Alion of the same age two weeks back and it was wonderful. This wasn't flawed or corked, just not impressive. The red fruits were there and the spices from American oak, but there was a weird unresolved bitterness of wood which sort of ruined the finish and no creaminess I have come to expect from the use of American oak and long aging.
A really lovely bottle with all the classic Rioja aromas of mocha, orange peel, leather, boot polish and redcurrant. Rich deep wine with great finesse add gravy fruit, subtle oak. It has it all. This is all about elegance and complexity rather than power, superb.
Stunning bouquet, with impeccable follow-through. Outstanding. Complex and aromatically powerful without being heavy, this wine pairs with food like a pinot noir/red Burgundy (more than like a cabernet sauvignon or merlot/red Bordeaux). Excellent last night with hardwood-grilled salmon with dill aioli.
(Tasted after a 3-hour decant). This is a delightful and delicious Rioja in the traditional style, exhibiting juicy blackberry and blackcurrant, smoke, and quite a bit of cigar box, along with generous acidity, firm tannins, and hints of sweet dark tobacco and graham cracker. It finishes with lingering tannins and a bit of lilac-like perfume.
This is how Rioja ought to be. It's approachable now with a decant, but has many years of shelf life left. I wish I had cases and cases of this vintage.
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This IS a wonderful bottle from a great vintage year. Medium body but with power, peppery, jammy, lots of caramelized red fruit, a bit of leather and easy on the oak. At around 21 dollars when i bought it a few years ago and aged already for 13 years it delivers such finesse and depth that i only wish i could have gotten more
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Decanted 1 hour (needs 2 hours, really), sampled over 2 additional hours. Feels younger than 13 years old. Strawberry and a hint of cranberry at first, give way to licorice and fig. Best after 2 hours. Good depth. Traditional, impressive wine. Just beginning to blossom. I'd drink my remaining bottles over the next 10 years. Slightly restrained and not as vivid as the Castillo Ygay 2004 we had yesterday but that's probably comparing apples and oranges.... There's room for both, but perhaps not side by side.
Not quite what I expected. Lovely nose consistent with well-aged rioja. Palate was well balanced ripe berries with spice. However the finish left a tart, bitter, pungent taste that was plainly offensive. Not corked though... was this the bottle variation that so many speak of? I hope my remaining 3 bottles are better....
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Smelled musty on opening (cork was very musty) and was afraid it was flawed. Tasted ok on opening so have it an hour. Nose took 2 hours for musty to blow off and another hour to develope. Upon second hour this wine began to open up and improved throughout night. Complex, elegant, good fruit and structure. I was not put off by the oak at all. This wine is a great value if you have the patience to let it open up.
Following recommendations from other tasters decanted for 1H+. Nose of whole cloves, cinnamon and all spice, little if any fruit on the nose. On the palate, the spices notes continues along vanilla, sandalwood and cherry cola. The wine has good acidity, light tannins that have been nicely integrated.
Nose of black cherry, vanilla, tobacco, coffee. Cherry notes continue onto the palate, some cola, good acidity. Worked nicely with Persian kabobs and stew.
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I am a little relieved after the last couple of bottles I drank that this one did not turn my stomach. I was really surprised when I took in the nose and noted red fruit, some oak and all of the savory elements I had seen in the past. All in all, the wine was pretty tasty, but I cannot for the life of me believe the bottle variation that I have experienced with this one. Will follow up with a Day 2 tasting tweet soon.
Dense aromas of earthy spice, antique wood and dried strawberry preserves. Focused sour cherry concentrate, lifted and rusty on the palate. Tart acidity and soft black-tea tannins.
this has integrated and settled down remarkably--frankly, maybe too much. It's got a nice Burgundian feel to it; I got none of the leather or funk. But, of course, there's demonstrated bottle variation. This one at least, I could serve to non-geeky friends without worry. Smooth and well-behaved. I doubt it's going to improve, but it could go on for years. I'm moving this from "save and develop" to a casual, but solid pop and pour.
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I have to say I was a tad disappointed. It had a great nose with deep fruit, hints of leather and lovely caramel. The palate was overly acidic. It was good but that's all. The 904 is far better and the cvne imperial is too. 84 points
Fabulous, classic, elegant Rioja. Medium bodied so it doesn't slap you in the face! Tasted a touch of bacon fat which I don't think is a norm but rather adds to its complexity. Absolutely wonderful wine!
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Young Rioja nose, a facefull of Birdseye Vanilla custard, with a hint of blueberries and blackcurrants thrown in. (One taster even claimed a hint of cauliflower!).
Palate of strawberries, fizzy cola bottle sweets, some blackcurrant and other dark fruits, drying, quite long and smooth finish. Fresh and young.
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Some bricking. Classic Rioja with leather, funk, spice, earth and red currants. Still somewhat tannic but drinking on day 2 this has opened up a ton. Day one with a lot of wood. Medium plus finish and will see how this evolves over the next few days. At $32 not a bad price point wine. 92 plus
Bright red with noticeable orange tinge. Bouquet of maraschino cherries, cedar, olives, vanilla, rosemary, and aged meat. Full and mouth filling with drying tannins on the finish. Delicious with great balance, concentration, and a long finish.
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Excellent. Brick red. Took an hour to open up, still plenty of tannin but once open it was fruity with vanilla and cedar. Going to leave remaining bottles for a few years.
Appearance: clear, medium garnet with a tawny rim. Clear legs evident Nose: clean medium(+) intensity aromas of red fruits, oak, mature savoury notes, developing/fully developed Palate: dry, medium(+) acidity, medium(+) tannins, medium body, medium level of alcohol (13.5%), medium intensity of flavour - red fruit, oak, mature savoury notes, medium(+) length finish Overall: very good balance, quite long, intense, complex Conclusion: VERY GOOD; can drink now - suitable for further ageing. HIGH price (£14.39).
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Another bottle and I still don't like this wine. Amazingly thin and loaded with savory notes, herbs and no fruit. It just smells sour, and that is how the fruit tastes as well.
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Decanted for an hour and a half before drinking. On initial pour into decanter there was some leather and earthy quality but nothing else. The wine has a somewhat dark garnet center edging out to a dark amber. After the decant this one had a lot more fruit singing. Some saddle leather, orange peel, strawberry, spice and a hint of plum and underbrush. Still some tannin hanging in there and a touch of acid and some tartness. A nice complex character to this wine with some layers. Not the longest finish ever but a pleasant one. And a decent mouthfeel to it. I have two more bottles and would say I am drinking them up within 3 years.
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Nice wine, interesting given its age. The wine needed time to open up, it seemed closed down and required air (1 hour) to allow the fruit come out. Because there was an intermingled flavor profile, I believe this wine was better years ago. Drink now.
Popped and drunk with manchego. Good structure: acidity, tannin, minerality (gravelly) and oak influence (coconut, dill, clove) but no fruit whatsoever. Quite strange. May just need more air. Topped up bottle with argon gas and will try again. ... Not much different the following day: lacking fruit.
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Dark crimson color. Big blast of dill and coconut cream on the nose along with spicy dark red fruits. Red currants, black cherry, a bit of sweet pipe tobacco and creamy vanilla oak notes on the palate. Medium+ acid, medium tannins with a dry, tart red fruit finish. The oak was a little too much at times but I don't think it detracted from the wine overall.
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Weekly tasting group #107; A fully blind test. (@ My place): Mature bouquet with autumn impressions, some smoke and tobacco. On the palate rustic, some chocolate, tea, tobacco, firm acidity, still jammy fruits and vanilla. Also some oxidized impressions. The acidity is a bit overruling in the wine. Overall this wine remind a bit of the "Grand Reserva" Rioja wines from the 1980's, where the oaky, high acidity plays a major role. Special wine and not sure if I really like it. The score for today was 88. Have another 75 cl. bottle and 2 magnums, so there will be a follow up.
Whoa, this isn't anything like the previous bottles that I had (and liked) - those were quite old world, with ripe fruit, stones, and sun. The nose of this is all simple new oak - like a battering ram, maybe some fruit behind it, but it is hard to tell, maybe a little spice. The palate is oaky, bitter and hollow. Now all that 'bottle variation' talk is starting to make sense to me. Note: this isn't flawed in any way that I know - it's not corked, it's not vinegar, it's not Brett - it's just bad, so I'm going to score it. Nose - 2/6, Palate - 3/6, Finish - 3/6, Je ne Sais Quoi - 0/2 = 8/20.
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Absolutely awesome on pop and pour... great fruit, leather, vanilla... all nicely integrated and quite light on its feet. Day 2 has traded some fruit for some earth... still nice, but I miss the brighter notes.
2hr decant. Surprisingly light/cherry red appearance. Good secondary and some tertiary aromas of vanilla and leather, then real freshness on the palate with tannins which are starting to round. Dark fruit still showing well. Good balance overall. Really benefited from the decant and time in the glass - do not pop and pour. Far better than previous bottles - variation?
too oaky, pure vanilla wrapped red fruit. my earlier bottles didn't taste this way, so perhaps its hit a spot i don't care for or bottle variation, but i will wait on the rest...
Très beau Rioja, difficile à trouver au Québec! Beau nez sur le cuir, les herbes, un peu d`élevage et du cassis avec une pointe de poivre. En bouche, bel équilibre. Les tannins sont fondus, il y a de la mine de crayon, des cerises, un peu de tabac et de la canelle. Belle longueur sur des relents de fumée!
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Fourth bottle in four months. I can't keep my hands off. I always show this to spanish wine virgins and they flip out. Thirty bucks for this. Unreal. Same tastes as my last note. Hope I can save a few for the long haul.
Second straight excellent bottle. Definitely coming around at long last. Should perfectly bridge the gap between regular 2001 reservas (now fully mature with some in decline) and gran reservas (mostly still in hibernation) for the next 5-10 years.
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Rioja at its best, for my palate. This is leather, red and dark fruit, warm rich American oak but bright and refreshing on the palate. A newer style than some riojas but not the punch in the face that others have become. Tannins are perfectly integrated now but people who like them super soft may want to wait another few years. 13.5%. $30.
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Dark brick garnet color with intriguing earthy, leather, smoke, dried red fruit, fresh meat, vanilla, cedar wood and spice aromas. On the palate, it's light-medium bodied, and fresh with a silky texture, smooth well integrated tannins and tart-ish cherry, vanilla, spice oak, and leather flavors. Long finish, clean finish. Great value in a mature Rioja at $30!
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Slightly orange edge, nose of warm fruit and strong dill. Dill comes through in the taste, along with a toasty, rounded flavor at the start. Soft tannins. First of 6 bottles. Next day the dill was less dominant.
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MHO party wine; As discussed before this wine can be quite variable bottle to bottle. Fortunately, this was a really excellent bottle; bright, clear fruit with just enough sweetness. The finish was long and pleasurable. Interestingly, my theory on the bottle # giving a clue as to the individual bottle quality appears to be incorrect. This bottle # was in the 870K's, whereas the previous bottle that I thought was past its peak was mid-100K #.
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Drank over three days. Extremely tight on day one. All about acidity, not showing anything. A little better on day two, but still not enjoyable, undrinkable on day three. None of the elegance suggested by the professional ratings. I would love to be wrong, but doubt that this will evolve into anything meaningful. Maybe just not my kind of wine. Try again in five years.
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Stunning. Brick red rim. Cedar and strawberry nose. Vanilla and oak all gently mixed with fruit, leather and some lovely structure. Gorgeous wine. Coming to a peak.
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After having tried this wine several times, it seems to be getting better with each tasting. Even from the start, the nose is expressive, with notes of tobacco, balsamic, cherries, leather and earth. The wine certainly benefited from several hours of air, becoming more complex and nuanced, suggesting this will be great for years to come. A refined and memorable wine.
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Blood red. Initial nose of leather, fresh sawn wood, moist earth and cherries. Initial notes of sweet cherries and chocolate, camphor, plums and currants. Nice acids. WIne developed for 2 hours inthe glass. Opened to more floral notes with less sweetness.
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What a wonderful older wine that can hold up for years but is drinking well right now. Very dry with lovely vanilla and smoke on the nose and quatre épices and pomegranate in the mouth. Still enough acid and tannins to last a few more years. Love this wine with lamb shanks.
This wine seems either in decline or inconsistent bottle to bottle. The serial # is in the 183K range, which is early compared to other bottles I have had. Fruit was not so bright as previous. I now have had 2 weak showings against 5 or 6 excellent bottles.
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Continues to progress at a snails pace. The weight & presence to accompany roast leg of lamb, lovely texture. Can be enjoyed now but potential room to improve.
Decanted for an hour. What a great wine for the price. Nice cherry and light oak. Can stand up to many more expensive Riojas (even in the same company's line). This Rioja is a crowd pleaser - a great one for those not familiar with the beauty of the most underrated country's wine.
Way more savory than I remember. Very little fruit made it through beyond the pruney goodness that is ever present. Herbs are really the word of the day here.
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Good, not great bottle (there's been a ton of bottle variation for me). Missing a bit of the brightness that the better bottles had, and the fruit seems a touch muddied and stewed. Still, quite enjoyable and lovely with some caprese topped sliders.
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Gave this one a good amount of air. It felt more integrated than previous bottles, though still just a baby. Unfortunately, this bottle seemed to have a bit less acid than previous, which made the none too subtle oak a bit too much. Some coconut from the American oak on top of raisin and prune - not ideal, but this remains an intriguing wine.
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Blood red. Assertive, fruity nose with leather and camphor behind it. A lovely, powerful and complex wine, which is still young, though more integrated than when last tasted.
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I enjoyed this a lot more than a bottle from last year. Medium bodied, ruby red color with extra electricity. High acidity and american oak combine to produce a delicious dill pickle essence that behaves nicely alongside the cherry and red berry fruit. I can see this wine being very polarizing...reminds me a lot of the 2008 Pegau in that way. Treads a very fine line between delicious and overtly flawed, but this juice stays on the right side of the line. Begs for food and highly versatile with pairings.
Cork in perfect condition, perfect storage. On opening: quite alcoholic and hot, bloody, dense, a touch of sweetness and some volatility. Previous experience tells me this needs time. Going to decant for an hour or two... Opened up considerably with a 90 minute decant. Quite obvious oak influence. Beautiful with rack of lamb with rosemary & garlic: sweet strawberry with lots of oak: coconut, dill, vanilla. Almost reminded me of a serious Burgundy from a ripe vintage with lots of oak (Denis Mortet?). Very complex, but still seems young. Still has tiniest hint of traditional Rioja balsamic funkiness but it's the oak that dominates here and the lamb brings out the sweet fruit. I'm getting cedar on the finish, almost like whiskey. This is exactly what good (young?!) Rioja should be. The structure is great, including a lovely dollop of acidity. This has a very long life. Excellent wine. ... With cheese plate (gouda, stilton): went very well, even standing up to some stilton. After it showed some slight dryness (contrasting with port though).
Again - this wine was very good but perhaps expectations were too high - the rating was the average from 3 people who shared it at dinner over pork chops; it had medium body and tannins but did not leap towards any memorable finish.
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This was great. My last bottle and I wish I'd held on to it a little longer or made sure I could get another. Now all I see are the 2004s out there. Ugh. I really enjoyed this wine, perhaps more this time than the last, though I scored it an 89 again.
At last, a sound bottle. Drunk alongside the thrilling 1991 CVNE Imperial Reserva, this one screamed "that's ME in ten years!" Well, this time -- after a half-dozen failures -- the '01 Ardanza R.E. hype justified itself. Can't speak for previous bottles, but this one was headed for 94-pointdom in a decade. Hold ten years if you can resist. Some bottles, apparently, will reward your patience. And, who knows? -- maybe the unsatisfying predecessors were just too young, and I too impatient.
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deep ruby hue with great clarity....barnyard funk, red fruits, sandalwood, and wet stones nicely delineated in bouquet...grilled fruits, licorice and herbs/spice dominate mid-palate...tart cherry tannins provide nice long finish to this medium body rioja...intriguingly simply and old world...great QPR...held up well under vacuum seal second day
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Drinking well after a one hour decant. No subtlety, not much complexity, but very good fruit and an excellent wine with food. Not as good on its own, as a bit clunky. Not clear this has a lot of upside as the acid/tannin component does not seem to be there for long term improvement.
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Wow! First few bottles did not impress so waited a while and gave (too many) some as gifts. this one was expressive, surprising, slightly sweet, berries of all sorts- don't drink Rioja that often- so many others to drink- may change that strategy
Dark, brawny and full bodied. A big bouquet of plums and chocolate with a very long finish. This is a full grown wine at the peak of its maturity. A tremendous mouthful of juice.
Not quite up to the standard of the Vina Real gran reserva 2001, but very good on the second day: Licorice, salt and strawberries, lots of body. Less acidic than I remembered.
They had only made this wine three times byt the 2001 vintage, but judging by the copious notes here, they made a ton. Finally got around to drinking the bottle I was given as a really nice gift after helping a colleague. Upon first opening, one drinker called it "interesting." It didn't impress immediately, but I could tell that there was something going on and it was going to change. And the slightly musty flavors receded quickly, leaving a warm sensation framed by plums, baking spice, black grape skins, mild tobacco, and just enough acidity. I'm not convinced this is going anywhere from here, but my history with RE riojas is pretty limited. Fine for now, but not revelatory. With air, something to serve to guests. Another tasty Spanish wine for those with New World palates looking to make the transition and, compared to a lot of Bordeaux, still a decent value in a wine with age.
Yet another disappointing bottle of this overproduced, overhyped mediocrity. This example was stinky, full of VA with no compensating merit. Next time, somebody kick me before I buy in quantity without first tasting.
This didn't seem right. It eventually settled down a little bit but seemed overly alcoholic and lacking freshness. Don't think it was cooked as has been well stored but was shaken up quite a bit while on a 1 hour journey so maybe some kind of bottle sickness?
Decanted for 4+ hours ahead of a simple home-grilled rack of lamb dinner to celebrate my wife's birthday. This was a big disappointment and disappointingly consistent with my 10/20/2012 tasting note when I felt it had entered a sullen, closed and overly acidic phase. I had fantastic experience with this wine on release but it is really charmless and sour at the moment. Hopefully I know enough about the evolution on great Rioja that it could blossom eventually, but my guess is to leave it forgotten in the cellar for 10 years. These comments omit the fact I only paid $33 per bottle on release and that the wine has been in the bottle for only around 3 years so you can't really expect it to perform like a typical 11-year old wine. That's Rioja Reserva Especial for you!
Nose of camphor, eucalyptus, and vanilla; on the palate, powerful raspberry and cherry fruit, with a cinnamon note and a strong vanilla note from the oak. I don't usually like strong oaky flavors, but they integrate perfectly here. The only weakness is a bit of roughness on the palate that should disappear with several more years of age. The value for money here is outstanding.
Maybe it was just me, but this wine did not have any depth and was clearly not that exciting Spanish vino that I had been anticipating. And I am stuck with 3 more bottles. Not thrilled about that.
Appearance: Clear, translucent med garnet color with oranging rim, M visc. Nose: Baked red fruit, organic earth, forest moss, dried clove. American oak. Palate: Sour dark cherry, red fruit, baking spice, earth. Significant oak influence. M+ acid, M tannin, M body/alc., M finish (though a lot of complexity disappears quickly). Balanced, but I'd like to see this again in 5 years after it has a chance to integrate a little further.
Lovely earthy nose. Complex palate - more earth, mint, anise, black fruit. Still a bit of tannin. I found the acidity a bit out of balance, but that might help it keep for some time. Overall very good.
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Aromas of cherries, tea and earth. The palate has cherries, licorice and earth with medium, integrated acid/tannins. Drink now or hold, I don't necessarily see this improving more with age but isn't heading downhill either.
Drank at Tishas with friends. The favorite of myself and one other but others preferred the leewin cabernet art series. It was certainly better than the Tondonia we had 2 nights before.
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Delicate tannins, noticeable neutral oak integration. Had this wine at Aureole in Las Vegas this past Friday decanted for about 10 minutes. Right out of the gate, this wine showed ripe red fruit characteristics with a hint of baked honey on the nose. Tart on the palate in a good way, silky smooth finish. Med body, low alcohol paired beautifully with the Mallard Duck. This is how an evening should be; harmonious. If you like old world wine, this one wine please you every time. 80% Tempranillo, 20% Grenacha.
Here we're again at restaurant Reconquista in Toledo. With Beatriz. This Ardanza RE, what a value! A punch of leather followed by delicious red fruit aroma. Silky mouthfeel. Calling for a new glass. High acidity when finishing pairing a cheese cake.
Volviendo al restaurante Reconquista en Toledo, de nuevo con Bea. ¡Menudo valor este Ardanza RE! Un puñetazo a cuero seguido de un delicioso aroma a frutillos rojos. Sensación en boca asedada. Llamando a un nuevo trago. Alta acidez al terminar acompañando un pastel de queso.
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Brick red with lightly spiced nose of currant, cinnamon, pepper. An integrated Rioja with finesse from entry to finish. Sweet red fruit of kirsch across the palate, with mellowed oak, but balanced and complex. This is plain delicious. A wine that makes the case for waiting. The kicker is how affordable this gem is. Buy what you can if you can find this. Ready now with decant.
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Give it an hr in a decanter and the initial heavy vaniila oak will integrate beautifully. It is still fresh but also is showing secondary notes of leather, cinnamon and cedar dust. Medium bodied, a bit pinot like in body with balancing acidity that keeps in beautiful balance. Very traditional but delightful nonetheless. Flavia liked it a lot.
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Let it breathe for a couple of hours before serving. At first it was weedy, woody, acidic, and harsh. It took a couple of hours for the tart dried cherries, rose petal, loam, mushrooms, and black currant to emerge. Seriously, don't even bother to taste for a couple of hours after opening, it's a waste of wine and palate.
I have now had 6 or more bottles of this wine. Overall, I don't think the wine has varied much, except for one bottle. However, I think my impression of it has in light of comparing it to other Rioja's consumed over the past couple of years. The Vin Ardanza has very bright fruit and a beautiful sweetness that is persistent, but not over the top. There are hints of cherry and strawberry, as always. This is a Rioja in a more modern style than some. It is a little more simple and straightforward. It is very easy to drink or sip, but does not cause much contemplation like Rioja's in the older style, where the influence of the terroir, the barrique, and the winemaker stands out more. This wine is really great as a first course, but I guess my tastes are developing in a direction where I am looking for more complexity in the main course.
Similar to before. Classic textbook Rioja. Great structure but open, ready to drink Rioja. Sweet red fruit and vanilla, obvious oak ageing. Some nice funky balsamic notes. With mushroom soup: nose much more muted now but great on palate. Nice balance of sweet fruit, oak, structure and Rioja funkiness. Much better with beef in red wine. Following day (inert gas, fridge): funky, oaky (spice, coconut, tobacco), sweet red fruit, soy, very complex. Great structure underneath. But this needs food. A spicy paella calmed it considerably and was drinking well in its aftermath.
Medium garnet color with some bricking. Stunning nose 2" above the rim of red cherry and northern honeysuckle, with notes of cloves and ginger. Mouth comes with spice and tang mid palate. The finish rolls in waves of tangy acidity, smooth but gripping tannins, and light, complex fruit.
I didn't get a lot out of this wine. The fruit is gone and your left with some cigar box, pencil lead, licorice taste. Was hoping for some spicy characteristics you usually find with Spanish Wines. The finish was blah, Overall very one dimensional to me.
Pnp. My next bottle, that I plan to drink in 3 years and will give more time to open up will probably score a point of two more. Great potential here but not quite ready. Previous comments are in line with my experience thus far...a little overpriced at $27 based on current sampling.
A little cherry, a little plum, a lot of oak. A whole lot of oak. This was my third bottle of this and I recall the first two as being a little more balanced, whereas the fruit definitely got lost a little with the powerful wood dominating this bottle from nose to finish. Still a very enjoyable bottle of wine that started to really shine after being open for a few hours (I was impatient and didn't decant, but more oxygen clearly was of benefit here). I agree with many who have speculated that there's a significant degree of bottle variation--I enjoyed the first two much more, in the 92-93 range, but this bottle definitely didn't earn that sort of score. Looking at holdings on CT alone (nearly 1000 cases?! Whoa!), there was quite a bit of this juice made, so it might provide a good case study as to why we generally look for smaller operations. Again, not bad, but this bottle was overpriced at $30 whereas the first two were steals.
nose - coconut, seductive, almost tropical mouth - many times having this wine now. while i continue to see its allure, i am increasingly bothered by the heavy handed american oak treatment. still overall an enjoyable drink
Returning to restaurant Reconquista, Toledo, this time with Carla, Hugo and Beatriz. More cherries and less smoke. Still a delicious stuff. To repeat?
Volviendo al restaurante Reconquista de Roledo, esta vez con Carla, Hugo y Beatriz que repite. Más cerezas y menos humo. Todavía un vino delicioso. ¿Para repetir?
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If there is a common thread to the wines from Rioja, it`s the wild nature of the fruit even though I had always looked for the tar and roses that some sources have referred to as the general character of these Tempranillo blends; there`s some cherry and plum here and a touch of anise; good wine.
From 75cl, good cork. Decanted 2 hours. Intense red cherry-cedar-spice box aroma; muscular entry with very ripe red fruit, lots of cedar, vibrant acidity and real layered complexity leading through to the juniper-berry finish. "Burgundian", but very much Grand Cru in terms of body and ripeness. This got better and better until the last drop. Terrific value at 17 EUR at release; good for 5-10 years without a doubt. 91(+)P
There must be significant bottle variation, which I guess is not suprising in view of the apparently large amount of this wine on the market.
This bottle was a good, but no better, medium-aged Rioja made in a traditional manner. Red fruit with light leather and dust notes. Bit too much oak at first, but that dimished pretty quickly. Medium weight. Good wine, but nothing special. Hoping for more next time.
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Much better this time. The last bottle must have been off. Nice red fruit with a richness on the nose. Good depth to the fruit with appropriate level of oak.
Plenty of cedar, dark fruit and roses on the nose. The palate took about 30 minutes to get going. Light but with some grip. Emphasis on cedar and red fruit. Medium finish that feels like a burgundy.
With Beatriz at restaurant Reconquita, Toledo. Funny and the meal was not bad at all. On the other hand, what a bottle! Perfectly ready. A sexy beauty. Crimson colour for a fragant nose of wild strawberries, rotten cherries, ashes, dust and raw meat. Delicious! Same good echoes on the palate with a silky mouthfeel that is calling for another glass....Impressive stuff. Still a young Ardanza (12 y.o.) giving its best at this point. Hardly can imagine when it will be 15-18 y.o. Gonna go to jail....
Con Beatriz en el Restaurante Reconquista, Toledo. Divertido y la comida no estaba mal del todo. Del otro lado, ¡Qué gran botella! Totalmente lista. una belleza sexy. Color cardenalicio para una nariz fragante a fresillas salvajes, cerezas podridas, cenizas, polvo y carne cruda. ¡Deliciosa! Los mismos ecos en boca con una sensación asedada que llama a otra copa....menudo vinazo. Un joven Ardanza todavía (sólo 12 años) dando lo mejor en este momento. Me cuesta imaginar lo que será con 15-18 años. Voy a ir a la cárcel...
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What an absolutely lovely wine. As soon as it is opened, the wine's bouquet bursts with lilacs, raspberries, cedar and tobacco. The color is a wonderful brick red which shows some age yet this wine remains incredibly fresh and fruit forward. The tannins are definitely alive and well as the wine lingers effortlessly in your mouth before giving way to red currant, tart cherry and bay leaf. This is so well made and highlights the true beauty of aged Rioja. Gracias!
Compared to 2004 Arana, more pure cherry-strawberry red fruits; tarragon, herbs de provence, slight vanilla; dried flowers, crumbly brick and earth; super silky entry, fine by ample tannins, med.+ alc. and acid; good intensity, delicate spice notes and tangy tart reds fruits; excellent balance.
Each time I have had this wine I marveled at the complexity and style that is rare in the wine world today. Be warned - it is unapologetically old school. The rich nose of red fruit and underlying spice and vanilla make way to an initially tart entrance that opens up to a lush, medium bodied wine that fills out the longer it sits in the decanter. This is splendid stuff and worth seeking out by the caseload as it will only continue to improve for decades to come. I put this just a HAIR behind the 2001 Heredia Tondonia Reserva tasted recently, but both are spectacular buys. 93-94+.
This wine was insanely good. Classic Rioja flavors in this beauty - wild berry fruits with a mix of espresso and vanilla layered with balsamic / olive oil. Tasted a lot better after it had sat in a decanter for an hour. Buy a few bottles because you will only want more of this wine.
When first opened the color is sort of reddish brown. Medium ruby in the middle, transparent at the rim. Smells pretty seamless with red fruits and some oak/vanilla aromas, but not in a bad way. The taste is red fruits, velvety mouth feel, interesting verve delivered from the acidity with some vanilla, dill notes and some funk on the finish. This is a wine of interesting complexity. Kind of a cerebral experience as the tastes here while showing Rioja also have some other things going on to provide more interest.
I think this is on the downhill now (or at least my most recent bottle suggested that it is). Light cherry and strong oak with notable acidity. It just seems to have less depth and was more unidimensional than before. Drink up!
8 hr decant - delicious - anise on first sip, with cinnamon going down - silky and voluptuous - only a bit of heat on the finish makes it less than excellent - paired with chicken and steak kabobs
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Wonderful, traditional Rioja. Lovely red cherry/raspberry fruit, spice, vanilla and a wonderful light balsamic-barnyard note running through it (of the classic Rioja variety). Very silky but obvious power underneath. It reminds me of an old Bordeaux but with mich more structure underneath. This will probably last another 10+ years but drinking wonderfully now. Following day (inert gas at room temp): This was quite sweet, lots of vanilla, coconut, some oxidative notes, spice, sweet cherry, very sweet and pleasing. Some old Rioja stink going on, but of the sweet leather variety. Very interesting. Still structure there but the oak seems to be quite dominant here. Quite intense. I think it may be overpowering on its own, but would probably be beautiful with meat.
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Second bottle, fruit is thinner on both the nose and palate, still classic rioja oak, acidity more obvious, a good bottle with lasagna but not special like the first one.
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Nice balance from start to finish with a great blend of acidity in the beginning, giving way to nice red berry fruit that's framed by well integrated oak and fleshes out with some fine tannins on the back end. Very pleasing. $30 is a decent price for a wine of this quality.
Monthly Tasting Group: Spain and Portugal (Rincon 38, Mpls, MN): Very dark red color. Drank 1 glass over 30 minutes plus. This was pretty nice, cherry, spice, oak. The palate is medium bodied, cherry, firm tannins, oak, and some anise.Medium finish. 89-90pts.
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A quick double decant just before taking to dinner which was a good idea. My wine buddy Brad, who has a great palate, immediately declared this oaky??? Not sure I agree. For me it displayed lovely cherry flavors combined with tobacco and minerality. I thought the oak was well integrated and provided a richness to the palate but not in an over the top modern way. All in all, not a rock star, but a pretty nice btl.
Pronounced and complex in the nose with toffe, coconut, strawberry, cinnamon, dried fruits, leather. On the palate again very complex with strawberry and sweet spices on the lead. Lower than medium acidity and medium tannin. Mellow, long finish.
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Had this twice before but perhaps it's just beginning to really blossom - not unexpected from La Rioja Alta. Bright damson and more subtle licorice notes were most prominent (+ one mysterious note - perhaps heather?) but there's so much more. It's soft, silky, and very fruity for 12-year old. Decanted 90 minutes this time and sampled over the subsequent hour (admittedly, previous tasting were only sampled in the first hour - really not enough). Astonishing value. Get it while you can; the 2004 is already on the market and I can't imagine the 2001 will be widely available for much longer.
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A shimmering dark ruby in the glass, our first bottle of this featured cherries, red currant, citrus, leather and oak on the nose. Surprisingly youthful and exuberant, with a tightly wound, high-toned attack. Had been opened just 30 minutes before consuming with braised beef short ribs, and I see that a more lengthy decant is called for. Overall, we were surprised this was so youthful, with exuberant fruit and moderately high acidity. This was delicious and should age very well!
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Drunk twice over the last 18 months. Dark red with viscosity. In the nose, a lot of vanilla, some oak, lots of chocolate and cherry - Black Forest Cake. With more air, this gets lighter in its aromatic profile with lots of red currant. On the palate, the tannins are rather smooth, the acidity is present, but well integrated. It's long, transparent and fine. Simply excellent.
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Bricking red - yet still with a holdout touch of purple/garnet, oddly enough
Lovely nose - just what an old rioja should be - leather, cedar box, spices and berries
The medium palate is lovely too - almost too drinkable - great tangy fruit - smooth and fine - short medium finish
This is drinking very nicely right now - I'm glad the few I have left have been sitting at 56 degrees their whole life. They will continue to provide pleasure
But if yours aren't cellared properly, it's time to drink these babies
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How strange, yet again, that a bottle which had seemed to be near the end of its life seem to have rejuvenated this much!~ Last bottle was already in its tertiary stage, with almost medium to fine body, but this bottle was in full vigorous shape. Dark red, full of dark fruits, wet earth, complex nose of leather, oak, and fine tanning all keeping it tight. Beautifully made, as usual, and keeping the tempranillo profile intact, it displays deep pride of Rioja. Very enjoyble indeed.
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I love the balance and contrast between the earthy/leathery and sharp tart/sour notes. I don't drink much Spanish wine (as of yet), but I am surprised how young this tastes.
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Ap: dark ruby red Ar: sweet red berries, strawberries and rather integrated oak Full bodied. Very good balance and structure. Smooth and beautiful palate. Very good length
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I loved this wine when tried last April. Has lost something in the past year. Bing cherry red in color. Still a nice nose of fruit and earth, but the fruit on the palate is missing. Not bad, but mostly earth, cedar and minerals with some sour cherry. A decent balanced wine w/o flaws, but prior bottle set a high delicious standard.
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Grape variety: 80% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha Only the third vintage that is called "Reserva Especial" after 1964 and 1973.
Colour: Brick-red colour with a bit a darker core. Nose: Black & red cherries, leather, cigar box, oak, earth and balsamic notes on the nose. Palate: On the palate medium-bodied with a nice fresh touch, good acidity and tast of red cherries and pepper, in the end earth and a bit of oak again. Medium finish. Overall a good PQW. Enjoyable now, but it will be interesting to check this wine in 5-10 years against it brother Alta Gran Reserva 904, the Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial, Muga Rioja Gran Reserva Prado Enea and some others from this extraordinary 2001 vintage. So you better keep a bottle in your cellar.
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This wine has improved dramatically since my 1st bottle last year. The color is a beautiful burgundy and the nose is utterly tantalizing with hints of strawberry, cinnamon, clove and vanilla. Tannins are well integrated, with a silky texture emerging with tart bing cherry, white pepper and oak. The finish is long and delicious. This wine definitely has a bright future.
- Garnet color and aromas of raspberry. It's somewhat balanced and has flavours of raisin and vanilla with a medium/full body. Oily texture with a medium finish - Decanted for 2/3 hours ahead. Very good finish nice flavors.
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Tasted blind I would have guessed this as a nicely developed Chianti Classico. Love the flavour profile here - lovely red cherries with some mineral on the nose, on the palate more chery notes, with a bit of rustic, sour fruit. Slightly spicy on the finish. Like I said, Chianti typicity all the way on the nose, palate, body and finish. 8/10
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very nice, very enjoyable indeed. refined nose of rose, leather, wet earth and a typical aged tempranillo, mingling of spice, tar with deep core despite its refined texture. On the palate, it is suggesting that now is the right time to start enjoying it, as the tertiary components are coming along with much to express but not at all flabby, in fact quite the opposite the beautiful tension still is very well present. Not a heavy sauced food would go well, but rather a nice slice of prociutto or simply grilled meat or even a fine Brie cheese would be a nice match. Look forward to the next few bottles. Very fine indeed.
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91+, I think there is some bottle variations on this wine. It is more new world and hints of oak. But, this a damn good tasty Rioja- great fruit and savory notes. Very food friendly and great on its own. Based on this bottle killer QPR and would recommend.
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This is my first defective bottle from my case. Nothing "wrong" so to speak. Just nothing like the previous bottles. Strong taste of coconut and not much else, slim body, fruit reticent. Good sweetness. I guess there have only just been bottled after a decade in wood, so they could take a while to settle down. Not rated.
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Had this in Vegas and it was amazing. Bottle #2 here at home was spoiled, #3 was quite good but didn't produce the same eexperience as #1. Light spicy fruit flavors, mild oak, savory herbs and earth. This is built with complexity and finesse but I wonder at the variation between my 3 bottles and the reviews below.
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Almost translucent red; dill, vanilla, nail polish remover on the nose; American oak is covering up the majority of the cherry fruit; you get a little cranberry and leather on the finish. Called '01 Rioja Gran Reserva. Should not have gone after the aged Bordeaux. Victim of being out of context. Maybe another bottle served first would taste a little better?
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Dark fruits. Earthy and rustic, with characteristic lRA dill and oak-driven notes. Full bodied. Sour cherry. Well balanced and still youthful. Enjoyable.
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Rich, juicy, fruit forward. I want to say in the more modern style. Well balanced with a sweet finish that has good length making this outstanding for me. I do see how this could be too fruity, lacking that earthy component, and a touch sweet for traditionalists.
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Color: Dark red. Nose: Intense red fruits (raspberry and cherry) with rich mineral, vanilla, earth and spice notes. Palate: Full bodied with rich vibrant red fruit (again cherry and raspberry). Intense inner mouth perfume and great persistence on the palate. What a value.
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Taste like pond water initially and little nose. Further improve with times (around 1 hr after opening) with red fruit and oak. A little bit acidic and oak character persist to the end. Quite interesting but not my favorite style. A bit under my expectation given numerous good comments below.
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PnP. Aromas and flavors of tart red fruit, cherries, and earth, with almost no tannins. A harsh acidic finish ruined this wine for me; seems unbalanced at this point. Tried after a few hours and the acidity had not subsided.
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Drank at the Napa Men's Lunch Club. Slight oxidative edge but adds a nice dimension to the nose. Pure red fruit with tobacco and spices. Great mid weight palate with lush red fruit, earth and tar. The acid is nicely proportioned to balance this out.
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Oaky and a touch modern but pretty nice. I think it still has some time to do something interesting and for the oak to integrate. Fruit is still there and acid is med +.
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Wonderful nose of spicy, earthy cherries with hints of old wood, dill and mint. Needed time to open and then intense on the palate with flavors of dried cherry, earth, green stalk and wood. High-toned and quite juicy with firm acidity and grippy tannins with complex spice notes on the finish. Still young but this is relatively fruit-forward for a traditional Rioja with a bright future.
When 1st opened it has a tangy aftertaste. Give it 10minutes. That goes away and it smooths out. Not a powerful nose but nice raspberry on the taste. Drink with light pasta or fowl. Won't hold up to spice or beef. Drink ASAP
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Remains youthful, reserved; fine grained, integrated; distinguished, classy. Extended length. Can be drunk now but deserves to be left alone for 3+ years.
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GV syncophants who cringe at the slightest hint of oak will not like this wine, but if you want a delightfully mature wine with excellent balance and delicious flavors at a great price - go for it - especially if you don't have a cellar full of aged wine. This compares favorably with Bdx that sells for many times the price.
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Aroma of cherries but reserved. Tastes of bitter black cherries, smoke, sweet, licorice, with sherry and almonds. Light to medium bodied. Long on the palate. Loads of fruit. Very well made and balanced. A wonderful traditional Rioja.
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Brick-ruby color. Aromas of black cherry, orange rind, fennel & eucalyptus start things off. Bright red fruit on the palate with hints of licorice, spice and pine-earth. Good acid and roundness throughout, and a juicy full finish with smooth tannins. As others have stated, this really comes alive after about an hour, a little delicately disjointed prior to that. Very good. Mature-drink up.
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This is my second bottle. (I purchased all of them from WL) Prior bottle was difficult to like - its balsamic component stood out too much, for my taste, it was 80 points. This bottle is different with more freshness, and its balsamic component is under control, yet I find its acidity to be harsh, and the balance is awkward. This bottle is 84 points for me. What's going on? Isn't this wine supposed to be awesome?
Dark brick garnet color with intriguing earthy, leather, smoke, dried red fruit, fresh meat, vanilla, cedar wood and dill aromas. On the palate, it's light-medium bodied, and fresh with a silky texture, smooth well integrated tannins and tart-ish dried red fruit, vanilla oak, and leather flavors. Long finish. Great value in a mature Rioja at $30!
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Great Wine! Wife and I both loved it. Wonderful nose of oak and red fruits - classic tempranillo. Spicy cherry fruit. Interesting complexity on the finish. Could drink this all day...
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This was pretty nasty upon opening, but we were pleasantly surprised at how it changed after just about 30-45 minutes in the glass. I think the wine was tired after about 3 hours of air, which doesn't bode well for those planning on aging this a long, long time.
Excellent complexity with great mouthfeel and enough acidity to pair well with many foods. Red cherry, herbs and a hint of raisin. This is in a really good place right now.
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This has a superbly complex and well delineated nose of sweet balsamic cherries, well-judged american oak, dried herbs and cedar. The palate is medium-bodied, sinuous yet dense, and is packed to the gunwales with tart red fruits which ride on its unresolved, savoury, acid-based stuffing. The impression is of a wine that oozes pedigree and complexity yet will need many many years for its acid barriers to recede.
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Mørke røde bær, kirsebær, noe vanilje på duft. Kirsebær følger opp i munn, med bra konsentrasjon. Tanninene kjennes godt, og den sitter brukbart lenge. Etter et par timer virket vinen mer fokusert, og ga mer av seg selv. Siste glasset var det beste, så her tror jeg det er rom for forbedringer. Knallvin til knallpris!
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Very fruity for its age. Acid. Not too tannic. Benefitted from opening a few hours before, but did not decant, although should have. Second bottle took a while to open up.
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Notes from 2 equally good yet totally different bottles drank over dinner with friends. Bottle nr.1 had a medium brick color and a lovely, fully mature nose of mushrooms, red cherry, spice, smoke and noble animal notes. Medium-bodied and silky-textured with nice tertiary flavors and balancing acidity. Long aftertaste. Very elegant and ready to drink. Bottle nr. 2 showed a dark garnet color and a fruity nose of red and dark cherry fruit, blackberries, sweet spices and smoke. On the palate it was medium-bodied with firm tannins, rich fruit and high acidity. Long aftertaste. Quite youthful. If tasted blind, I would have assumed that bottle nr. 2 was at least 5 years younger than bottle nr.1. A great example of a different evolution between 2 bottles of the same vintage and the same wine.
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Consistently good with oak and mocha dominating, long and complex with nice integration of red fruits. Behaves more like a Gran Reserva. Having drunk three in just over a year I will now be putting this away for a while as it is likely to improve further.
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Decanted for 3 hours before writing tasting note (did not get to enjoy wine with a meal as it was shared with friends).
Darker red than expected for a wine with 11 years of age. On nose, black cherry, cherry, black tea & cedar - very nice. On palate, black cherry, cranberry primarily today with medium body, high acids and long finish. Would buy again - decant for a while if drinking now as it improved substantially with air.
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Another ho-hum bottle of this overproduced, overhyped cliché wine. 120 U.S. merchants remain stocked at $25-$40 long after everybody and his nephew grabbed their cases. Just call it supporting a great winery in a time of need.
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Notes remain consistent with last bottle. When tasted alongside a '95, the '01 comes across as a more muscular, modern Rioja. The appearance is much deeper and darker than you would expect (perhaps closer to something like a Minervois?) despite only 6 years difference in age. Theres still plenty of Ardanza character, but its muted behind a veil of fuitiness, principally blackurrant and kirsch. Also a good dose of something liquorice-like on the nose. Whether this is simply what it first appears, or has the legs to develop and mellow a little remains to be seen. I hope its the latter, and if that were the case, then it could be a star. Still enjoyable nonetheless, but...
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A few nasty chemically elements on the nose when first opened, but these dissipated fairly quickly to leave a rich nose of butter, oak and mixed herbs. Palate shows high acid, intense dried red fruits, a little orange marmalade, and some tarry tannic complexity. Very "interesting" but not particularly loveable at this stage.
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acid attack, initial buttery oak which then dissipated, lots of clear concentrated sour cherry fruit. seemed a little tight albeit delicious. a couple more years needed? serial number in the 300k range. went well with roast pork
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Still a little young and tannins will hopefully integrate further. I can't wait until some of the fruit settles down and the earthy, gamey, smokey characteristics can dominate. The nose is not as amazing as the 98 gran reserva (904), but I think this palate has more depth and longer finish. Great wine right now and will buy some more for the coming years.
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I believe this is going to end up being very good but the oak and fruit are a little too pronounced for my taste at this point. There's a whole lot going on here and I can't wait to see it once it settles down. This is a great vintage and showing very few signs of age. I plan to sit on the rest of my bottles for a while but bought a couple extra just to check in.
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This bottle was superb, as was the case with several other bottles I have had. Bright, crisp, clear, concentrated cherries on nose and palate with very long finish. You would not think this to be 10 years old other than the fact that it is very well integrated and balanced. However, I need to express some dismay over a different bottle (not from my cellar) of this exact same wine. First, the bottle in this current note was serial # 404xxx. The bottle of dismay was in the 950xxx range. This latter bottle (rate as 86) was over oaked and full of phenolics and other less desirable chemical funes. Even after letting it blow off for 30-50 minutes after a serious decant, the high SN bottle never came close to the 404xxx bottle. I am concnerned that the high number bottle was a later bottling from less desirable stock or less desirable aging/storage casks. Unfortunately, the marketing people have added a RP 94 label to all the stock of currently available, which are these hgih SN bottles. This particular wine has been on the retail shelves for ~2 years. The early bottle were truly outstanding and at a great price. Now, the price is still great, but the wine aint.
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WES - Rioja Gran Reserva (Imperial College London): Clear and Bright. Very intense with some browning at the edge. Rich and intense nose with polish and pepper. Velvety soft and subtle on the palate. Rich, long and sweet with no bitterness on the finish.
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nose - nutty, sour berries, slight acetone nose mouth - sweet and sour berries tickle the tongue on the attack, with richness of concentration and good minerality noted on the midpalate. This wine has developed some interesting secondary characteristics including coconut, orange peel, and burnt sugar, while preserving a juicy fruit core of cherries and other lighter red fruits. It has a spunky acidic kick which is nicely balanced by moderate dry tannins on the finish. It is a great example of the complexity that Rioja can attain. Not necessarily for fruit bomb lover, this displays elegance over sheer power, though i dont hesitate to restate that the concentration of flavor is noteworthy. It has transcended being merely grape juice. The more i nurse this, the more it grows on me. Highly recommended, esp at the price.
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There is a lot of bottle variation in these. Gave this a 4-hour decant, but the oak was still too much for me. A half glass was left and spent 24 hours more in the decanter at which point it was absolutely glorious.
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This has been an extremely polarizing wine based on the TN history on CT and WB posts. Bottle variation is the obvious thing to latch onto, but that is an effect, not the cause. I won't speculate on a cause for it and will comment only on what I have tasted as it has been filtered through my own biased preferences, 40 years of enthusiastic tasting, and personal palate sensitivity at this stage of my life. We purchased 2+ cases of this from three different east coast merchants over a five month period in 2011. The wines are now racked in our cellar with no way to determine which bottles came from any particular seller. They are part of a 12+ case section of 2001 Rioja in our cellar. Needless to say, I am a big fan of this vintage. With that preamble, we have opened two of these bottles this year both of which were excellent and evidenced none of the dill pickle, overly acidic, rubber tire character described by many who have given this wine poor marks. The bottle we opened last night was decanted for 3 hours before serving. It offered nuanced aromatics with a flavor profile and mouth feel that is close to my original tasting note of 7/16/2011. Yes there is still a significant presence of American Oak evidenced by prominent vanilla and coconut but this has integrated noticeably and the tannins have softened since the first bottle 18 months ago. It has rounded out developing a more moderated and refined presentment. Hopefully we will not encounter any of the ugly bottles that some of the others have. Based on my experience, this is a beautifully balanced wine with exceptional potential and a distinctive personality that some will like and others may detest.
Brick to garnet, light bodied, thin legs. Pretty, soaring nose of cherry, fresh flowers, charcoal, cedar. Add vanilla oakinesss and tannins on the palate to the berry/cherry, cedar, leather flavors. Well superior to the 01 Prado Enea tasted along side.
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Very mildly corked. Its been a bad run with this half-case. Two bottles undrinkable because of overwhelming dill pickle aroma, one corked and three perfectly fine. At this point, a $28 bottle of wine ceases to be one of value given the failure rate.
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Friday, December 07, 2012 - Good lord this is lathered in American oak. This wine absolutely wears it on its sleeve...total pickle juice, coconut, watered down vanilla, some rubber tire, fairly high acidity...years ago I would probably love this, but the oak hides all of the Tempranillo grape...I like this house, but it appears they over did it in '01...the oak will always dominate the grape characteristics in this wine...a shame
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wow, delicious. To my taste does not need decanting. A theatrical briny, mature, and masculine nose is followed by a decent, firecracker-fruit and grilled-beef palate begging to be just *enjoyed* (for instance with a fine lamb ragu!) right now.
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Decanted this bottle for one hour and the wine remained very tight. Left in decanter in wine cellar until next day. Very fruit reward on nose and palate with very little structure or character. Tannins were light with a short finish. This is an overall pleasant wine however quite unremarkable. I dont think aging will improve the character of this wine as it is medium bodied and not very tannic. Seems more like a Pinot to me.
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Better than the last bottle, . Bricking colour and some signs of maturity, with nice bright red cherry, tea, earthiness. An excellent classic Rioja that was delicious right after pop and pour, the finish was smooth and elegant but a bit short. Perhaps its not a wine for the long haul?
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Smell: dark cherries, dark berries, meat, light vanilla oak. Taste: dark & red berries, light touch of oak, great acidity, subtle hint of charcoal/pencil lead. Great balance. Wonder if bottle variation accounts for the inconsistent reviews, but this one was great. It was delicious 10 minutes out of the bottle.
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Disappointing. Pleasant smooth Rioja, but nothing remarkable on nose or palate. Short finish. Could it simply be closed at 11 years old? Nothing here to suggest a long future. I'd drink a glass if offered to me but not buy a bottle...
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This is lovely, aromas of oak and stewed fruits. The flavours are dry, with red fruits, lychee (?) and some bramble. Lovely and soft but with a decent body to it. The finish is pretty long too.
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Very pretty wine..with some air starts to open and beautiful blend of soft red fruits and earthy tones...very light on the palate but hardly insubstantial...very pretty....night 2 I did taste more of the American oak dill
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A classy rioja. Light on its feet but with a nice soft tannin finish. Some white flowers and blackberries on the nose. Nice cherry on the tongue. Drinking really well now. Everyone loved it.
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- Garnet color with medium forming legs with a medium/full body with a medium finish - Very elegant and balanced to the nose. Red berries and oak very well integrated with a medium/long finish on the mouth. Ready to drink. Fine Spanish wine.
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- Violet color and aromas of strawberry jam. It's balanced and has flavours of strawberry jam with a medium/full body. Round texture - Smooth and delicious. Not able to decant, but surprisingly, it opened up in the glass fairly quickly. The fruit paired well with smoked pork ribs. Not a lot of complexity, but that should be expected at this stage.
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BBR Spanish Gold tasting. Lovely traditional Rioja nose. Old oak and aged sweet fruit. The nose is a true indicator of what is delivered on the palate. No searing acidity os tart cherry like a previous bottle. Proper old Rioja, smooth and ready to drink. Very good
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Score mainly for what it is now, this could be much better a few years down the road. This needs alot more time. I agree with others 3-5 years minimum or 2+ hrs decant. Really strong pine, oak on the nose. Taste had lots complexity, but its currently dominated by strong resin, red fruit, vanilla (oak) with some heat. Really long viscous finish with the pine/resin flavor.
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I was so looking forward to this after being really impressed the first time I tried it nearly 12 months ago but it has gone backwards into a closed, sullen phase. Double-decanted for 3 hours and then decanted for another 2 hours before drinking. The cork looks like it was put in yeaterday. Colour is a dusky, transparent velvet red. Nose is classic oak and vanilla pod Rioja and some vanilla custard.....then red cherries and red plums. Palate is a high acidic initial attack but quickly segues into sharp red cherry then a dry fresh sawn box-wood and oaky finish. Very young...very high-toned, acetone, nail varnish remover and the merest hint of alluring red/black cherry fruit with more time in the glass. Distinct vanilla oak aftertaste. Has entered a sullen phase....... some impressive length develops after 2+ hours in the glass but it remains like a high-octave church bell that needs a lot more time to tone down. Stoppered and vacuumed all but one glass to see if another 24 hours would help. On the second day it has turned from transparent to deep ruby red opaque (how's that?) and has also put on weight on the nose....now deeper and more balanced primaries of oak and red/black cherry. Palate is now also deeper and more rounded and with some coffee bean coming through but still sharply young. I would leave for a couple of years whilst it sulks....but I'm more convinced than before that this could grow into a great wine in 5-10 years' time, even though I scored it 92 last year when it had more immediate charm of precosity.
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Opened, tasted and closed for two days (having pumped out air). Initially sulfuric and a little harsh. Upon reopening, very smooth, with mild tannins and almost no alcohol flavor. Actually quite fruity, with flavors of black plum and leather. I look forward to the next one, which I will time a little better.
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I have 3 of these and this was the first one tried. Pop and Pour. Perhaps I should have read the reviews first since I now see several that say to decant for an hour to allow the medicinal/green qualities to reduce. I found the nose to be of forest, oak, and sour cherry. The taste had a sweet berry and oak front-end but then became green and medicinal in the middle to a medium green and spice finish. Medium bodied. I couldn't get past the greenness and therefore the low score but I still have hope for the other two. Next time will allow it to breathe in the decanter for a bit (or sit on the other 2 for another year or two).
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Dark lustrous ruby with shadows of bricking. Yup, lots of mature oak, vanilla - old style Rioja. Cassis with hints of leather. A big, generous presence with a sweet lingering finish. Just great with flavoursome foods.
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-- popped and poured -- -- tasted non-blind over a few hours --
NOSE: lots of oak --- pickles; spicy oak; red-fruited; moderately to moderately+ expressive.
BODY: medium bodied; black-garnet color with bricking throughout; {forgot to note weight of wine} – I seem to recall it being about medium bodied.
TASTE: acidic; a bit pickly; spicy oak; red berries; medium-light to medium concentration of fruit; clean; seems to be loosely structured; very little tannin; if this ages well, it will be on the strength of its acidity; on the elegant side; 13.5% alc. not noticeable. Solid but ultimately unremarkable right now (and possibly forever?).
B: 50, 5, 11, 15, 7 = 88
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Getting there but not fully integrated just yet. Leave for 3-5 years for the full tertiary whack. Loads now, and more in the future. Delicate on the palate but with real flavour intensity. We must have had one from a good batch. Delicious.
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Oak oak oak and dill. If you can get past that, and I tried, it's got ok fruit. I'd buy it for $10 to see if the wood eventually integrates, but this is 11 years old. Love the note that says 'classic Rioja', lol! Polar opposite of classic.
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The abundant oak keeps this from being outstanding. We'll have to wait and see how that plays out, but for now I'd recommend this only to oak lovers. Otherwise a very fine wine.
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This is a very nice wine that needs to be decanted for at least an hour. It starts with a strong medicinal taste that fades/merges into something quite lovely, but it takes time. Be patient.
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nose - mature nose of earthy sour berry, verging on being stinky as in turned earth. ooh yum. someone else mentioned pipe tobacco. mouth - pretty much as the nose suggests, a sour fermented berry flavor that borders on tasting like a liquer, this is a very intriguing wine, and while it may strike some as being slightly 'off', i dig it. ridiculous value when you realize its 10+ yrs old.
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Dark red with some bricking. Menthol, dark fruit, and oak on the nose (maybe Sandalwood?). Dried cherries, slight blackcurrant, dirt, vanilla and pepper on the palate. Slight bit of soft tannin. Great balance. None of the components overpowering the other. Good acidity. Lengthy finish. Sophisticated old-world flavor.
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Finally tried this after reading all the hype. Deep red color fading ever so slightly at the rim. Long thick legs, relatively big bodied for a rioja: this wine is more about power than elegance, strength than finesse. Dark fruit, notes of spice, oak, and secondary aromas on the nose. Sweet red fruit on the attack coupled with a glycerine mouthfeel. The tannic underpinnings of the wine show through the mid-palate. Finishes long, with sour cherries and dill from its oak upbringing. I'm definitely buying a few more on sale at a local store for $26 as this was delicious tonight though still relatively primary and fruit-filled but blessed with the structure to improve with more age.
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Emirates Lounge LHR: Medium(+) garnet-ruby, narrow fast-moving legs. Medium(+) developed aromas of ripe red cherries, caramel, earth, oak. Dry, medium fruity acidity, medium mature and integrated tannins, medium alcohol and medium(+) body. Medium (+) concentrated flavours of ripe cherries, beries, vanilla, sweet oak, spice. Complex, sliky texture. Great length and beautiful lasting yet light-footed finish leaving you to want more.
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A little more oxidative notes on this bottle with a clipped finish. Still has the bright red fruit, spice, tea and good acidity but not as good a showing. Day 2, smoother and more elegant but lack the complexity and depth of the previous bottle. Not particularly confident on the longevity of this wine because of this bottle, but there does seem to be a lot of bottle-bottle variance. Day 3, surprisingly this did not hold up as well as the 1989 Viña Ardanza Reserva earlier this month.
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Nice plush, even palate with a nice nose of spicy Rioja. The grenacha blending is most likely responsible for the nice mid palate jammy effect and this wine has a slight Chateauneuf character. This was consumed over a few nights with no special storage other than putting the cork back on the bottle. This is a very good sign for a wine to hold up so well over a few nights without coming apart. It is dinking like it is in its prime with everything in balance.
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Tasted at Calvert Woodley Rioja tasting. Bottle had been opened for 2hrs. Muscular, oaky and dust but with beautiful complementary notes of plums, spices, tobacco and leather. This can age a few more years but if drinking soon make sure to decant 2hrs in advance. Definitely a wine that screams food.
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Two passes through vinturi, then about 45 minutes in the decanter. Out of the gate, this is definitely sour and the dill and vegetal components dominate. About the 90 minute mark the wine darkened in color, put on some weight and then the fruit started to turn sweet and the oak came through. I can see how this wine is not for everyone. It's definitely unique. I let about 2 ounces sit in a glass for another 2 hours to see what it would do and, to my disappointment, it fell apart. Based on that test alone, I don't see this lasting another 10 years. Finally, this wine screams for food. I would not suggest drinking on its own.
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Let decant for 2 hrs and drank over the next 3 hrs. This reminded me of a Belgian beer it was so sour. Is this strong sour cherry taste normal for a Rioja? The color was brick with a brown outer ring. Is this a bad bottle? Formula7records@gmail.com
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Nice old world style. Red fruit, cedar, leather, and a dill note on the back end. Medium bodied with a smooth, mildly spiced finish. Would be interesting to follow this one over the next 8-10 years.
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As always impressive, and an old favourite. The nose is big, with dark fruit, oak/vanilla, cigar-box, (perhaps cedar wood?) and a hint of smoked meat. We drank straight from the off, so it was a little closed on the palate to start, but as the evening progressed it opened up into a big (perhaps slighly more modern approach?) Rioja.
Stylistically this is a much more powerful wine than a typical Ardanza replacing a certain floral finesse for mucscularity, and I get the same volatile/hot alcohol and acidity that has been mentioned previously. I'm interested to see whether it will last the long-haul, or is simply a sturdier version of a classic. This may be down to it needing time (and it'll be worth seeing over the next decade), but at the moment the 2000, for me, is a much better example of typical Rioja and Ardanza. Nevertheless, still a good quality wine for an excellent price.
The last bottle was memorable, this one struck me a flat. It was coming around, so maybe we just didn't give it enough time to breathe. It didn't get much.
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Definitely the WOTN among 5 very nice Spanish reds. Brought me back to my old days of Rioja drinking. Gorgeous evocative nose that practically fills the room. Sweet vanilla, red and black berries, leather, cocoa. A finish that goes on. Nothing else quite tastes like classic Rioja. This is a stunner!
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This time it seemed slightly funkier with that classic Rioja balsamic/soy-like volatile acidity. But excellent structure underneath. Beautiful with lamb.
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Consistent with my previous notes. It's a very good wine (somewhere in between moderately modern and traditional style) and a great value, so I wish I had more, however I cannot really share hyper enthusiasm of so many other notes here. Failed to see what is really so Especial there.
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Decanted 3 hours. Drunk after a 2004 Roagna Asili this had quite an impact though it was less detailed in taste: Fantastic perfume of smoke, dried strawberries and salt, and probably a lot of other things I have forgotten. Harmonious sweet taste balanced by tannin and moderate acidity. The empty glass retains the smell of old American oak. Grand old-style Rioja of the Burgundian type.
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This was one of those bottled enigmas for me. All elements were in harmony but one: a souring aftertaste. Annoying at first, it nearly dissipated thru the middle of our drinking, but persisted for the finish. Perhaps it was inappropriately stored by Wine.com ... or whomever they got it from. This had the bones to be a haymaker, but got knocked out in the 3rd round from its black sheep spawn.
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That's a relief, after the last one. Once the pond water smell had dissipated, the nose is the true star. It's got the lot. After that, the taste is generous and engaging but the bouquet.....
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This Rioja is very Burgundian, ruby color, mid body & structure. Nose is Floral roses & violet, mushrooms, leather, cedar. Palate mirrors the nose, soft integrated tannins, + some smoke notes, flesh & tobaco not a long finnish but very lovely and enjoyable a great QFP for a 11 year aged wine. The legs are Medium. It smells like Mushroom, Cedar, Sandalwood, and Smokey Bacon. It tastes like Cinnamon, Smokey Bacon, Sandalwood, Rose, Violet, Tobacco, and Meaty. The body is Medium/Full. The wine has Smooth texture. The wine finishes Medium.
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Out of the bottle this time with no decant. Same great vanilla nose. One of us thought it was a bit weedy. Had a bit of cassis near the finish that got wider and wider as time went on. Same delicate quality but maybe not as much spice this time.
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This Rioja is very Burgundian, ruby color, mid body & structure. Nose is Floral roses & violet, mushrooms, leather, cedar. Palate mirrors the nose, soft integrated tannins, + some smoke notes, flesh & tobaco not a long finnish but very lovely and enjoyable a great QFP for a 11 year aged wine.
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Simply awesome! The wine is complex and elegant in a traditional Rioja style. I just sat there and couldn't help but think about the weather, the harvest, and the amazing attention to detail for this vintage. It sports aromas of leather, black cherry, and cinnamon. The wine has impeccable balance and a silky mouthfeel. The finish goes on and on and on...will be buying more. Give it at least an hour decant-
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Improving with each passing bottle. The oak/dill still dominates and the parts don't feel very integrated yet, but there are lots of lovely parts that seem to progessing positively. Didn't let this one evolve long enough to get to the cinammon or some of the other more interesting notes, but lots of nice cherry goodness up front.
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My last of three half bottles of this. Drank wonderfully right out of the chute. Pretty, silky, floral, red berries, leather, and a hefty dose of earth. Dill pickle (from the American oak) was there, but not obtrusive...rather very pleasant. Finished great and I am glad to have 3 more 750ml bottles. So one out of my three half bottles was completely flawed and the other two were fantastic. Let's hope the 750s are all going to be like my last two half bottles.
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Classic nose: earthy, barnyard, a touch spice, plummy fruit - deep and dark. Refined palate: earthy, coffee spice great balance - elegant mouthfeel with great acid. Spicy and acid finish. Exactly what I am looking for - in an old school Rioja. Killer QPR. Nose - 5/6, Palate - 5/6, Finish - 5/6, Je Ne Sais Quoi - 1/2 = 16/20.
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Drank at Heather's birthday dinner at No. 9 Park. One of the best Riojas I've ever had. Fantastic nose - leather, licorice, cherry and spice. Wonderul silky finish. Perfect old world Rioja.
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Ripe dark fruits, with less foreward and overt oak than I usually get from this producer. Medium bodied, and surprisingly flashy styling. A sweet fruit impression. Young and clean, if not particularly complex. Nice.
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Popped and poured. Drank at the end of the night so not many notes. It had fruit and some leather, woodsy, tannic elements. No rush to drink now, but in a good place at the moment.
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Light yet full of flavor. The oak is still prominent a bit. Wait at least a year to drink. Not with the flavor of nancites encurtidos that I associated with Rioja.
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Great aromas of dark berries, fruits, herbs, chocolate and oak. Tannins and acidity still very present. Still needs at least two years of cellaring.High potential.
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Blue and black fruit notes on the nose along with a complex aromas of cinnamon, balsamic reduction, black cherry and lavender. Medium bodied, showing some nice age with flavors of earthy, dusty blue and black fruit with some suggestions of red berries as well. Light hints of truffle, coffee and a savory quality. Really drinking nicely!
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Awesome nose of cherry and vanilla. Tried after 45 min in the decanter and had a bit of fire on the end but another 40 min and it was smooth all around- delicate fruit, mild spice.
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Popped and poured. Cork perfect. Color brownish brick garnet. On opening, this had intense black raspberry on the nose. With air, this started to take on some chocolate notes in addition to the dark fruits. First impression on the palate was tingly acid and tannin.which overwhelmed the fruit. Nose started to take on pretty oaky character too. Given prev notes by others went ahead and decanted. This softened the fruit considerably (not good) but also softened the structure too. With more time and air the nose started taking on some dill. With air palate becomes all secondary and tart cherry. Would be good with a stew or braised beef I think.
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July 4th Part 2: Won't give it a rating as the bottle tasted a bit off, but definitely not corked. Velvety mouthfeel, with med finish. Nose and Palate were tough to distinguish.
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Good. Nice characteristic Rioja oakiness and bitter cherry flavors. Probably not as complete (balance between oakiness and fruit) as the last bottle which could have been because I had it with a salad for dinner rather than a steak or something similar. Still a good one and I added more while I still can.
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Consistent with prior bottle. Light bricking. Mature, ripe fruit on the nose; sour cherry and earth. Medium-bodied, lively but mildly sour acidity and not much tannin. Not bad with ribs.
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Considerably more integrated than my last bottle back in December, but most of this wine's glories are still hiding behind a wall of American oak. Excellent structure with a sweet core of very fresh fruit and some secondary qualities starting to emerge. Still much too young, of course, and I'd like to wait at least 5 yrs before popping another. (Fat chance.)
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Although this wine came top in the recent Times Rioja tasting, and despite these enthusiastic reviews, my only bottle so far was a disappointment. Given the hype, wide availability, and good prices, and being a traditional Rioja lover anyhow, I stocked up without tasting first. Seems a huge amount of this was made, so bottle variation must be common. Hope the next specimen shows better integration and something more on the finish.
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The most memorable wine I've had all year. Decanted for one hour, pungent nose of violets (like sticking your nose in a flower bed), notable poise on the palate, as if the wine had wings. Then, a fascinating array of flavors, including red stone fruit, wild blackberries. Ripe, rich, and mocha-y on the edges, young, pure and vibrant at its core. Some toast and then a very very long finish. I loved this wine. There was just so much going on. We drank it at a big celebratory dinner in Las Vegas before a cult Napa cab that was six times the price, and the Vina Ardanza blew it off the table. No contest.
Very nice, 2nd bottle drank much more impressively from the get go than the first did, Palate showed balance ,length, good Rioja typicity and red fruits, still with enough acids to be quite juicy and thirst quenching, The tannins I tasted in the first bottle seemed absent tonight.
It was juicy and acidic enough to drink with an asian noodle dish we served tonight and not seem poorly matched.
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We opened another bottle because we liked the first so much and this bottle was just as good, but more youthful. This wine could still have several very good years left in it.
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Gorgeous juicy red fruits , great acidity. Still a bit tannic, but not overpoweringly so. Love the lively fresh fruit on this. great now and has cellar potential to soften. Will buy more.
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Tasted at the winery and with dinner that night. Winery was out of a 375ml bottle which was great. Complex nose of wood, spice, coffee and dark fruit. Palate matched with pretty strawberry notes. Long finish. The 750ml at dinner was similar, but decidedly younger with a denser palate, less complexity and more tannin.
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nose: bell pepper, really overripe berries, rip fig, wet forest floor after a rain, big oak palate: tart ripe read & black fruit, earthiness, mushroom nice acidity, long finish, gripping tannins
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Popped and poured, some bricking around edges, big nose, but first taste was disappointing, seemed too tannic relative to fruit, two hours in it definitely improved with time, tannins still overwhelm the fruit, but dark fruits are there, and tannins seem tamer with exposure to air. Still expecting excellence given the source, vintage and the rave writeup in the NYT couple months back, did not get it. Right now its a decent wine with food, hopefully can improve with age.
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With J+C - Excellent, savory, tannic and complex wine. Very dark American oak quality that that offers depth and dimension , rather than sweet coconut and vanilla. I suspect this will always be a tannic wine but it is classy and offers an unusual flavour profile. Certainly outstanding.
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PnV & drank over 5 hours. Brick-red hue. Complex with understated richness & depth. Notes of juicy tart black cherry, cranberry, plum, leather, vanilla, little bit of baking spices, herbs, & still loads of oak that hopefully will integrate over next several years. Soft & slightly grainy tannins, good mix of acidity that paired well with food, mid-bodied & medium finish ending with dominant oak tones. This has good potential, but would wait at least 5 years for the next one as I expect this to begin to fully blossom then. Good QPR.
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Very nice. Nose of plum and caramel. Well balanced on the palate, with hints of leather, spice, and well-integrated oak. Excellent balance with medium-long finish. Drinking very well right now, but I would say there is no hurry to drink this - it's got a few years left for sure. Good value.
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Displays a very nice brick-like color. Giving off powerful aromas of cherry, blackberry, plum, toasted coconut, vanilla, leather and tobacco. The texture is nice here, built around fine grained yet soft tannins. Everything seemed to be working pretty well together until the finish, which was cut short. This is an interesting wine from an excellent vintage and worth a shot. (Drink 2012-2021) - May, 2012. (JD)
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At Restaurant Rialto, Albacete. Beautiful cherry colour, yeah. Rich nose with raspberries, sandalwood or cinnamon, of course. Smoothie palate, spicy and savoury indeed. Everything is there but needs time. This wine is going to be a great reserve but not yet. Last glass had the better thing. At this point, good paring food.
En el restaurante Rialto, Albacete. Bonito color cereza, exacto. Rica nariz con frambuesas, sándalo o canela, por supuesto. Boca suavecita, especiada y sabrosa sin duda. Todo está ahí pero necesita tiempo. Este vino va a ser uno de los grandes reservas pero no aún. La última copa tenía lo mejor. Bueno acompañando comida.
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Decanted for 4 hours. Needs it. Wonderful nose. Finish long but a bit acidic. This wine kept evolving in the glass. 92 for sure. could be up to 94 given some time to develop in the bottle. But is outstanding now.
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4 hour decant. Seemed almost a bit overdone on finally drinking. Hmmmmm. Decant, but not too much. I tasted this fresh out of bottle, before the decanter, and it was more vibrant. Hmmmmmmmmmmm.
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Impressive wine. Thsi is getting better every year. although beiing a classic rioja seems a bordeaux style wine in the nose and it takes a couple of hours to open. Long and grassy wine. Drink or hold for a couple of years.
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Dark ruby red. In the nose, vanilla notes. Ripe fruit. Bing cherries. Cranberry. A hint of dill. Bright acidity. Low-medium tannins. Overall, quite drinkable, though I wouldn't say it's especially complex.
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Rather severe, tight, tremendous depth & length. Best left alone, for say 5 years. 24 hours later classic soft strawberried fruit & vanillin oak on the nose & palate, fades out gently.
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I can see why people are excited about this wine - there's great freshness and energy along with admirable depth and power - but man is this infanticide right now. There's an absolute wall of dilly American oak on the finish that will take ages to resolve. Wait 10-20 years.
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One of the best wines I've ever had from Rioja. The bouquet is so complex and perfumed I could just smell this wine for hours and be happy. Floral scents weave in between dark cherry and baking spices and tanned leather. A hint of dill from the oak is absolutely classic for Rioja aged in American oak and I consider it a marker for superior wines from this region. One person tasting this with me described the nose as "divine." The palate is broad and complex, dark cherry, damson plum, cocoa dust, all come across in a silky smooth, integrated package. Hard to believe this has 11 years of bottle age already, should show well for many, many years. This is refined Tempranillo from one of the best producers on the planet in regards to this varietal.
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Really nice old world. Can't say this is really in my flavor profile so best not score it. Can't find anything but nice things to say. Could have spent 10$ for this or 50$ just never made much of an impression.
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Stupidly good value for money here. Dense palate packed full of mocha, cherries, vanilla and mature red fruit. The palate has incredible depth - half young half old - some maturity underpinned with very fine fruit. This has the legs for some serious aging. On the palate this becomes quite sweet after a few glasses - I'd suggest this really could sit in the cellar for 10 years easily. And for £16 why wouldn't you put some away?
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Oak and mocha on the nose. Youthful wine but showing very good complexity - well above what you'd expect from just a reserva. Classy wine with red fruits, oak, leather, coffee and plenty more to give. To be enjoyed over the next couple of decades.
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After letting it breathe for several hours, an intense sweet red fruit and mellow oak bouquet; heavier body than the vast majority of rioja; long, smooth finish; the taste of the fruit is harmonious but not in your face (I would rate it even higher if the fruit was a little more intense and more fruit-forward, but that is probably a reflection of my American tastes) Great now and should last another 5 to 10 years. Great with any roasted meat, great with top notch Paella.
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There's a very high delicious factor here--the moment I pull the cork I'm hit with that old familiar scent: piquillo, herbs, spicy oak, dried cherries, dusty earth, and all that carries over onto the juicy and long palate. Texturally the oak is already integrated, and I rather like what it adds to the nose. Trouble is; I'm not sure this is really so superior to past vintages. On the other hand, it's still quite an inexpensive wine, and I'll probably be picking up a case.
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I loved this bottle which to me is drinking perfectly. Pretty mature red in color. A beautiful fruit and floral nose from initial pour throughout. Refined balanced palate of red fruits, licorice and subtle hint of oak.
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Very pretty wine. Tight, woody and acidic at open, after two hours in the decanter opened up with a good but not great nose of licorice and blackberry. Berrys on an interesting and deep palate. Full of character, will be better if wood can integrate some, but to me the wood is part of a very nice mix.
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Classic Rioja. Aroma of currant and leather, balanced flavors of black cherry and leather with oak in the background. Round texture, medium finish. Great for a convivial glass with friends.
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Very Good – clear mid/dark ruby/garnet; red fruit on nose – some oak; off-dry; low acidity; medium / full body; medium tannins; mid length finish; decanted 3 hours before drinking; well intergrated oak not intrusive (vanilla, smokiness) ; red fruit – cherries; fig; lovely balance; soft and mellow; needs more time or long decant – look forward to drinking the rest over a number of years.
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Fresh from the bottle, brownish red. Opaque. Reticent and taught. Acidic. Much better with a few hours air, bringing out depth and fruit. Not blown away by this, but it's a lovely drink nonetheless, and I'm glad I have a case.
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Hoped to be blown away by this wine after recent NYT rave. Glass staining red with no evidence of bricking despite age. Tasted after 6 hour decant. Aromas of cherries, fig and burnt almond that carry thru in more muted fashion on the palate. A bit watery on the mid-palate; menthol notes on the short finish. Very nice and smooth but pedestrian. Bought case so will revisit soon.
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Even better than the last bottle. This bottle was very slow to start. Nose had a little metal to blow off and then went into a closed down stance for about 1 hr. Oh, but then the fruit blossomed and the palate took off. Great cherries with even tannins and a balanced acid level for food.
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Gorgeous nose of grilled meat, blackberry and red+black licorice. The palate doesn't have quite the intensity of the nose, but shows a nice fruit/meat/earth balance, with well integrated tannins and acid. Not getting as much oak/tannins as others' notes have mentioned. Nice wine, nearing if not at its prime.
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A modern rioja. Very polished. Excellent balance, but the oak phobes should beware. I find this currently dancing on the razor's edge of balance between fruit and wood. I think five years from now, this wine will be outstanding. Started out very spicy and could have fooled me for southern Rhone. Later, the tempranillo characteristics started peeking out. Sadly none left for day 2. Next time.
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So this is what a good bottle of this tastes like...Unlike the other half bottle I opened previously, this one was absolutely outstanding. Kept improving over the course of 4 days (yes, this was an exercise in academia of sorts). Dark cherry and black currant, lots of earth, dried herbs, orange peel and an almost saline note. Tremendously powerful on the palate despite being incredibly weightless/effortless on the palate. Finish just keeps on sailing. The only issue is obviously that there seems to be some significant bottle variation. That statement is based not only on my experience (one bottle amazing, one undrinkable), but also on a variety of notes I have read elsewhere describing the same level of disparity from one bottle to another. Definitely caveat emptor as I don't have a clue how my remaining 3 standard bottles and 1 half bottle will perform.
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Aromas of spice and leather. Oak tinged flavors of red fruit and earth. Robust leathery finish. Well balanced, strong backbone, classically styled Spanish Rioja. Very good, though not quite as good as the LDH Cubillo at the same price point.
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Got this wine completely blind and that was nice because I have a few. Transparent carmine brown color. The bouquet was a bit organic with julienne, oak and butter. On the palate earthy, tea, mocha and chocolate. Completely melted tannin with some drying bitterness and sweetness in the finish. I don't know the history of this bottle, but imho the wine is completely ready. Have to try one of my own bottles soon.
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Just a one hour decant. Nose of light vanilla, sandalwood, cherry and raspberry. Very fruity on the palate, oaky but well integrated. Something almost bloody about this. Very intense, clean, but good acid that gives it a nice edge. A little heat on the end. Its quite tannic and probably a bit too early to drink yet. Very good value. I really like this but want to give it a few more years. ... Re-opened two days later: the tannins have softened and this is a beautiful, complex Rioja. It can stand up to a claret twice its price with ease. Still a little too much heat on the end but otherwise this is really lovely.
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This bottle was amazing. Perhaps I was just in the mood for Rioja, or it was a good bottle but nice fruit, well refined, good oak and acidity. Well recommended.
Good compliment to the Spanish "Drunken Goat" cheese I purchased from Whole Foods.
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Uncorked 10 hours decanted 2 hours. Oak, vanilla, and red berry nose. Palate is high toned cherry laced acidity with a finely tannic and oak dominated lattice framework supporting the fruit. Final was long but markedly acidic. Notes are from memory but I could not make my mind up about this wine. Drinkable and enjoyable but I found the oak intrusive and sat awkwardly next to the acidity which I found overpowering. Still, no question about the depth of fruit here and it could all come together in the next 5-10 years...Score may rise for today this is all I could give.
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Looks a good age, brownish tinge to the rim. Nose affected by low level cork taint although I could still get some tea and tar. Taste unaffected and as other notes. Not fair to rate.
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The prominent oak softens a bit with decanting, but in agreement with a CT minority that there may not be as much time left in this as some are assuming
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Noticeably brown around the edges. Not enough fruit to support the wood -- this tastes like it's well on its decline. Given other reviews, possibly a bad bottle? Note that we did not decant and only tasted it over 2-3 hours so perhaps it required more airing; but I don't think there's enough fruit left for this to age.
Wow. This wine blew me away. After reading some of the notes I opened the bottle in the morning and left it open on the counter until dinner -- about 12 hours later -- but I did not decant it. When I poured it there was a very noticeable leather scent, but with just a little more air the fruit started to come out and it was gorgeous. Brimming with red fruit, I hardly noticed any wood. Long finish. Drank with friends one of whom love Spanish wine and he was blown away, as was I. Will have to make time to go get a few more bottles.
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Curious juice that seems to be undecided if it's traditional or modern. Either way, it's drinking well and is likely to continue to do so for a long time.
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A slight bricking and translucent rim to this wine. Sweet vanilla and spec on the nose with some bright cherry notes. In the mouth it tastes rich and round, but has just enough acidity to feel light and refreshing, quite a long finish. You can just about taste the start of its evolution, it hints at leather and tobacco. Some fine tannin still left to resolve, but that just gives it a little appealing grip which also balances the ripeness of the fruit. Very tasty and may need to up the supplies of this wine, it will last for some time.
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A bottle and a separate half from hotel Bahia Real Atlantis in Fuerteventura, at around 45€ a bottle. No differences in taste but a surprising (to me) lack of lees in either bottle suggesting filtration. Deep brick red colour with some orange tones. Vanilla and red fruit on the nose, with a very integrated palate, soft mature tannins melding with the fruit with highlights of vanilla, leather, tobacco and sandalwood. Absolutely delicious with the half bottle seeming more alive! WoFW 16/20
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Needs a few hours of decanting at this stage. Funk on the nose that dissipated after a couple hrs. Sour cherries dominates midpalate, somewhat masking a solid finish. Relatively smooth tannins. Very good, but maybe better with time.
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Sehr dichter Wein mit viel Frucht und Volumen, trotz des Alters. Kirsche, Walderdbeere und im Nachgang etwas Lakritz und Schockolade. Ein klasse Preis-/Leistungsverhältnis.
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Solid Rioja. Needs more time (oak has an edge that will round out over time I think). Lots of vanilla, classic Rioja nose and taste. Needs a decant right now.
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Must be decanted for >1hr. Def do not pop and pour. Leather dark fruit oak acidic. V smooth and medlight body. Didn't get enough depth but prob bc did not decant enough.
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This wine has a bit of a sharpness to it. There is a distinct and prominent cherry taste in it. It is only medium-bodied: definitely cannot be called heavy. In the end, it is very much a wine with a certain character to it. Having had one bottle, I'll have to think about which occasions I want to open my remaining bottles, because the wine very much has its own peculiar character that would not necessarily go with anything.
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Decanted 3Hrs. I Love this stuff. This is everything I look for in a rioja - smooth as silk and with just the right amount of oak. QPR is through the roof - will definitely be buying more.
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Wonderful bottle. Popped and poured. Initially had some heat that evaporated quickly. Notes of raspberry, cherry, vanilla, tobacco, leather, earth and a little spice. It has silky, Burgundian finesse. Oak is certainty present but restrained. Lovely balance, sharp acidity, mellow tannins with a lengthy, juicy finish. I want more!
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Decanted for 2hrs. Nose of tobacco,vanilla and bright red fruit, all with a great depth to them. That depth of fruit jumps out in the mouth with the oak wrapped around it perfectly. The wine has great acidity which balances it's depth. A lovely long finish. This wine is really good now but will be fantastic in another 5 yrs, whether i manage to keep my hands off until then will be another matter.
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Excellent. Transparent ruby color. Nose of tart cherry, dill, a hint of coconut and some earthiness/leather as well. Bright red fruit, some coffee and leather on the palate with a little streak of spice. Drinking well at this point, but I think there is a nice upside to this wine. Solid qpr if you can get it in the low $20's.
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A simply amazing Rioja. I have enjoyed many wines from Rioja and this is by far the best I have ever had. The aspect of this wine that blew me away was the silky smooth texture and mouthfeel. The tannins and alcohol have been completely integrated into a silk smooth texture. Amazing!!!
The nose started off very oaky (I do not like lots of oak in my wine) but after an hour of decanting the oak disappeared, leaving a nose of fresh red fruit, cedar and vanilla.
The taste is of ripe, sweet red fruit. Strawberries, raspberries and ripe sweet bing cherries with a finish of sweet spice and vanilla.
I loved it so much I just order more! This is Rioja at it's best!
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Nice wine, I enjoyed it a great deal...not unusual for a moderately aged Rioja - that is what it tasted like...the quality rang through as well as the oak to a small extent...
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I stand corrected. Much improved after being open a couple hours. Dill and menthol on the nose. After some air, the strongest flavor on the finish is stick cinnamon.
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Decanted for 7 hours before serving, and it lasted as part of a larger Rioja tasting for another 3 hours. Definitely needs a lot of time to open. Even after ten hours, it's obvious this wine's best days are still ahead. The dill profile that others have noted is clear on the nose, but not in the palate. The cherry/vanilla flavors are there on the palate, along with some soy, asian spice and earth notes. Acidity was noteworthy but not overpowering. I'd expect some of the spice profile to become more noteworthy as this ages. This has a more understated and complex flavor profile than most Gran Reservas I've tried, and I look forward to trying another bottle in a few years.
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Opened last night and the oak too polished and a creamy vanilla profile to enjoy the fruit. There was some black curranted fruit and a spicey edge and oodles of fresh acidity to give it potential. Tonight, the vanilla oak doesn't really recede, the the fruit is singing through, blackcurrant, raspberry, tobacco, Vigorous in the mouth, bags of acidity, tannin more to the fore, cracking length, some wood in the mid palate.This wine is 5 years off hitting the high notes without any interference. Lovely stuff!
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I just popped and poured but an hour or 2 decant would have been a good call as the oak was up front for about an hour then slowly this settled into a classic Rioja with cherry, earth, raspberry and spice flavors. The nose is relatively unevolved yet. Maybe a decant would have helped the nose? This is very fresh at 10yrs and should benefit from addl 3-5yrs. I'll wait at least 3 for btl #2.
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Drunk over dinner with the 1973 after a two and a half hour decant. A full bodied and spicy wine but in comparison to its refined auntie a lot of wood almost masking the fruit. Ready but will probably improve over the next 28 years
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Drunk with some Companeros at a Winebar at Hamburg, Germany a few Days ago. For me the best Year for this Reseva of La Rioja Alta I ever have been drinking! Just too young at the Moment. The Acidity still bites! Needed decanting and after at least 4 Hours this Bottle showed a very complex Wine. Very long and in my Opinion Time for more than 10 Years to develop. (as fast as possible bought myself 2 Cases and some Magnums! ;-) )
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Double decanted an hour so so before drinking. Pretty good for the off but got better. Oak was integrated, unlike the 2001 Vina Real GR which I do find oppressively oaked. This is gentle vanilla, then cranberry, leather, still plenty of fruit. A touch of spice and an acidic lick in the finish only add interest. Pretty darn good for me and better than a number of Ardanzas I've had. Like those but updated, not modernised.
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Ripe plums with hints of vanilla ,cigar tobacco and spice. Delicate and smooth in the mouth with fine tannins and vibrant acidity. The finish is long and sweet as it lingers on the palate.
raspberry and cherry with suggestions of potpourri, sandalwood and vanilla. Shows more power and darker fruits on the palate, picking up a touch of singed plum that adds a serious quality to the sweet black raspberry and cherry flavors without costing the wine any of its vibrancy. The long, sweet finish hangs on with very good tenacity.
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Definitely more traditional Rioja with sour red cherry, leather, some earth and showing a lot of american oak, as others have noted I get a lot of dill on the nose, and if there's a big drawback for me, is that its a bit too heavy on that aspect. Also worth noting is that few hours in I found it to be taking on oxidized notes, so this may be better consumed as a pop n pour so it doesn't start to fall apart. I decanted about an hour+, which was probably too long, and I was surprised how it seems to show oxidation so soon since I noticed multiple reviewers believe its still to young and has years ahead of it... while it seems to have to structure to support that, for me, the aromatics did seem to deteriorate after a few hours.
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On the nose, American oak, vanilla, dill pickle, and more oak. Palate of oak, pickle, cherry-vanilla streudel, and oak leading to an oaky finish that's somehow reminiscent of oak.
So I found it a tad oaky, but beneath all that liquid lumber is a potentially very good wine. And I hasten to add that I expect and enjoy the strong influence of American oak in traditional Rioja, including the wines of La Rioja Alta which are typically among the oakiest. But for me, and at least for this stage in its evolution, the wood is simply too dominant and unintegrated.
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Dark ruby color with slightly bricking rim. Inviting and very complex nose: dried cherry, fresh plum, and persimmon/apricot fruit framed by cedar, incense, teriyaki, balsamic vinegar, violet, a touch of dill, and a faint whiff of barnyard. Medium body on the palate: lively, expressive cherry, plum, and persimmon/apricot fruit with accents of balsamic vinegar, toasted cedar, teriyaki, black tea, clove/cinnamon spice, and again the light touch of dill. Medium+ acidity. Moderate/lighter tannins. Lingering balsamic vinegar, toasted cedar, clove/cinnamon spice, and black tea on the moderate/long finish. Already showing excellent integration and silky texture. Demonstrates complexity, subtlety, perfect balance, and extraordinary class. A truly great Rioja...what a gem! Enjoy over the next 8 years.
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Hallmark of a traditional Rioja - the oak is well integrated and never overwhelming, aged and ready to drink. Warm candied nose w mint. Fresh raspberries, coffee powder and a touch of herbs making things interesting. Classy, balanced, well-judged. Tannins already resolved and velvety. Mid-bodied. Somehow reminded me of a good class Pomerol. Able to hold its own against wines 3x its price -QPR over the roof. http://sgbordeaux.blogspot.com/2011/12/la-rioja-alta-vina-ardanza-2001.html
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Shy nose but all the right things are there, mocha dominates with a touch of oak, orange peel and leather - still youthful. Better flavours with a nice degree of complexity. Vanillin, coffee and red fruits with a lingering finish. Probably 5 years away from maturity but can be enjoyed now.
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Had this at the Waverly Inn in New York and (apart of the Mas Julien 2005) this was the only bottle with a reasonable QPR on the menu (it was written on the wine list as the reserva not the especial, I asked about it when I ordered it and the sommelier had no clue...). Priced at 80$ this is great, very earthy, red berries, full bodied and with a long life ahead.
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Oh boy...not sure what to think about this one. There's tremendous potential here. Dense, laser focused red and black fruit, leather, earth, and an imposing structure and magnificent finish. The fruit is in the black currant spectrum and mildly conjures up thoughts of Cabernet Sauvignon with respect to its taste, while the texture is textbook Tempranillo from Rioja. The marring issue with this wine is its intense flavor of dill pickle, which I assume is a direct byproduct of its American Oak treatment. Matter of fact, this wine reminds me a lot of 80s era Silver Oak Napa Valley bottlings. I didn't really enjoy drinking this wine (save for its educational value), so given that I have quite a few more, I pray that the oak will resolve over the next 10 or so years. If it won't, this might turn out one of the most tragic wastes of world-class grapes ever.
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Actually drank this at Craft in NYC. Awesome choice guided by sommellier as response to a line of questioning that went: full bodied - earthy - soft tannins - less than $100. It ticked all the boxes - phenomenal.
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Smooth, earthy bouquet with a deep, deep red color. The wine is much lighter than the color suggests which makes for a pleasant surprise. Even mix of fruit and balanced from start to finish. An excellent half bottle to enjoy with a light meal at home.
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Opened (not decanted) for at least 4 hours before serving at dinner @ Liu Yuan Pavilion. Big nose of red fruits, easy on the palate. Quite delicious at the onset and goes extremely well with the slightly spicy thinly steamed pork and flat noodles cold appetizer. Didn't go so well with the sweet tasting fried eel. Over time the nose became very jammy and also minty, and the palate remained more or less the same. I like this wine, with food, and it is good value for money. I think it will still improve.
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Nice reddish black color - showing no signs of age. Nose is a little reserved and showing fruit and spice. It's very round and smooth on the palate, but with a nice rustic flavor profile. Lots of spice on the finish and just a hint of oak. I had it open for four hours before finishing the half bottle, and it didn't decline at all. Should have a long life ahead!
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Lovely wine. Very resolved and approachable, medium body though with tempranillo spice and lighter fruit, and a long finish. Great depth and well integrated.
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Wonderful expression of the tempranillo, served with a meaty chili in the mountains with great friends. Berry flavor was solid and delicious, the tannins had mellowed very well. Will likey last a few more years but not more.
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Drank at Los Caracoles in Barcelona the night after a bottle of Roda I of the same vintage and the direct comparison did not favour this wine (albeit the price is significantly less) the wine seemed a little watery on the edge in the mouth amd certainly lacked the structure of the Roda = however a more than decent Rioja
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Riojas at WineX (The Wine Exchange, Orange, CA): Still shows strong American oak characters with dill being prominent. Juicy with a bright structure. The acids really showed prominently today. One day I will kick myself for not buying more of this. Terrific if you like classic Rioja but needs time for that oak to integrate more.
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Good expression of region. Love the nose on this with vanilla jumping out. Medium-bodied. Delicious with a medium-length finish. Maybe wood will integrate more in a few years, but when I drink Rioja, I expect a fair amount of oak in there anyway. I need to buy a few more. 91+
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Tasting at Majestic, Farnham. Oak plus fruit, cassis and leather. In the mouth good old fashioned Rioja, lots of vanilla/oak, combined with the fruit. It will mellow given time. Well balance and with very good length. Should be left in the celler for two or three years
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It smelled just like the last Rioja I drank ('99 Riserva from a different producer). On the palate, it didn't taste as rustic as it smelled. Vanilla, cassis, it just goes on. I had high expectations and this turned out to meet my high hopes. So while the wine is not overly complex, it was completely enjoyable and six of these would be better than a good '96 BDX, on a relative basis, in my opinion.
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Classic strawberry and vanilla on the nose. Smooth, less complex than the Ygay. Suffers in comparison - lacking the brown sugar and damson concentration. Good. 90
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Tasted at K&L Campanile Rioja tasting, this was at the Golden State table. By far the best table of the entire tasting. Their thoughts: "In the very best vintages, La Rioja Alta designates Ardanza as a "Reserva Especial;" This has only happened two other times, in 1964 and 1973. The current release is the 2001 Reserva Especial, a deeply colored wine with a lovely perfume of cinnamon, lavender, incense, balsamic and black cherry. Medium-bodied, velvety textured and already complex."
My Thought: Smooth, cigar box, tinder.
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La Rioja Alta Dinner (Ole Restaurant, 24 Ice House Street, Central, Hong Kong): Colour is still purple-hued (suggesting youth) but totally transparent. Nose is lovely Burgundy-like woodland strawberries and sous-bois. Palate is sharp young wild strawberries, and high refreshing acidity. Very light and chiffonesque but with a touch of cinnamon stick and other spices and slightly dry tannin, again suggesting youth. Good framing oak neatly slotted into the background. Lovely and a very feminine expression of Rioja. It really blossomed when you put it in a big Bordeaux glass (it hadn't been decanted beforehand). You can imagine this being absolutely captivating and silence-creating when it reaches a bit more maturity (5 years time?) but it died in the glass after 2 hours which suggests it doesn't have decades to unfold. This is crazily attractive value at around US$35.....I'd say it is worth US$70+. Note to Cellartracker: this is only the third vintage to be given the "Reserva Especial" classification (the others were 1964 and 1973).
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When in Spain... well, in Valencia red wines are served cool (in this case out of the fridge) and not decanted, so we thought... OK. Then just as we were getting stuck in to the second glass a child at the next table was sick on the floor; the sharp vomit smell in the restaurant didn't exactly help the dominant volatile oak acidity in the too-cold Rioja. So my impressions were jaundiced. All in all a bit of a trial, but at the end of the bottle it was possible to recognise the splendid sharp morello cherry which I so loved in this wine last time around. 88P(?)
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15th Annual Lyon 10 Year Retrospective (Chez Lyon in Eugene, OR): This wine stood out as having more oak and less fruit than most of the CdP's. Hence my score may have suffered in the comparo. Still it was very balanced and a pleasure to drink, just not deep enough to be outstanding. Dried up and blown away like dust on the wind on day 2.
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Vanilla, coconut, banana, cherry spice nose with a weird aspect of cream soda and charcoaled cherry. Sweet-tart palate with cranberry acidity, leather, and tobacco that seems to get overwhelmed by the bizarre oaky aromatics. Good, might resolve into a nice wine but I'm not sure I'll have any to find out...
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Nose: Sandalwood, earth tones, tempranillo notes. Nice and complex, almost popourri-like but with a nice core of matured red fruit.
Tase: The flavours were all very nicely integrated together. Fruit, oak, secondaries, tannins, acid. Very harmonious and well done. Went deliciously with a host of chinese dishes.
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Dark crimson, dark inviting nose of black cherry, raspberry, cherry liqueur, baking soda and exotic spices, black and red fruits on the attack followed by spice, burnt plum and buffering acidity, finish is long and lingering with more black fruits underscored with earth notes
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Classic Rioja nose of leather, earth, and vanilla. Beautifully silky and textured on the palate. A great example of the fantastic vintage. This, as other tasters have noted, really benefits from a long decant.
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Decanted for about 90 minutes. However, right out of the bottle the nose was incredible. It screamed Rioja. Wonderful texture, perfect balance. This is drinking great right now. Paired nicely with grilled ribeye steaks and garlic smashed potatoes. Amazing QPR at $25. Highly recommended.
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Very good for the weekday Rioja fix. Pomegranate and earth. I do not see this lasting another ten years, but it will be in a good place for the next three or so.
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From the wine list, Hotel Villa Real "Cafe 57", Madrid. Remarakable that they'd keep this around, yet price it so reasonably (e30). Dusty red verging on brick. Nose of blackberry, cherry, and ...? Tannins still in evidence, so would have been better with food, or with another five years. Long finish.
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Bottle label (in Spanish) "Throughout our history, vina Solamet Ardanza three vintages have earned special qualifications, 1964, 1973, and 2001. Rain, sun, cold and heat are alternated in the best way possible to make a wine vineyard only Ardanza 2001"
This one needs a lot of air time if you are going to drink now, so plan accordingly. Decanted 3 hours and consumed over a 7 hour evening. A little shut down, even after 3 hours in an open decant. Started to slowly ramp up to a light/medium intensity in the 5-7 hour window; where it showed upfront notes of mint with a little bit of fried cinnamon doughnut in the background. This wine was paired with charcoal-grilled steak and roasted garlic and was FANTASTIC!!
This has great bones to age at least 10 more years. It really needs more bottle time to integrate its parts. Will wait until 2016 to try again. 90 pts now, but will likely see higher scores over the next few years when it starts to come out of its shell.
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La Rioja Alta, a family-run firm founded in 1890, has, through the years, built up a huge vineyard of more than 300 hectares. the bodega is perhaps the best producer of the 'very traditional' style of Rioja, that is a wine of medium structure given long cask ageing and frequent racking producing a wine with evolved brick red colour at the rim, an intense bouquet of leather and tobacco and soft tannins. What sets La Rioja Alta apart from other traditionalists is that their wines also retain plenty of sweetness, vigour and flavour on the palate. They keep barrels for about seven years, so the average age is 3.5 years. Their wines are then given considerable bottle ageing before sale, and so are ready for drinking when released. Viña Ardanza is aged three years in barrels with six rackings. The 2001 is exceptional and one of the bodega's best vintages in the wine's 70-year history, hence the "reserva especial" (only the third time this special designation has been used). This is exceptionally fine, fragrant and silky with long sweet flavour, this has been carefully aged in oak and bottle to reach its enormous potential. Now to 2018.
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I must admit that I am not as enthusiastic about this wine than others are. I find it a bit volatile, almost as if it over-aged. Maybe I had a bad batch.
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Transparent ruby red. Unmistakable spicy American oak all over the nose, some red fruit pokes through, but if AmOak is distracting to you, this is not one to sniff. Beautiful medium bodied palate. Tart cherry, allspice and tobacco leaf. Medium acidity, transitions to darker more brooding fruit on the back of the palate. The finish goes on and on. Once the oak integrates on the nose, this will be really special juice.
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Decanted 2 hours. App: clear, brick red. Light color. Aroma: cranberries and an earthy tone.
Very light and smooth mouthfeeling. Available tannins and medium length. Very balanced fruit and acidity. The oak was not present at this time, probably well integrated. I was impressed by this one and wonderful with lamb. Will improve with some cellartime.
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Somewhat bricked, lighter body. Prominent chocolate/banana oak but seems to have been picked on the earlier side. Brandyish nose, nicely acidic, balanced, warm, maybe a touch of cranberry. Very nice intermediate style and good QPR.
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Part 2 of my realisations this month about how wines breathe! Double-decanted, and first tasted at 10 mins. Subdued aroma of pale beef (lightly boiled beef), with a little pale-brown cherry and light earth. Initial texture is light-silk to powdered-earth - silk and silt! A gentle glycerine character - sweetness via syruph - but it's a lively syruph, and only a texturally flat, controlled one - we're not talking dramatic or blowsy Grenache-style. Rather coiled up acidity takes over. That spreads out in the finish, leaving a relatively searing impression! There's just a little roll of tannin. Overall the textural aspect of the finish is good - the mouth is faintly dried all-around (not just roof-mouth or gums), which speaks to me of balance and of coming into maturity. The mouth is satisfied all around. In the finish (20+ seconds in) the flavour deepens from pale, wet earth to a distinctly peaty character. That's good. At this stage the flavours and aromas are understated; which I do see as a valuable and natural characteristic of ageing; but I'd expect them to open out by meal time. Conversely, the acidity is strong, and I'd hope for that to calm. At meal time, 2.5 hours later, the wine had gained mahogany in the nose, and some strawberry and metal on the palate. The finish was a little looser than I was hoping for; containing rather limp cherry and rotting wood. This made me wonder whether it had had slightly too much air. It was much enjoyed, but I had some doubts. 89 pts then. A sample the next night showed a powerful, open, dramatic wine, with strong peaty, oily and musky flavours. There was flair and vertical scale in the mouth; and the whole was driven by still-potent acidity. Blood-orange and mineral inflections in the nose. It was better, and rather difficult to resist. 91-93 at that stage. I can confidently say that, to many tastes, there’re 10+ more years of accessibility here. The combination of this much acidity with (what was eventually revealed as) this much ripe-vintage concentration is exceptionally rare. I was lucky enough to drink a vertical of Lopez de Heredia Gran Reservas the other weekend, and this wine doesn’t fundamentally have the refinement, scale, or completeness of those (it’s closest to a Bosconia, if either.) However, this experience creates a craving to drink another bottle soon via a long-decant. The goal would be an experience in hard-core/macho, rustic grandeur (a hall of the mountain kings mouth sensation), completed with/by some really dark, burnt (not necessarily meaty) foodstuffs. Conclusion: high-acid, concentrated red wines breathe very slowly, so need long decanting even after reasonable ageing. I also sense that they have access to a compelling spectrum of flavours which can’t be reached by modern/low-acid wines. I hope that more growers start to see this light and take this direction! In order for drinkers not to find the flavours weedy, the grower would need to explain the ‘air per age’ regimen on the label.
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following the duff bottle I opened another, thats better. Bright and deep, nose of fruit and spice, mellow oak. Wonderful entrance of cherries and fruit, tannins softened after an hour. Do decant at least anh our ahead. I finished the bottle the following night and the palate improved.
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following grape-apes notes, I opened my first bottle of six. Bright and good extract, only aroma on the nose was lots of oak, echoed on the palate, thin and asringent..?duff bottle
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Dark red with bricking on the rim. A nice puff of mature, ripe fruit on open rapidly devolves into a sustained light raisin, sour cherry and earth aroma. Medium-bodied with thin, sour fruit, lively acidity and not much tannin to speak of. Did not improve with air or time; actually was the most fresh and enjoyable immediately after opening. I would pop-n-pour this one and have with mildly rich food that would contrast with the sour fruit and acidity.
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Los años son evidentes en el color granate bordelés. Nectar complejo en nariz y en boca. Taninos maduros y apaciguados por el tiempo, acidez pronunciada, fruta viva. Notas entrelazadas de tabaco, madera y guinda. Final claro, limpio, cosquilloso. Impresionante esfuerzo de La Rioja Alta.
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A Spanish tempranillo winner! Beautiful balance, depth. Sings of tar, tobacco, roses, anise on the finish and solid length all in harmony with mild hints of oak but only enhances. Keep your hands off for a few more years...gorgeous now but so much promise. Well crafted wine!
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Decanted for an hour and it opened up nicely. Rich opulent nose and finish. Had with a flank steak Outstanding. Parker was right 94-95 points. Great wine
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Quick taste. Med+ deep with a hint of age at the rim. Leather and dark berries on the nose, not too developed yet. Decent acidity, nicely balanced, fruity with some complexity and spice. Spicy sweetish cherry in the long aftertaste. A very good "young" Reserva.
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At Ibiza in New Haven last night to accompany duck breast with cherry sauce. Pop-n-pour. Bright medium deep ruby color. Huge bouquet of ripe cherries, vanilla, and coconut that just kept coming at you. Very solid in the mouth with the structure for long term aging. Sour cherry, oak, and exotic spices went on for a very long time easing into a clean crisp finish. It kept opening through the meal and I would suggest 3 hours minimum in the decanter for current consumption. This will need another 4-5 years at the least for the prominent American oak to integrate and should last at least 15 more. It is an excellent value.
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Early in its development. This is going to keep developing for at least another 10 years. A pretty classic Rioja, although much smoother at this age than I'd expect. Great flavors of dark cherry and earth. Wood is pretty chewy at the moment, and with decanting (and even better the second day) smoothed into the wine. Great QPR.
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Went straight to glass, wonderful garnet color. The bouquet needed more time to open up the earthy old style Rioja tones but the taste was immediately exceptional. Rich and opulent with lush fruit, earth and oak and vanilla tones. I had a NY strip overlooking my pond and it was amazing getter better in the glass. I will decant for at least a half hour next time swirl my ass off! This wine is amazing and will get better. My score is 95 points
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Pleasantly surprised. Medium bodied and more of a classic style which I love. Tobacco and black pepper really stand out with the sour cherry. This wine is drinking well right now. Decant an hour an enjoy! For $25, it's a great buy.
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Decanted about 3 hours prior to consumption. The oak showed a big, obtrusive sort of way. Big notes of coconut and pickles on the nose. Plenty of fruit with low extraction but nice density. Lots of acid. The oak stole the show that night. Took the half bottle home and forgot about it for an extra day. Two days later the oak has relaxed leaving a strong spice presence, something like bay leaf and tobacco. Lean feeling palate with light tannin. Much more pleasant now though it still seems to say it needs time. Leave this alone for a few more years at least. Terrific potential. Their 01 Gran Reserva must be off the charts.
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Wonderful bottle of Tempranillo. I had a hard time saving some for the next day. Bright fruit with a nose that can put you in a trance. Detected a hint of pepper on the palate that was a bit surprising, but welcome none the less. Classic style with long finish and enough acid to match with bold meal.
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A lovely surprise, a wonderfully fresh old-style Rioja with no musty oak. Mouth-watering balsamic-cherry-spice scent, bright red cherry entry and a delicious, acid-dominated, slender palate. Medium-long finish with tickling juicy acid. Very moreish. 90P
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Medium/deep ruby color. Fantastic nose with black cherry skin, tobacco leaf and complex spices that go on and on. I could smell this one all night. Medium bodied on the palate with racy acidity that carries the flavors beautifully. Supple, ripe tannins. I'm sure this has a long life ahead of it but it's so good already. 93+ pts. Tip: give it an hour or so in the decanter and serve this at around room temp. Too cold and the flavors die.
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Brick red colour. Classic Rioja nose. Some old wood and sweet fruit note. Tobacco. Some lift. Nice entry but with some vigour. To be critical, A touch 'watery' though and not very full. A burgundian 'thin' mouthfeel becomes more noticable. A lovely sweet finish. On day two there is a wafer biscuit aroma with a hint of caramel. Less old wood aroma and more coconut and vanilla. The acidic sour note is still present and too obvious for my liking. A tart finish has replaced the sweet note I found yesterday. Hopefully with time this will loose some of the sourness and acid. Good not great at the moment. (87-89) But this may well turn out to be excellent in another decade.
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Lovely tempranillo on the cusp of early maturity. Pretty nose of earthy roses and transitions smoothly in to a smooth medium bodied wine. Juicy red fruit with a savory edge, mixed with hints of spice, tea and earth.
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color, garnet .. nose: intense brandied cherries palate: dry, acid med+ tannin med+ and like a cherry lozange in texture/concentration, body med alc 13.5 finish med+, long with cherry flavors ...
Style: Brandied cherry on the nose and palate, very smooth tannins and acid just short of med+. Good with lamb, salmon, very long smooth focused cherry.
Note: very close to a burgundy! in blind tasting, perhaps the only way to tell apart is that burgundy would have much more acid, sharper and more defined acid. Also, this was very "cherry lozange" as in a smooth, full, rich, concentrated flavor which hints of sun and altitutde, not cold grey burgundy weather.
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From a 0,375 ml bottle. Nowhere near the 94 Parker-points!! Just an ordinary rioja with an initial overwhelming nose of american oak reminding of a typical, cheap old-schoola rioja. With time, the oak integrated and the fruit emerged, though a bit muted. Cinnamon, leather, strawberries. Good balanced taste - strawberries and liquorice.
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for the first few hours it's mostly leather with some dill. nice firm, lightly drying tannins. this really does cry out for a food accompaniment. next morning the leather's gone and dill is definitely predominant, with the tannins having receded. 89-90
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Deep, dark, rich and chocolaty. A mix of dark fruits with secondary notes of leather, dill and herbs inherent from the American oak and bottle age. Mature and ready to go.
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Dark, cooked fruit flavor and distinct aroma. The wine evolved over the two days it was open. Balanced fruit flavor with a long finish. We think this wine should age well and will put a couple of bottles away.
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Decanted for two hours before tasting. Ruby with slightly brick coloured edges. Raspberries, strawberry liqueur, cedar and leather on the nose and palate. Fairly light bodied with lots of acidity. Decent length, although nothing spectacular. This was by all means a nice wine (and a lot better with food than on its own), but I must admit that I’m a bit disappointed given all the fabulous reviews and high scores. Readers should however bear in mind that I have very little experience with Rioja, so it’s difficult for me to set this particular effort into context.
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This is a blockbuster classic Rioja that brings all the subtleties of the medium bodied, vanilla, herbal, smoky cherry, with a forceful power that is marvelous. Wonderful now but can drink it for decades to come, it will be a delicious journey to see how this ages. I need cases of this wine.
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At Elche Restaurant, Barcelona, €32 off the list. No formal note. A notable contrast to the frequently tasted 2000, with darker, almost blackcurrant fruit, notable vanilla oak and only the beginnings of some cigar box development. Good intensity and length but not as elegant, fresh or, at least at this stage as drinkable as the previous vintage. Certainly made in a more modern style too.
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This was the real deal and one of the best wines I've drank in a while. This has old-style complexity with strong, assertive, perfectly ripened fruit -- but not over ripe or candied. Extrememly fragrant. Forest floor, wood spice (but not "woody"), dried flowers, sandalwood, minerals and plummy fruits. Mouthfilling, long and memorable. Fine, refined, almost invisible tannins. This has the legs to age.
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A multilayered, ever changing nose. Earth, pepper, dark fruits, plum. Is that white chocolate? Delicious fruit, balanced acid, soft tannins. Well structured. Long, smooth finish. Oh, so good. Drank this bottle over 8 hours and it was good to the last drop.
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Smooth, silky, round fruit. Orange peel, dark plummy sweet fruit, vanilla. Mature and drinking well. Not a lot of structure, but plenty of acid. Bright but with a dark fruit base. An interesting mix of dense low fruit and pretty high toned acid. B
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Dead Grape Society - Spanish Rojo (Luxembourg): Great medium garnet color. Aromatic nose showing some age but still retaining a youthful appeal. Cherries, oak, black licorice. On the wine explodes on the palate. Big flavors, red berries, leathers, some forest/woodyness, pepper and spice. But remained smooth through the mid palate and finish. Come through with complexity and an impact.
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Typical Rioja from a good year. Almost brick colored already and ready to drink. I dont think was massively consentratet but compared to Tondonia Reserva from last week its superior.
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Medium ruby color, brown rim. Nose of wet forrest floor, ripe fruit, pepper, dried flowers. Smooth entry and mid palate, fruity, leather and medium bodied for a long fruity and chocolate taste-like finish. Old style, good but did not thrill me. Needs food.
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Schnüffelwein - Tabak, rote Beeren, Rauch, Gewürze (Zimt & Vanille), Leder und Lakritz, Erde und Pilz; am Gaumen mit feinem, fast süßlichem Tannin, sehr langem Abgang; aristokratisch streng und trotzdem angenehm weich...
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Drank at Los Caracoles restaurant, Barcelona, from 375 ml bottle. Fairly dark ruby-garnet. Fantastic nose, expressive and complex with dried red fruits, berry liqueur, hints of leather, herbs, coffee, forrest floor and sweet tobacco. Mid-full bodied, perfectly textured with silky tanins, bright fruit, hints of tertiary flavors and high acidity. Long finish. At its peak. Great experience. Unbelievable value. Fantastic wine.
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This was the most amazing Rioja ever drunk. It had a very nice garnet rim and overall dark garnet core. The nose had so much going on - starting from dried fruit, forest, wet leaves, smoke, tobacco, mushrooms, a beautiful set of forest aromas, combined with a taste full of pronounced spice, minerals and dried fruit. It is to be comibed with food if to be enjoyed. Very long length and supple sweet tannins. Oak has integrated well. Should be drunk over the next 3 years. Cheers!
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Deep ruby color. Very complex, alluring nose of mountain herbs, flowers and grasses, spicebox and dried black cherry. Medium bodied on the palate with racy acidity and great presence. This was one to savor for a long time. Went very well with food.
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from 375mL, opened and poured after 30min. garnet with some orange on the rim. seductive nose with black cherry, spices (piment, cloves, vanilla), late summer meadow, coffee, chocolate-caramel, some phenolic notes. medium body, with some Port notes, very well balanced with gentle tannins and a good acid profile, wonderful finish with 18 Caudalie. appealing, traditionally made Rioja.
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4/23/2024 - hargy Likes this wine: 92 Points
the last of my bottles and without question the most delicious - mature without any hard edges and with the fruit still shining through, this was excellent - would be good for a few years yet
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4/10/2024 - Tgood wrote:
55F SAOR - Dense translucent ruby black - ready clean and fresh florally pushed sweet strawberries and plum - oak gone - amazing freshness for 23 yr old - rich velvety and alcoholic- a real vinous treat.
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3/17/2024 - lozatron Likes this wine:
Served from half. On pouring, a weird kind of volatility - almost floral / soapy? This blew off quite quickly and it got back to where it should be - thoroughly lovely, paired well with smoked beef and pork ribs and the 11:27 from Kings Cross to York.
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3/9/2024 - casjf Likes this wine: 92 Points
Fabulous pairing with clay pot lamb shank with potatoes, rosemary, apricots, almonds and Ras al hanout spice
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3/3/2024 - kevin h wrote: 91 Points
Great nose, very orange peel infused, with a bit of coffee and redcurrant. Nice mature flavours. Very good, complex and classic gravelly red fruit.
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2/28/2024 - Zweder Likes this wine: 91 Points
Drank from magnum. Beautiful bouquet with autumn forest impressions, coffee and mushrooms. Same on the palate. Some licorice, beautiful acidity. Still very much alive and was still a pleasure on day 2.
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2/13/2024 - honest bob wrote: 92 Points
From 75cl, defective cork crumbled into bottle on opening, filtered off into a decanter, wine seemed unaffected. I sometimes find the smell of American oak hard to take, but when the wine is this good, even the volatile/burning/dill gherkin notes seem to fit perfectly. Entry fatter and darker-fruited than I remember from previous bottles; bright mid-palate acidity. Alas my last bottle of this great vintage of Ardanza, but if you have stocks, they will surely hold for as long as you can keep your hands off them. 92P
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2/2/2024 - lozatron Likes this wine:
Small dinner with friends old and new (Heirloom Café): This was great - I was about to say super clean but maybe the slightest hint of VA? Real energy and zip. Tertiary character starting to show but the fruit is still there, and a real line to it. In spite of this being one of the best bottles of this I’ve had - I found myself drawn to the quieter pleasure of the Verité. Certainly neither of these reds was flattered by being tasted by the other.
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2/1/2024 - RajivAyyangar wrote: 92 Points
Heirloom with Leon and Laura (Heirloom, San Francisco): vinegar and dill!!! Lovely tertiary notes. Fig. Tamari. Red dried cherry. Great acid. Very soft tannins. It’s classic old Rioja. Lovely.
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1/25/2024 - Nedder_travels_the_world Likes this wine: 93 Points
Still aging gracefully with the brilliant acidity. Fully moved into the teriary flavors that come with age. all leather and cigar box. not much fruit left at this point.
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1/14/2024 - CGWIND Likes this wine: 90 Points
Nice and lively with plenty of fruit and spice.
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1/8/2024 - CWRF Likes this wine: 92 Points
Superb developed Rioja with plenty of legs left. Blackcurrant, black plum, leather, beefy, spicy, slightly tangy acidity. Long ++ finish. Probably more enjoyable than the Rioja Alta 904 2004 we had alongside it, although I think that bottle was imperfect. Very popular during tasting. (@Tufa, Rioja tasting I 2024).
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1/5/2024 - bordeauxman777 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Lively and vibrant with some signs of maturing gracefully, this beauty will continue to deliver for years to come. Lovely
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11/3/2023 - Bodyfxr wrote: 89 Points
Decanted for approximately 30 minutes before pouring then over the course of an hour and a half. Not as good as my last couple of bottles. The last one being over a year ago. Seemed a bit weak and thin on the palate. May be running out of gas. Will have to break into my last two for comparison. Hoping they are holding up better.
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10/12/2023 - chbeaumont wrote: 92 Points
Retains (disconcerting) deep colour; sumptuous nose, vanillin oak remains; luxurious texture, flashy fruit, refreshing acidity, good concentration; plenty on the finish with a moderne feel. This has time in hand. Best with food.
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10/8/2023 - jdporter3 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Still solid. Definitely a step up from the 2001 Pecina that we also drank this evening. Bright yet with some lovely cherry notes, dill mostly out of it. Will not improve but will go more time. No reason to wait.
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9/1/2023 - AudunG wrote: 91 Points
Fresh and relatively dark red color. Lovely developed aromas with dried red fruits, coffee, mushrooms, old cellar and liquorice root. Sweet-and-sour on the palate, with pronounced acidity and a long finish. This will last another 20 years!
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9/1/2023 - wardamnwine wrote: 90 Points
Mature
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7/29/2023 - lozatron Likes this wine:
Iberia Wimps July 2023 - Malhão de Estrela; 7/28/2023-7/30/2023 (La Trompette): My handwritten notes say "standard" but I have to say that while I really enjoyed this, I get the sense it's not one of the best bottles. It's all there but slightly disjointed - some good discussion at the table about how wine aged under American vs French Oak age - there is a sense in which the American oak never fully integrates, it's always there as a separate harmonic. A generously shared sip of the 904 from the same vintage was a clear step up.
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7/4/2023 - diggydan wrote: 91 Points
Secondary nose and some secondary flavors in the palate but still incredibly ripe and bordering on jammy fruit. It's big and dilly, still.
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7/1/2023 - funderwood10 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Blue hill stone barns 3rd bottle. This wine is at a great place. Still has strong primary fruit flavors but aromatics are more tertiary. Well integrated tannins providing structure but only a bit of grip. Very nice
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6/26/2023 - lozatron Likes this wine:
Post ride Sunday BBQ: From half. Interesting reading my notes how many of these halves have been opened, somewhat spontaneously, on hot evenings. Well - here we go, a warm night in London and it’s Ardanza time. Colour, garnet. Some zing on the nose, you get the american oak. On the palate - the oak is there of course, and that lovely acidity to balance it. Just great.
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6/18/2023 - lozatron Likes this wine:
From half. Precision and a kind of anime zing to it. The nose makes promises and the palate keeps them. Long and exciting. And so much upside - these will get better for at least a decade. Somehow though I was not meeting this where it was. Perhaps fatigue from the previous night’s exertions, or just the humidity and heat.
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6/9/2023 - DoubleMagnum Likes this wine: 92 Points
Solid bottle. Dark fruit, the oak is well integrated, the tannins are soft. The tertiaries are enchanting. It's at a great spot.
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5/31/2023 - azogas wrote: 95 Points
Nose: Rich aromas of dried cherries and plum, clove, toasted caramel and tobacco.
Palate: More darker fruit presents itself along with spices, violets, orange peel, leather and dried cedar. Very savoury with a balanced structure. In my opinion this is fully mature but nowhere close to even hinting that it might start to decline. The tannins are very fine and well integrated providing a very smooth and velvety mouthfeel. Very long finish.
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5/14/2023 - MattHo Likes this wine: 92 Points
As good as ever. Now all softened and well integrated, but fruit core still shining through.
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4/27/2023 - swiftr Likes this wine: 95 Points
Tasted after 5 other Riojas including two other well-regarded reservas including a 2006 Valenciso. It was plainly the best: very attractive perfume leaps out of the glass, then lots of sweet fruit at first tasting, developing depth and complexity with the smoky character typical of Ardanza present but not dominant because the other elements were so well balanced. It lasts and lasts, demanding time in the mouth before swallowing. A great wine, fully deserving its “especial” designation.
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4/22/2023 - redstrip Likes this wine: 93 Points
this was amazing! beauty of a wine with its super present freshnes (light fruit of cherries) and nice acid level. wow! all flavours nicely embedded despite its light density. buy more and store;)
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3/31/2023 - cobbpa wrote: 91 Points
Still lively, mostly shown through aromatics & the nice supporting acid. Tannins barely perceptible but likely has a couple/few years left. Cedar, dried florals, a bit of dry forest floor on the nose. Fruit is in the red / dark red range and not too dried out; pretty fresh given the age. Smooth medium mouthfeel with some herbal tinges.
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3/18/2023 - rustyRudy Likes this wine: 95 Points
Brick red, modest nose, tea, red cherry, licorice, cranberry and persistent tannins
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3/13/2023 - rdcolema Likes this wine: 90 Points
Spice, pepper, red fruit
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1/25/2023 - Chekib m. Likes this wine: 94 Points
This was excellent.
Light to medium garnet.
Typical aged nose, with aromas of stewed fruits, dried nuts, leather, vanilla.
Light to medium body, soft and elegant, savoury, with intense flavours of stewed fruits, ripe red berries, vanilla.
Very long after taste. Great complexity, balance and energy for an aged rioja.
I still remember a bottle of 1988 I drink few years ago which was so perfect aged rioja. This one is as good with less age. Ridiculous QPR.
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1/17/2023 - short and confused wrote:
drinking perfectly. Lots of fruit still. Wow.
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12/30/2022 - MrD Likes this wine:
Really nice acidity and bright fruit (cherry?) with a bit of a barnyard finish.
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12/14/2022 - Livonietisr Likes this wine: 94 Points
Deep ruby/garnet color with discoloration on edges. Intense aromas of cassis, prunes, lemon, spices, tobacco, vanilla. High acidity, medium body, medium chewy tannins. Taste of cherry jam, balsamico, spices. Wine is complex, intense and elegant. Superb old style Rioja. Will keep last bootle 5 years.
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11/27/2022 - Old School Fan Likes this wine: 92 Points
Classic LRA Ardanza. Still very young and primary. Sour cherry, tomato, and some earth/forest floor. Perfectly integrated oak. Elegant. Balanced. This is drinking great now if you prefer more fruit. I'd like to see this in 10-15 years. A pleasure to drink!
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11/24/2022 - SimonG wrote: 93 Points
Work tasting and dinner (Home): Deep ruby. Really obvious creamy vanilla on the nose. Mellow mulberry and damson fruit, velvety frame, but with some quite grippy tannin still evident. After a couple of days open in the fridge this has softened and mellowed and shows more raspberry fruit. Drinkable now but its best years are ahead of it. ***(*)
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9/26/2022 - PDavisMarble wrote: 91 Points
Consistent but not quite as spectacular as the last bottle.
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9/11/2022 - VineShoot wrote:
Con costillas de cerdo adobadas a la brasa. Bien momento de consumo
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9/10/2022 - lozatron Likes this wine:
Friday Night - dinner with the kids followed by Sandman: From half - hadn't planned to open it but we were enjoying the previous bottle so much we just felt like an extra glass. Double decanted and quickly chilled. Just lovely - the balance of the fruit, the still present American oak and the acidity works perfectly. Of course they have decades ahead of them but there's no shame in drinking something which gives such pleasure now.
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9/10/2022 - Janstan Likes this wine: 90 Points
Went well with char-grilled flank steak and tomatoes and dukes in chimichurri sauce
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9/1/2022 - sharonandroland wrote: 94 Points
Every time delivering a great wine experience. Still getting better.
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8/13/2022 - lozatron Likes this wine:
Wine and BBQ Dinner (At home in leafy West London): Bonus half bottle opened at the last minute. My favourite of the Riojas - really shining - although I did chill it, and wonder if the others would have benefitted from being cooler?
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7/4/2022 - Bodyfxr wrote: 94 Points
This baby is singing. Going on 21 years with gas still left in the tank. A beautiful nose of red fruits and florals with the same on the palate with strawberry dominating. Balanced and supple. This wine is in a really good place and I can't imagine it getting any better. Matt loved it! Drink up!
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5/20/2022 - hargy wrote:
pristine cork but ... corked!! Not rated
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4/1/2022 - Janstan Likes this wine: 94 Points
Great with Spanish phyllo calzone
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3/19/2022 - lozatron Likes this wine:
Oliver's glorious Steak and Rioja lunch (The London Borough of Waltham Forest): Mmmmmm. This is a wonderful wine, drinking just as it should be.
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3/17/2022 - Paul D wrote: 92 Points
RZ's Rioja Offline (Ariana II, Kilburn): Blackcurrant fruited nose, youthful with spice and vanilla. Medium/full bodied, quite rich and dense still, sweet blackcurrant fruit, vanilla, soft tannins, fresh acidity. Long finish. Excellent, just about drinking but probably still some upside here.
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3/17/2022 - lozatron Likes this wine:
RZ's Rioja Dinner (Ariana II): This has almost become my reference wine at this stage. Never fails to delight. Consistently superb - and fully ready to drink now. Just edged it to be my WOTN - although I could just have easily chosen the Tondo 05.
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3/6/2022 - CGWIND Likes this wine: 91 Points
Lots of lovely fruit and spice and structure Paired well with goulash.
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2/23/2022 - wineordeath Likes this wine: 91 Points
Just entering maturity. Beautiful nose full of sweet fruit. The wood is integrating well and the fruit is now dominant. Tannins are becoming soft and silky, but are still present so this is still in early maturity. Distinct acidity balances the fruit, but makes this a food wine. Delicious and possibly 92pts.
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2/14/2022 - viniferatu Likes this wine:
Aromas of cherry jam, ripe blue and black plum, cranberry, tobacco, dark miso, iodine, dill, clove, diverse airy spices, a little roasted meat, roses and dried orange peel... Full and savory on the palate, lots of dark and spicy flavors, mostly dark fruit but there's bright red cherry and cranberry too, resolved tannins, tangy acids. Long finish is earthy, woody and herbal, a clear dill note competes with tangy stone fruits, toasty spice and antique cabinetry. This is mature, but will surely keep going for another 10+, and may very well improve.
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1/29/2022 - Teti76 Likes this wine: 92 Points
As usual my favourite did not dissapoint, fantastic! Enjoyed with roe deer steak. However, as last time again bad quality dry cork, which is surprising for this vinyard or Rioja at all from my experience. Wine had luckily not been affected though!
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1/25/2022 - CWilliam wrote: 94 Points
Last of 6 bottles enjoyed over the past 9 years. Outstanding QPR and a testament to how Rioja, in the traditional style, can age. Score is not influenced by QPR to be clear.
Dark red color with very fine sediment. Stunning nose - soy, meat, dark cherry, tobacco, fig and orange rind - awesome mix of sweet and savory. Palate was similar ex. soy/meat. Medium body, medium+ acidity, very fine tannins and very long finish. Excellent. 94+/- Viva Espania!
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1/20/2022 - PDavisMarble wrote: 91 Points
From 1/2 bottle. Some bricking, an open-knit, generous bouquet. Tobacco, cigar box, some cherry and plum with a top note of of roses. This bottle is a touch more mature than the last bottle which was a 750ml. The first sip was loaded with the tobacco and cedar notes, but as it opened in the glass, teh fruit emerged. Raspberries and currants, blueberries and blackberries, and a rich mouthfeel. Refreshing acid and a longish finish. This is a thoroughly enjoyable, hedonistic wine without being heavy, overly big or cloying. Time to drink the 375’s.
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1/14/2022 - Rezy13 wrote:
$100+ Blind Tasting (Bin 75 Alpharetta, GA): Chocolate core with orange rim; less structure especially after previous wine, age, nutty, Burgundian of sorts, cedar, vanilla, faint dill, elegant; would have liked to have had this earlier to pick out more nuance; definitely liked it more than previous tasting.
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1/14/2022 - dougsmith wrote: 93 Points
Still going strong.
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1/7/2022 - Ernestas Likes this wine: 92 Points
Always a pleasure to come back to one of the finest Riserva’s of Rioja and only a 3rd Especial ever made by La Rioja Alta. Medium garnet red. Intense and rich aroma with rustic touches, notes of cherries, dried cranberries and raspberries, clove, violets, old cupboard and medicinal hints. Medium body, rich and well polished, complex and elegant, lifted by bright medium+ acidity, grained chewy tannins, ripe red fruit flavours along spices and long finish.
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1/2/2022 - TheFoodieTraveler Likes this wine: 94 Points
Well integrated, still very fresh and could handle more years
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12/19/2021 - HarryDola Likes this wine: 93 Points
Very smooth and well rounded, at its peak now wouldn’t wait much longer
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12/18/2021 - PDavisMarble wrote: 93 Points
Wow. First full bottle from the case. This is still young and mostly primary. Absolutely decadent and delightful. Boysenberry, cinnamon, cedar, nice structure and enough acid to keep it from being jammy. At least another 10 years before this peaks, but it's going to be hard to wait.
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12/5/2021 - empire80 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Love this wine! A core of slightly sour cherry fruit, enveloped in complex layers of cedar spice and earthy notes. Coming to the end of a case, but really no rush at all. Bargain at less than £20!
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10/30/2021 - DoubleMagnum Likes this wine: 94 Points
Beautiful bottle. At peak of maturity. Notes of cherry, leather, and tobacco. The oak has melded into the wine and the acidity gives it great lift. The finish is very long. In a great stage and this should linger for a few years under good storage.
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10/28/2021 - hdn Likes this wine: 92 Points
20 jaar op de teller en op z'n top. Mooi rijpe wijn, een waar genot om van te genieten bij een paar stukjes charcuterie.
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10/23/2021 - Nothung Likes this wine: 94 Points
As always, a beautiful expression of Rioja. Opened for 4 hours, then decanted an hour, which was about right. A bit more wouldn’t have hurt. Wine has plenty of years ahead of it.
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10/16/2021 - lozatron Likes this wine:
"Running" Club Rich Man / Poor Man dinner (The leafy West London suburbs): Woof! "I'm going to stop drinking through these so fast" he said. "They're going to run out before long" he said. And yet - so hard to stop drinking these. Reliably wonderful. Deep expressive nose - just a hint maybe of undergrowth. On the palate - the oak is clearly there, some high toned red fruit notes, but all so well integrated. If Carlsberg made wine... My #1 wine of the night.
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9/21/2021 - Klugi Wine Likes this wine: 92 Points
Excellent Rioja with a bouquet of vanilla from the american oak, tobacco, spices and blackberries. The palate is smooth, but not very evolved. Since I had a few bottles over the last decade, it's quite interesting that this wine develops quite slowly. I don't see this to change over the next decade.
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9/21/2021 - lozatron Likes this wine:
BWC X1 Dinner - Hawksmoor: Double decanted just before lunch. Best bottle of these I've had - so balanced, so refined, and somehow the oak just felt a little better integrated than the last bottle. No rush for these but in a really good place just now. 2nd WOTN for me.
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9/16/2021 - rossi.wine wrote: 93 Points
Tasted next to 2005/2009/2010 Ardanza and 2001 904. Excellent bottle. Notes of spices, tobacco, red fruit, orange peel, hint of vanilla. Soft and generous on the palate, good acidity. Complex, mellow and long. 92-94
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9/10/2021 - dougsmith Likes this wine: 93 Points
Deep garnet color. This gorgeous Rioja is still going strong at 20. Loads of peppery spice, tobacco leaf, leather, and red berries. Medium bodied with a long, juicy finish.
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8/19/2021 - Ron Van Holland wrote: 94 Points
At a dinner party with a Premier Crus Côte de Nuit pinot and a Central Coast pinot, this magnificent Red Rioja blew the doors off. No contest. It's the time we've waited for, I have no idea how long it will last. Previously noted 2013, 2014, 2015.
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8/19/2021 - kingkanu wrote:
I think this still needs a little air to get going but it’s starting to hit maturity, the oak is getting more integrated, the tannins have melted, there’s some lovely leather and spice notes along with bright and vibrant cherry fruit, the acidity is just right. Plenty of time ahead too
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7/18/2021 - Ardross Likes this wine: 94 Points
Utterly outstanding as for 2018 bottle but with an extra layer of complexity and a touch of old leather
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5/31/2021 - PhillyWiggles wrote:
Memorial Day epic bordelaise burger with Galina
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4/4/2021 - lozatron Likes this wine:
My plan to leave these and consume one or two every year has somewhat failed - more like one or two every month at the moment. Thoroughly lovely - ready to drink but a long way ahead of it. Singing red fruit in balance with the American oak - so good to drink now but I think it will be amazing in a few years.
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4/2/2021 - JOsgood wrote:
Nice wine, well aged and good pair with a burger.
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3/14/2021 - honest bob wrote: 93 Points
From 75cl, perfect cork, decanted 1 hour. An exquisite bottle. Bright red fruit (redcurrant/cranberry/morello) with just a hint of darker (loganberry?) in there somewhere, also gentle fresh tobacco, very gentle leather, and of course vanilla, but not the in-your-face American oak of less successful bottles of Tondonia. All in all: rather more like a wonderful old red Burgundy than a typical 20-year-old Rioja. Tannins fully resolved, but still plenty of delicate structure. Bright acidity. This superb bottle could have lasted another decade. 93–94P
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2/16/2021 - jschnabel wrote: 91 Points
Still great acidity, but the wine is drinking at peak now. The nose is stewed dark fruit and wet mushroom and forest floor. The taste is more dark cherry and a cedar finish. A nice dry wine to pair well with a fatty steak or a nice lamb chop!
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2/14/2021 - lozatron Likes this wine:
Valentines Weekend Wines: Popped and poured. Drunk too quickly with lasagne. Colour - purplish-red. On the nose - vibrant, oak and forest floor and a hint of red fruits. On the palate - the American oak is clearly there, but well integrated, and there's an acidity to it that gives everything definition and makes it almost thrilling. Not as enjoyable as the 1989 of this wine I drank over Christmas, but I feel that this will be a better wine when it gets to that age. Hopefully I will be able to exercise sufficient restraint to have some of this left in 10-15 years time.
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2/12/2021 - Goldstone Likes this wine: 88 Points
Chú Xī (除夕) Dinner at Home for Chinese New Year (Our House, Hong Kong): Opened and shared with friends at our place over a home-cooked Cantonese traditional new year day dinner. Decanted for 5 hours. Hard to pin down. Cranberries. Light. Quite dilute. Hard to figure where this is headed. Have had better bottles.
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2/11/2021 - SimonG wrote: 93 Points
Mid ruby with a touch of deep garnet at the rim. Starting to settle comfortably in to early maturity. Mellow mulberry and damson fruit, velvety frame, hints of leather and spice and still a healthy dose of vanilla on the nose. Lovely, very drinkable now but years ahead. ****
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1/19/2021 - pigdaddy wrote: 90 Points
decanted one hour. muddy ruby center, lightening on the rim: nose is toasted & nutty, red currant jam, sweet brown spice, worn leather, eucalyptus; silky palate weight; ripe, yet restrained, red fruits, leathery & earthy; fine-toned acidity, tannins mostly resolved.
when young, this was a pickle barrel-inflected pina colada w/exaggerated fruit; wasn't sure if correct, or more importantly, the wisdom of purchasing it. now, shows its oak, but is integrated, & well, more enjoyable.
pork medallions 'au poivre'; smothered cabbage w/spicy pickle vinaigrette; mustardy lentils
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1/9/2021 - DK Amateur Likes this wine:
Decanted an hour, Zalto universal glass. Simply a fine and mature wine with dark fruits, some oak, caramel and good depth. I didn't find strawberries, maybe they disappear with age. Smooth with healthy acidity and moderate sweetness. Not terribly long but such a pleasure.
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12/30/2020 - cweiss Likes this wine:
VERY good and in its drinking window but no hurry. American oak certainly in evidence but a welcome component rather than overblown now, and there is plenty of sweet fruit remaining. An excellent match for glazed baked ham.
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12/27/2020 - MattHo Likes this wine: 92 Points
Opened a bottle to go with Christmas lunch: turkey, sausages, cranberry sauce etc. Beautiful - really settled and integrated. Good berry + cassis nose, good structure without being tough. Lovely.
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12/26/2020 - cch1966 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Deep garnet. Black berries, vanilla and herbs. Well balanced. Silky. Medium long finish.
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12/6/2020 - BHRH Likes this wine: 94 Points
Double decanted two hours prior - just a little bit of silty sediment. Enticing aromas out of the decanter - cherries, some raspberry, herbs, oak and vanilla. Terrific mouthfeel, lots of red fruits combined with herbs, balsamic and animal meat. long, sweet finish with just enough oak tannins and acid to provide good balance for food. Seems at peak, but well stored bottles should hold another 5+ years. Superb!!
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12/5/2020 - Teti76 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Excellent with moose, fullbodied, oak. Wine has peaked, but still very high standard. Never dissapointed on this wine, although the cork was of surprisingly bad quality this time.
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12/2/2020 - DoubleMagnum Likes this wine: 94 Points
Another beautiful bottle. Similar to the one we drank earlier this year. Entering the peak of maturity but very lively, vibrant with great density and length. It still has quite a lot of life left.
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11/14/2020 - microbox Likes this wine: 92 Points
Fully in bloom. Drink now.
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11/13/2020 - lightning wrote: 91 Points
Light to medium garnet. Attractive and complex nose of red fruits, a dash of vanilla and dill, forest floor; acid spine emerges on entry and remains throughout, a smidge of tannins remain, red fruit, twist of licorice, medium bodied, good length.
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10/25/2020 - Nahebub Likes this wine: 90 Points
gut gereift nach 19 Jahren und schön zu trinken. Etwas fruchtiger als Vina Tondonia aus dem gleichen Jahr. Hält sich noch Jahre. Freue mich auf die nächste Flasche im nächsten Jahr.
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10/13/2020 - SimonG wrote: 93 Points
Slightly darker than the Tondo, dark red fruit with a good core of raspberry. Slightly brighter acidity too but with lots of mid-palate padding. Resolving nicely. Properly integrated and just at the start of its window but with a couple of decades of potential. Really very good. ****
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10/11/2020 - robs_r Likes this wine:
Fully resolved tannins, medium body, bright acidity, long, drinks top now. A pleasure. No need to wait but will hold.
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10/3/2020 - Paul D wrote: 91 Points
3/8, crumbly cork. Decanted then served.
Deep ruby/garnet core, pale garnet rim. Aromatic nose with strawberry, vanilla, touch of leather and spice. Medium bodied, polished, fully resolved tannins, strawberry fruit, a middleweight wine with fresh/vibrant acidity and a long, harmonious gently leathery/spicy finish. Drinking well.
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8/22/2020 - ssDevNull Likes this wine:
Drinking the final bottle from our cellar. Definitely aged, a bit beyond the peak, but still good. The dark cherries are very forward, a bit of leather, with only a little tannin left for the finish.
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8/17/2020 - SteelerFan wrote: 91 Points
Drinking well. Smooth, medium body, berry and cigar and lightly sour (pleasantly) tinge.
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8/4/2020 - sharonandroland Likes this wine: 94 Points
Well developed, but full of fruit. Very complex and just yummy
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7/24/2020 - Cochon74 Likes this wine:
Classic rioja... this wine exhibited all the textbook traits in the nose and on the palate. There was a bit more of an oak presence than I expected, but it was harmonious.
The tannins had resolved almost entirely, and the fruit, while still present and somewhat bright, had married with the secondary traits so the overwhelming impression was of balsamic roasted strawberries served on a leather plate
Balance, poise, and gusto all come together in this bottle. Drink now, or hold for a few more years - while I think it’s done developing in the bottle, it doesn’t seem to be in danger of fading.
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7/5/2020 - WetRock wrote:
Still big and somewhat brash. The wood is still prominent of course but it's integrating nicely with the fruit. They seemed to be playing off one another. Very expressive and showing plenty of complexity. The nose and palate are lively and precocious. There is some tartness that made me wonder about tartaric additions. It's not way out of balance give the expression of the fruit now but it certainly seemed more tart than a red should be. On the second night this went more subtle showing some more mature leather and balsamic notes. I enjoyed this quite a bit. Really good but don't put it in front of wood-o-phobes. It is a classic Rioja in most respects.
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7/5/2020 - Veg Likes this wine:
This is just fantastic now. Smooth as anything with lovely vanilla notes.
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6/30/2020 - Rhone Rick Likes this wine: 93 Points
Just amazing!! Drink them now, but you will love them. Faded berries, tobacco and leather. Smooth, subtle with a long finish. Slight sour note as it is aging, otherwise flawless.
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6/26/2020 - johnmfedorko wrote:
Bret's favorite wine of the evening (3rd bottle drank)
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5/31/2020 - chefj79 Likes this wine:
375, drink now
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5/5/2020 - Lordswood wrote: flawed
Slight TCA taint.
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4/25/2020 - wineshlub wrote: 92 Points
Opened one hour in advance. Used a corkscrew and the cork disintegrated, I should have used the ah-so. Cinnamon aroma on top, fresh berry fruit underneath. Flavors of cherry, tobacco. There was a bit of dill in there on first opening, but it integrated with time. Full, rich cherry finish.
This is classic Rioja, and it's just coming into its own. The cork may have been shot, but the wine itself is going strong.
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4/6/2020 - ID wrote:
Over the hill. Had that dead, balsamic aspect of a wine that is well in the other side of its peak. Fruit is gone, with no trade-off to show for it.
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3/24/2020 - Doblk Likes this wine: 95 Points
I liked it before but this is now great. Sweet cedar and vanilla nose. Palate is now well integrated. Tart black fruit, soft tannin, cedar and smoke. I have one more that I may drink soon as I don’t see it getting better.
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2/27/2020 - Lordswood wrote: 91 Points
A much better bottle. Still masses of acidity but matched by a depth of cranberry, raspberry and plum fruit. The finish is seriously long and tasty. Decant at least 2 hours before drinking. Preferably more. This still has some ageing to do....
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2/25/2020 - rojoloco wrote: 91 Points
Nothing wrong with it though a little one dimensional for the first 2 hours plus. It eventually developed some secondary flavors. Goes down easily. A little thin at first but easy drinking.
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2/25/2020 - DoubleMagnum Likes this wine: 94 Points
Wow... This bottle is so much better than my last one. I popped and audozed for an hour. The nose is not as funky and there are notes of red cherry, red plum, charred wood, leather, tobacco. On the palate it has pronounced intensity. It is dry and vibrant with medium plus acidity, polished tannins, medium plus body and medium alcohol. No heat detected. Cedar and dried cranberry notes pop in the mouth. The finish is long, dry and complex. What a beautiful bottle. I hope my next one performs as well. Cheers!
PAIRING: Pollo a la Brasa Peruano [A+]
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2/20/2020 - johnmfedorko wrote:
Getting a little iffy....cork always seems to fail.
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2/15/2020 - fjd1960 wrote:
Gave as a gift to Osorio’s
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2/12/2020 - Herschel Krustofski Likes this wine: 92 Points
Coravin sample from a bottle that was professionally stored with the Wine Society for 7 years or so; recently retrieved.
Classic aged Rioja nose, red fruit with rather bright cranberry, orange peel notes that I usually find in the Ardanza. Acidity is evident but not excessively so after breathing. Still best with food.
15 minute decant is essential, maybe a little more (my sample's aeration was enhanced because I filtered it with a coffee filter to avoid any trace of floating sediment that I get with a standard/vintage Coravin needle; I've yet to try the multi-hole strainer-like needle).
Holding on nicely and certainly much better than the bottle that languished in the flat the last two years and lost a bit of edge - some wines survived the heatwave stored in north facing room but a few clearly suffered. Not enough wine fridge space in the flat - all reserved for Coravin-accessed wines that become much more sensitive to temperature variation when gas/liquid ratio increases (because gas will expand more, increasing pressure). Even if you start with a noble-gas like Argon, temperature and pressure fluctuations could allow oxygen in (when a warm bottle cools down). Here endeth the physics lesson.
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1/27/2020 - Lordswood wrote: 88 Points
Pop'n'Pour. The first impression was a wave of acidity followed by a wave of reddish fruits, strawberries mxed in with something darker. Once the two came together the whole became very moreish. But probably best to have this with food.
Absolutely no rush to drink, in my opinion!
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1/24/2020 - Paul D wrote: 93 Points
From Magnum. Medium/deep garnet. Nose shows creamy red fruit, vanilla, coconut, dill. Quite a lot of oak. Medium/full bodied, waves of lovely ripe strawberry fruit, quite rich and broad but with lovely contrasting acidity, soft tannins, touch of orange peel on the long, harmonious finish. Lovely and more to come in this format
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1/18/2020 - PDavisMarble wrote: 93 Points
This has meaningfully evolved over teh past few years. Drunk out of a 1/2 bottle. Beautiful round, red fruits. elongated finish. Sweet nose. Baking spices and cedar are secondary notes as the wine opens. Beautiful.
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1/5/2020 - "Rhône Rider" Likes this wine: 94 Points
Rubin farge med mursteinsrød kant. Tørket solmodne jordbær, karamell, smør, marsipan. I munnen friskere med parfyme, jordbær mineraler, tobakk, karamell, lakris. Skogbunn og blomster i ettersmak. Lang, ren og frisk. Så presis og rødbærspreget. Dette synger burgund, Rioja ble nevt. Helt polert, detaljert. Ekstrem syre. 93-94
Volnay, Chambertin eller kanskje pommard ble gjettet rundt bordet. Så ren og pen!!
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1/2/2020 - Bodyfxr wrote: 94 Points
Slow oxed. This wine continues to hold up beautifully. Its hue remains quite youthful with slight bricking on the edges. The nose is interesting and complex with a mixture of red and dark fruits, some menthol and herbal earth notes. On the palate, strawberry, cherry, licorice, and wild mushroom. Yummy. Love this wine. Great qpr. Drink or hold.
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12/31/2019 - DoubleMagnum Likes this wine: 92 Points
Medium garnet in color. It is light violet around the edge. Red fruited nose with wet leather, raw cedar and faisandage. The nose is wilder than I recall. It is gaining complexity as time goes by. On the palate it is dry with high acidity and mild medium tannins, well integrated into the juice. The finish is dry and of mid length.
At nineteen years old, it's hard to call it advanced but maturity has definitely arrived. Is there room for development? I'd say a handful of years, and then the decline will commence. Start drinking now.
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12/24/2019 - johnmfedorko wrote:
Gave one to Shannon for help with Japanese hotels for Olympics
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11/9/2019 - Ardross Likes this wine: 92 Points
Very good even though it is apparently from the dodgy LH102 batch .
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11/9/2019 - king-bing Likes this wine:
Good without (yet) being great. Still a fair whack of vanilla, but smooth palate and slightly spicy finish. No real fruitiness but red fruited in style. Not loads of complexity either. Accomplished without being gripping. Hard to know whether this will really hit the heights in the future.
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11/3/2019 - lolo66 wrote: 91 Points
slowly the oak is getting integrated, but this wine is still in need of a long decant and aeration. With air, there is ample sweet cherries infused with a healthy does of orange peel. ncie acidity and structure. This will be long lived and can easily see enjoying this for next 20-30 years.
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10/26/2019 - Alexroy wrote: 92 Points
Sweet plums, long.
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10/20/2019 - Justinagogo Likes this wine: 93 Points
一鼻子咸鲜的味道直冲脑门(褒义),Fur/Gamy/酒精度也不低,肯定不是波尔多勃艮第系(要区分Earthy和Gamy),但有那么点像罗纳河谷(马厩的Gamy)但是它香气更犀利,杯中醒一下,甜美的桶香浮现出来—甜美的Coconut/Vanilla,仿佛一杯酒喝出了两种风格,由此也可以明确指向西班牙美国桶的特征;长时间陈年下单宁已经很柔顺非常易饮,是我喜欢的风格(西班牙还是要喝老年份的哇)
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10/4/2019 - SimonG wrote: 91 Points
Mid ruby to garnet. Briary red fruit, a touch of leather and woodsmoke. Bright. In a slightly halfway stage; moved beyond primary vanilla-oaked fruit but not yet at full secondary complexity. Reasonably long. Positive finish. ****
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9/23/2019 - empire80 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Very consistent with my previous notes; perfectly mature classically styled rioja, sappy cherry fruit, vanilla spice, and a beautifully long finish.
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9/14/2019 - James Kim Likes this wine: 92 Points
From memory. Decanted for 1h then back into bottle and drank over 3h. Lovely rich blackberries and barely ripe plums, tobacco, mushrooms, earth, and herbs with still a hint of dill. Balanced by nice acids. Drank well and becoming more balanced with greater depth as the night wore on.
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9/14/2019 - rhit wrote:
Now firmly out of an energetic phase, but open and beautifully rich with sour cream, dill, cedar flavors and sweet fruit. Delicious, and gives the impression that it’ll stay like this for a bit.
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8/27/2019 - honest bob wrote: 91 Points
From 75cl, excellent cork, decanted 1 hour, continued to improve until final drop. I think recent TN scores are inflationary, but there is no doubt that this bottle is a model of loveliness, a fully-mature, silky-smooth, red-fruited, not-too-heavily-american-oaked dream of traditional Rioja. Gorgeous, but let's remember that there are still brighter stars in the 2001 LRA firmament (904 / 809) and other superb 2001s (Ygay Historic Vintage, Tondonia Gran Reserva) which are still to be released, and will surely stake out the mid-90s range more exactly. 91P
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8/26/2019 - CWilliam wrote: 94 Points
PNP and paired with grilled lamb chops.
Red/brown color with a fair amount of fine sediment - showing it's age. Very savory, beautiful, nose - sweet tobacco, saline, meat, iron, dried cherry and all-spice. Palate had similar complexity and flavor profile. High acidity, medium tannins and very long finish. Probably my favorite Rioja. 94+/-
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8/25/2019 - alanh13 wrote:
Served with beef bourguignon, decanted one hour. This was delicious. Classic Rioja aromas of oak, dill and olive. It was quite spicy too. Went really well with the food. Lots of life left in this.
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8/24/2019 - johnmfedorko wrote:
Cork was somewhat faulty, and not the first time it occurred recently
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8/23/2019 - johnmfedorko wrote:
Cook was somewhat defective, coming apart on opening.
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8/19/2019 - wicozani Likes this wine: 94 Points
This was first opened and decanted for three hours on Sunday evening to pair with slow-roasted St. Louis-style pork spareribs. It was nicely open, featuring cherry, red alpine currant, Herbs de Provence, and sandalwood. Was vacuumed and opened up again on Monday evening to accompany grilled beef kabobs. Wow! Now this was fully opened, literally soaring from the glass on both nose and palate. Decidedly full-bodied now, with a powerful mid-palate that almost tears up your eyes. This is still very youthful, and those who claim this is over-the-hill are obviously inexperienced with top-quality Rioja wines. This was nirvana for this red fruit-loving red wine drinker! Highly recommended.
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8/10/2019 - fc1910 Likes this wine: 92 Points
My third Magnum from this vintage, if you have to share some fine wine at a big family barbecue this format is prudent, very intense fine nose, lots of herbs, dark fruit in the background, on the palate still fresh and very lively, the herbal touch is prominent here again, very good pairing with all kinds of meat, an energetic acid showing in the long finish, evolves in the glass with more aeration, this bottling is from normal bottle in its beginning prime, no need to hurry, in wellstored bottles and from MG(+) with a long life ahead, I would guess a decade++, great bottle, outstanding, **(**), 91,92(+) potential
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7/28/2019 - Rickets Likes this wine: 94 Points
Just really good. lots of time left too. classically styled aged rioja. I really should have more rioja in my cellar.
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7/24/2019 - rossi.wine wrote:
From a half bottle over dinner, no formal notes. Quite evolved with fully resolved tannins. Expressive, layered and open on both nose and palate, at times a little flabby and tired. Very enjoyable still. 88-90?
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7/24/2019 - SkyCellar Likes this wine: 93 Points
Very nice
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7/18/2019 - RCBAROLO wrote: 95 Points
One of my all time favorites Exceptional
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7/14/2019 - jkoenen wrote: 92 Points
Crranberries, warm plumpudding, compost, porcini, cinnamon, dill and gingerbread. Well-judged acidity adds freshness and intensity to the otherwise slightly gloomy and brooding aromatics.
Very nice.
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7/12/2019 - pcwoz Likes this wine: 92 Points
Opened one tonight with some bbq. Amazing stuff. Totally in the drinking window. It’s drinking well. Loads of coconuts and spice and cherry. I saw a note from GOLDSTONE that said thai green chicken curry and cherry. I can definitely see that!!
Had it in a magnum sized decanter for an hour. It’s in the window, but I think will last and possibly improver for ages.
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6/27/2019 - rossi.wine wrote: 90 Points
From magnum. Complex nose with notes of spices, smoke, vanilla, red and dark fruit, old leather. Slightly vegetal at times which I didn’t pick up with previous bottles and I found slightly unpleasant. Less complex on the palate compared to the nose but very nicely balanced - generous, vibrant, spicy. Good length. 89-91
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6/21/2019 - SeaWine Likes this wine: 93 Points
2nd of 2 bottles, and this was significantly better than the other somewhat uninspiring bottle I had in 2017, so I am assuming bottle variation.
Classic, bright and fresh but with the complexity one would expect at 18 years past vintage. On day 1 in a blind tasting, this was the group's #1 out of 9 other Rioja Reservas and Gran Reservas, including 5 bottles of LRA 904 Gran Reserva from vintages 2004/2005/2009 (some of which, in an interesting blind twist, were duplicated). This was my #2 in that flight, behind one of the two 2005 LRA 904s.
Floral notes on the palate mixed with light earthy and cherry Lifesaver and/or liqueur, the latter in a good way - not over the top. Quite tasty, and good on its own and with food. Surprisingly to me, I actually enjoyed this more on day 2 than on day 1. 92-93
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6/16/2019 - Bodyfxr wrote: 94 Points
Decanted for about 2 hours. Had with grilled tomahawk ribeye and dessert. Yum. This wine is so expressive right now and in such a good place. See previous notes. Drink up.
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5/27/2019 - John McCabe wrote: 92 Points
Better than I remember. Racy, sunburned leather, red fruit, a bit steely. Well-balanced.
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5/9/2019 - Goldstone Likes this wine: 91 Points
Dinner For Returning Friends (Our House, Hong Kong): Decanted for 2+ hours then drank slowly over the next four. The 10th time I have drank this wine. Dark, semi-opaque purple/ruby colour...still looks very young. Nose of Thai chicken green curry - galangal, fresh ginger, chicken broth, small Thai green aubergines - plus some lovely dark fresh cherry fruit. Palate is light, bright, fresh but starting to show a touch of cherry liqueur. Very high-toned piano notes ....but followed by massive heady cherry-toned 'lightness but weight'. This is a wine that polarises opinions but ....not having drank it for a couple of years... I'm now more convinced than ever that it needs another 10+ years to show its true colours. The last glass, 7 hours from opening, was by far the best. 91+ with lots of headroom.
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4/17/2019 - maxima wrote: 89 Points
Encore pas mal boisé et empyreumatique.
On va attendre encore un eu pour les autres!
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4/6/2019 - Alexroy wrote: 94 Points
After a couple of hours this starts to open up. Still young and fresh, tight structure. Bright fruit, raspberry, long. Beautiful structure, lovely wine.
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3/30/2019 - Geoffy Likes this wine: 95 Points
Per my previous notes, but.....Took the 2nd half, night 2 down my to local to share with wine enthusiasts. They were blown away, and now get all the fuss about fine wine. To be honest, I got bored with all the flavours/aromas they were calling out (only joking) but came away delighted that they had experienced that life-changing wine moment. Brilliant!
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3/27/2019 - ricard Likes this wine: 95 Points
A classic in every sense. And yet another example of the vintage of the century so far in Rioja. Superb nose of truffles, leather, tobacco, vanilla ice cream. Velvety, soft, pillowy and luxurious. Stewed fruit compote with cinnamon (blackberries, prunes). Beautifully long and sensual finish. An absolutely lovely wine. The 20% Garnacha gives lift and structure to the Tempranillo.
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3/3/2019 - Budie Does not like this wine:
Skunked
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3/1/2019 - jdporter3 Likes this wine:
Most definitely drink it now. Fine, but will not get better. Losing a bit of depth.
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2/25/2019 - goska wrote: 90 Points
Lovely wine, soft tannins and faded acidity makes way for mature secondary notes of fleshy fruit, but hints of a wine slightly past peak. Very enjoyable still.
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2/23/2019 - Tannatastic Likes this wine: 92 Points
Still quite a deep colour. Strong nose of dark fruits, still with that blackcurrant fruit gums aroma (sweet, slightly confected dark fruits to the uninitiated), touch of vanilla and liquorice.
The palate is starting to express more secondary and tertiary flavours - the fruits, again, have a slight cooked element to them, and there is still that huge dose of liquorice on the finish. Acid not as noticeable as is usual in Ardanza/Rioja.
Interestingly seems to be in a transition phase. I think I might leave this for a couple of years now (which could be a gamble). It's a lovely bottle, but I'm not sure it's going to age as gracefully as the '04 and '05. The best bottle I had was a couple of years ago, normally I presume Ardanza to keep evolving/improving for at least 20 years - I can't help thinking that whilst the 2001 vintage has provided some marvelous drinking pleasure, on the whole it's not a consistent vintage, and considering the quality, the ageability does need a close eye keeping on it.
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2/16/2019 - RonniePiemonte wrote: 92 Points
First opened lovely ruby color and youthful on the palate. Savory herbs and some meatiness after a few hours of air. Layered maturity, great with Pam's birthday chocolate strawberry shortcake. Time to drink up it may be past peak.
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2/8/2019 - Doc90 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Delicate aromatics with notes of white pepper, violets, and cherries. Poised, with a soft, feminine texture and gentle tannins. Cherry palate with a lot of floral influence. Satisfying. This is drinking wonderfully now and there is no rush to consume, however it is softening into a more mature Rioja that some may not be into.
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2/5/2019 - whudock Likes this wine: 92 Points
lots of layers of flavor and depth in each. This is a wonderful Rioja and is drinking quite well. I suspect that it is on the downward trajectory, but still wonderful.
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2/4/2019 - maxima wrote: flawed
Bouchonnée!
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12/23/2018 - rhit Likes this wine:
Another fantastic bottle, with classic tertiary notes, ample fruit and almost completely resolved tannin. Perhaps waning a bit in energy, I'll drink my last bottle soon.
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12/21/2018 - Geoffy Likes this wine: 93 Points
Bought 6 of these 4 years ago from Majestic at £18 a bottle. They have been stored in the cupboard under the stairs. Tonight, the cork crumbled, the nose was incredible but the taste was bland, bland, simplistic and very short.
And then I went back an hour later - wow!
Smooth rich red fruits, cedar, spice mingling and lingering for ever.
2 left, wish I'd bought more.
One of the best value wines i've ever tasted.
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12/9/2018 - Janstan Likes this wine: 88 Points
Tight, cherry came out late on palate, went well with rioja style pork chops.
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11/29/2018 - Enfant sauvage Does not like this wine:
Was hoping for greater integration after a few years laying off these, but got just the opposite. Sweet oak juice with a powerful nose of roble amerciano, hedonistic notes of oak on the palate, and an incredibly long, velvety oak finish.
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11/16/2018 - Piotr K Likes this wine: 92 Points
Again great performance from Ardanza. Beautiful Cherry nose, hints of tobacco and leather. Smooth in mouth, medium body, high acidity, lots of fruit and long finish. This is first class wine, sadly I have no more, love its balance and complexity.
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11/15/2018 - rossi.wine wrote: 92 Points
Tasted next to 2001 La Rioja Alta 904 Grand Reserva. Spicy, red fruit, vanilla, old leather on the nose. Lovely on the palate, a little simple in comparison, good acidity, nice grip, fresh, long. Lovely. No rush. 91-93
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11/14/2018 - maxima wrote: 90 Points
Une belle bouteille.
Un peu de tertiaire, terre et champignons mais
bien supporté par le fruit (cerise et prunes) avec des
tannins serrés et une finale longue et minérale.
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10/30/2018 - gordoyflaca Likes this wine: 92 Points
Starting to get some secondary characteristics but still 10-20 years at least
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10/22/2018 - Cofxc wrote: flawed
Badly corked.
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10/18/2018 - GARDEN Likes this wine: 92 Points
This was the last of four bottles. This was the third bottle where the cork broke while being extracted. The wine was fine this time. The taste of the wine only seemed affected with the first bottle. However, after that, I accelerated my drinking schedule on the remaining bottles.
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10/6/2018 - gazinho Likes this wine: 91 Points
A fond goodbye to the last bottle of this characterful old style Rioja.
Perhaps the fruit has receded some.
An extra point for all the pleasant time spent together!
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9/30/2018 - ephorn Likes this wine: 95 Points
Complex nose. Great complexity on palate with balance. No need to decant as this begins to decline an hour or so after pulling cork. Drink now, beauty!
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9/28/2018 - bobbylion Likes this wine: 92 Points
Very nice expressive Rioja, probably still a few years too early. The nose is more like 95 - you smell chocolate, caramel and all the good fruity stuff, but there is somehow underdelivery on the palate - perhaps unresolved acidity. I have not compared this to the regular ardanza, so cannot comment on the "only three vintages in history" stuff...
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9/14/2018 - MichaelMA Likes this wine: 89 Points
So it’s been a few years since the last bottle. Popped and poured this one. Actually drinking a bit like a fruit bomb right now. Bright red fruit with soft tannins and a good deal of juiciness. I was a bit surprised. I did like it but it was almost too fruity.
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9/9/2018 - tinycellar Likes this wine: 92 Points
Excellent, fragrant nose immediately after opening. Tannin nicely balanced with fruit. A bit acidic but that's perhaps expected. Improved a bit two hours later, but not significantly. Very enjoyable.
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8/26/2018 - Paul D Likes this wine: 90 Points
2/8, Bttle #254961. Excellent cork. Decanted 1/2 hr.
Medium garnet core, pale garnet rim. Aromatic nose, sweet dark fruit, vanilla, leather notes. Medium/full bodied, with rich dark fruit, leather and earth notes, vanilla, quite rich but with vibrant contrasting acidity. Still some firmness on the extended finish. Whilst certainly drinkable I think it will be better in 5-10 years and then go for at least another 10.
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8/19/2018 - fjd1960 wrote: 90 Points
Easter at Barry’s
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8/15/2018 - sharonandroland Likes this wine: 93 Points
Great evolution, but probabely not a top bottle
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8/5/2018 - kevin h wrote: 89 Points
Bit of a ho hum bottle. Everything correct but didn’t really shine and tasted surprisingly mature. Warm weather didn’t help. Other bottles have been much better. Try again in the autumn.
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7/11/2018 - GARDEN Likes this wine: 92 Points
This was the first of three bottles in which it was possible to remove an intact cork.
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7/8/2018 - GARDEN Likes this wine: 91 Points
This cork came out in two pieces. However, the wine was drinking OK. I do not see any argument for further cellaring. I will continue to work through my remaining bottles this year.
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7/7/2018 - kronfeld Likes this wine: 91 Points
Cork dry and broke in two. Ruby, with just a trace of browning. Nose of wood, leather and cherry. Light-medium body, tannins fully and beautifully integrated. Just slightly acidic. Dusty, old red fruit palate. Everything you could ask for in a well-aged rioja. Wish this hadn’t been my last one.
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6/30/2018 - GARDEN wrote: flawed
The cork came out in three pieces. The wine tasted as if it was past its prime drinking window, worse on the second night.
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6/13/2018 - PeterSp Likes this wine: 95 Points
2001 was a great vintage - I have drunk and enjoyed the 904 and 890s from Rioja Alta. However this was something special - it is at its peak; well-rounded and an absolute classic rioja.
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6/6/2018 - rossi.wine wrote: flawed
From magnum. Mildly corked which was perceptible mainly on nose but also on the palate. Sharp acidity and a little dull underneath that cork taint.
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5/27/2018 - empire80 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Beautiful rioja at its peak. Still some sappy cherry fruit and fresh acidity, but balanced by earthy, coffee notes, and a gloriously long finish.
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5/17/2018 - Zoomin Z Likes this wine: 95 Points
This one's a real winner - everything has come together and reached its peak:
Sandalwood, strawberries and a hint of black cherry on a moderately strong, pleasant nose. Medium to full bodied with ample, earthy fruit leading to a round, long, very mineral finish. Tannins and acidity completely integrated, don't wait much longer !
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5/14/2018 - MarkinBaltimore Likes this wine:
Quite enjoyable but still a baby. Tannins suggest a long life. It’s going to be delicious for quite a long while.
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5/11/2018 - jeffclavier Likes this wine: 92 Points
Still incredible in magnums
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5/5/2018 - jeffclavier Likes this wine: 90 Points
Still pretty good but not clear how much longer it can hold. Planning to drinks my mags soon.
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4/26/2018 - Eichelhof Likes this wine: 90 Points
Good. Drink now.
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4/15/2018 - no leashes wrote: 91 Points
Red fruit and spice, in a very good place right now.
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4/7/2018 - Valbonne Likes this wine: 94 Points
Wine was great - wife was a touch mean.
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4/2/2018 - WhatsSamSipping Likes this wine:
This smells wonderful right after you pull the cork though the palate opened up after an hour. Coffee, mellowed wood spices, and stewed fruit. This still has some life to it though I don't know if it will neccasarily improve.
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2/17/2018 - cc.smith44@gmail.com wrote: 86 Points
Blackberry on the nose. Strong tanis on the finish. Sandel wood perhaps
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2/10/2018 - Bodyfxr wrote: 94 Points
Decanter for at least and hour and a half. Had towards the end of a nine bottle flight and several voted it as the WOTN. This is always a crowd pleaser. Each bottle better than the last. 16+ years old showing some bricking. An outstanding balance of fruit, acid, and notes of vanilla and wet stones. Tannins are well integrated with a long soft yet focused finish. Can't see this getting any better. Drink now.
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1/21/2018 - Tannatastic Likes this wine: 93 Points
Side-by-side with a 904, this was the better of the two on the day.
Quite dark colour in the glass, but naturally after so much time in wood, and with a decade and a half under its belt, bricking appearing at the rim.
Whilst the 904 is almost exclusively red fruits, the Ardanza displays a good heft of dark fruits thrown in, with blackcurrant (and possibly blueberry) principle amongst them. It also has more sophistication around it's woody elements beyond vanilla, with a touch of dill and now quite a pronounced liquorice edge.
However, one caveat I will add is that I have a feeling that this is going to hit an awkward phase over the coming year or two, as it appears to be passing from it's earlier, fruitier and vanilla phase, with the emphasis shifting to more secondary and tertiary nuance. I could be wrong though, so don't let me dissuade you from cracking a bottle!
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1/20/2018 - diggydan wrote: 93 Points
Really rich and ripe, plush fruit. Requires tolerance of some VA and much American oak. Nice earthy finish.
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1/16/2018 - Zweder wrote: 90 Points
Monthly Tuesday group "The Dead Sparrow" #025 Rioja (By MN): Mature bouquet with herbs, chocolate, coffee, rust, nuts and figs. On the palate red berries, rust, blood tea, coffee, good fresh acidity, still slightly sticky tannin and a good length. Although beautiful the wine shows more mature than you would expect.
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1/8/2018 - Ardross Likes this wine: 94 Points
At last spectacularly good - dark red sandalwood and spices vanilla cherries and chocolate
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12/26/2017 - microbox Likes this wine: 93 Points
finally in great shape (750mL)
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12/17/2017 - fc1910 Likes this wine:
A Spanish wine and tapas evening (Restaurante Meson Galicia, Hamburg): Two Magnums, same taste: first of all right after opening, too young, we are commiting infanticide, very tight, compote, sweet intense compote, opens up after one+ hour, complex, vanilla, montecristo no.2, 4, 5, I do not know, a stunning persistent finish, a mouthfull of delicious Rioja Reserva! Needs at least 5- 10 years more in MG! Highly recommended! **(**+-?), 92+ potential
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12/17/2017 - peternelson wrote: 92 Points
Really aromitic, lovely dill, slight aged quality, V.A., but still ripe fruit, savory, fine tannins, soft-ish tannins, long, complex, extremely fine, very nice. Very good right now and with aging to spare. So good with chorizo! Blind at Monica's.
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12/15/2017 - RyanJames Likes this wine: 91 Points
A really, really young wine, and definitely has the power and structure to last another 10+ years. Big concern here is the overwhelming dill/coconut/American oak flavors that haven't receded much. I'm not sure it'll integrate over time so if you have a bunch I would just drink a few now and save the remainders to test every few years.
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12/10/2017 - jdporter3 wrote:
Drink it now.
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12/9/2017 - Herschel Krustofski Likes this wine: 91 Points
Red brick fading colour. Looks very evolved but needs over an hour decant. Nice nose in the beginning, awkward phase in second half hour (dominant olive notes). Begins to open up after 60 min in the glass (this was a Coravin sample).
My recommendation: Ready if decanted 1 hour. Follow up for a further 2 hours.
Seems that you could keep it if you insist, but I don't think it will improve further. Drink the Ardanza now while you wait for the 904.
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11/24/2017 - trmoore Likes this wine: 93 Points
This is drinking perfectly. Leather, cherries, herbal notes. The QPR on this wine is incredible!
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11/18/2017 - Zorg wrote: 89 Points
Dill galore!
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11/11/2017 - 560 B&W Likes this wine: 92 Points
Decanted. In a lovely place. 13.5%
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11/10/2017 - redmd2203 wrote: 90 Points
Maturing beautifully
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11/9/2017 - CWilliam wrote: 93 Points
PNP and paired with chicken stew. Dark red with large variation from rim to center. Great nose - earth, menthol, cherry, dried cherry, cranberry - savory is great overall description of the nose & palate. Medium body with high acidity (low ph), sweet tannins and very long finish. Flavor profile is still pretty bright given the age of the wine (cherry, red currants, tart cherry). I love this. 93+/-
Has improved from last tasting.
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10/15/2017 - AudunG wrote: 91 Points
Relatively dark red (compared to the Tondonia Reserva 2001). Traditional Rioja aromas with dried red fruits, leather, coffee, vanilla and liquorice. Intensely sweet and sour on the palate. I guess this will benefit from more cellaring
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10/7/2017 - Burgundynick wrote: 90 Points
Very good, come on leaps and bounds since my last bottle 3 years ago, totally balanced, very old school Rioja, caramel, earthy, stewed fruits and vanilla. We drank alongside 904 and that was better because it had more complexity, having said that this is delicious and drinking so well at the minute. 90 points
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10/1/2017 - honest bob wrote: 91 Points
From 75cl, spongey cork, broke during extraction, about a teaspoon-full of slimy deposit remained in bottle. Strong vanilla oak (amazingly, much stronger than in a LdH Tondonia Reserva 2001 tasted recently), velvet-textured, pure, ripe bright red fruits, lively but not penetrating acidity. Not particularly complex but soooo delicious... Long, red-fruited, warm finish. The last pour was the best, so I'd say this has several years in store. 91P
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9/23/2017 - Treblid wrote: 89 Points
Seeming past it's prime but not bad for its price
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9/22/2017 - chbeaumont wrote: 91 Points
Rich, sleek, acidity pokes out providing vigour.
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9/17/2017 - Neurowine1 Likes this wine: 92 Points
This is great stuff and remains one of my very favorite Riojas. Still youthful, multi-layered, and very characteristic of the region. I would think this still has another decade of great drinking ahead.
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9/14/2017 - winemaker Likes this wine: 92 Points
Last bottle. My thoughts are in line with Eric Guido's below. Excellent wine. Fully mature, softening acids. Delicious!
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9/11/2017 - bags wrote:
really good. it still, of course, has its signature taste and for many (of us) it's not the most alluring. but for an occasionally different taste (resolving American oak; the dill pickle thing in the background) this remains a fantastic wine for the money.
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9/9/2017 - Eric Guido Likes this wine: 92 Points
The QPR that Vina Ardanza delivers is remarkable, as the '01 is maturing beautifully, displaying a remarkably fresh and vibrant bouquet of red fruits and dried florals along with hints of sweet spicy oak still lingering on. It was still youthful on the palate with zesty acidity and fine tannin leading to fresh red berry fruit, savory herbs, peppery spice and minerals. It finished youthfully structure with tart red berry, balsamic tones and zesty acidity.
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9/7/2017 - SeaWine wrote: 90 Points
For me, probably best on day 3, when it seemed to come together vs. on PnP + 15 mins of air. It was OK and good with several kinds of food, but I'd say I was expecting more. 89-90.
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9/6/2017 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
Despite the fantastic company and high expectations I was not amazed by this bottle. But it was also had very late in the evening, when much else had already been consumed.
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8/22/2017 - Quiet Lion Likes this wine: 92 Points
Monthly Men's Wine Dinner (Carmine's Bellevue): Aged Rioja is probably the easiest wine for me to identify because of the characteristic acid backbone, which I suspect is what makes it age gracefully pretty much forever. This was a delicious 2001, medium body, long finish, that went through a funky/confused stage and emerged with beautiful secondary flavors. 92 may be conservative; it suffered by comparison with the big wines. #4 of 5 for me and the group.
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8/13/2017 - pikemasterflash wrote: 93 Points
Can't say enough good things about this one: great QPR, huge crowd pleaser and totally consistent profile time after time
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8/13/2017 - kevin h wrote: flawed
Corked.
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8/11/2017 - chbeaumont wrote: 93 Points
Dark; flashy, coconut, distinguished nose; full, velvety, bold, very well balanced. This has a ravishing texture. Yet to peak, I suspect.
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8/5/2017 - isaacjamesbaker wrote: 94 Points
Medium ruby color. Aromas of red cherries, dried red currants, red berry compote, and a host of really earthy, savory and floral notes (fallen leaves, tobacco pipe, pine resin, dried roses, smoky herbs) – so much to unpack. The palate is beautiful, tannins provide serious structure and grip, but there’s moderating acidity. Lots of red plum and currant compote, the fruit is slathered in forest floor, chewing tobacco, loamy earth, dried roses, leather – so much complexity. Long, long finish, crisp and bright with mineral tones. Gorgeous stuff for sure, but this could be even more elegant and expressive 10 years from now. (Not sure why I was so much more excited about this bottle than the last time I tasted it, cellar condition, not enough time with it, but this bottle was stellar.)
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7/30/2017 - collin wrote:
Took some time to open up. Initially, cherries, american oak, a touch of VA. With air, developed a real richness and earthiness, everything became integrated. Turned out very nicely.
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7/29/2017 - AV2012 wrote: 88 Points
No dill, more coconut this time. Some drying oak, also dried fruits. Nice overall, seemed inbetween modern and traditional style. Not a blockbuster type of a Rioja.
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7/28/2017 - shellylowen Likes this wine: 91 Points
Cherries!
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7/24/2017 - gazinho Likes this wine: 90 Points
Same as previous observations, still holding up...
Penultimate bottle :-(
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6/28/2017 - DK Amateur Likes this wine:
Served in Riedel Vinum Burgundy glasses in which it showed more complexity and authority than in the Zalto Universal: The nose had an organic side (caramel, wet dog) and beautiful depth of aged complexity and earth. In the mouth there is a kind of savoury sweetness and a quite full-bodied complexity ending in marked acidity. Fine aftertaste. Approaching greatness when seen from the right angle.
Still good on the second day.
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6/22/2017 - Harley1199 Likes this wine:
Cata Histórica de Viña Ardanza (Bodega Santa Cecilia - Madrid): Intoxicating lactic notes, a cream caramel-like. Pastries and meat. In the mouth is still spectacular the grip and the high level of acidity. In my humble opinion in five-ten years will be a little gem.
Embriagadoras notas lácticas como de un caramelo de nata. Bollería y cárnico. En boca es todavía espectacular el agarre y el alto nivel de acidez. En mi humilde opinión en cinco-diez años será una joyita.
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6/3/2017 - forceberry wrote: 92 Points
Almost completely opaque cherry red color. Heady, opulent and sweet nose with very over-the-top, oak-driven nose of sweet vanilla, blueberry yoghurt, strawberry jam, toasted oak, some pruney plummy fruit and a hint of dill. Full-bodied, weighty and quite concentrated on the palate with high acidity and ample, ripe and chewy tannins. Intense flavors of sweet oak spice, vanilla, ripe cherry, extracted coconut character, some juicy plummy fruit and a hint of dill. Very chewy, mouthfilling mouthfeel. The finish is rich and chewy with some sour cherry bitterness and persistent, intense flavors of vanilla, toasted sweet oak spice, some dried pruney fruit and a hint of strawberry jam.
At over 15 years of age, the wine is still remarkably youthful and very heavy-set with no signs of maturity whatsoever. The intense vanilla oak character feels very pronounced and despite the ripe, concentrated fruit, I can't imagine this amount of oak integrating with the fruit any time soon. Meaning, not at least in couple of decades. The wine is all about cellaring potential, so there is no point opening these in the near future - the pronounced oak character still is the most dominant characteristic, so I can imagine it will take at least 25 more years for this wine to become truly enjoyable. At least the vintage and the denomination "Reserva Especial" signify that this wine is something special and obviously built for the long haul.
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6/3/2017 - Alexroy wrote: 92 Points
Still dark though showing some age. Very powerful red fruit, medium length. Lovely.
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5/20/2017 - pikemasterflash wrote: 92 Points
Still love this wine. Such unique flavors--vanilla and cigar box. Maybe just a little less sweet than the last few I have had but still a real crowd pleaser. Great QPR and will be sad to see these go.
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5/12/2017 - Lype Likes this wine: 90 Points
This used to be very open sour cherry packed wine but now strangely closed, in a sleeping phase before emerges again?
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5/7/2017 - jeffclavier Likes this wine: 91 Points
Wanted to check how the wine was aging. Still a few more years to go!
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4/13/2017 - fCOT Likes this wine: 92 Points
complex, refined, mature rioja
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3/21/2017 - pifcho wrote: 88 Points
Solid, but boring. This is smooth and polished, but done so almost to a fault. All the character of the wine comes from the oak, which while not over the top, quite dominates the palate. Good crowdpleaser at a reasonable price.
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3/18/2017 - DK Amateur wrote:
Opened an hour before dinner and drunk out of Zalto Universal glasses which underscored its bordeaux-like dimensions instead of the strawberry Burgundian ones. Lots of vanilla from the American oak in the nose and a wonderful spicy taste with depth and earth. Really good.
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3/18/2017 - Piotr K Likes this wine: 94 Points
Soooo good! Overwhelming nose, strong black currant taste and, what surprised me, this bottle delivered very long finish. It is definitely at its peak.
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3/11/2017 - laralh wrote: 89 Points
Kirsebær, vanilje, tre, litt eukalyptus og bringebær. Fyldig og lang.
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3/2/2017 - SimonG wrote: 93 Points
Traditional Rioja (RSJ, London): Currently a bit fuller. Nicely plush whilst keeping its line. Similar profile on the finish. Just a bit broader and possibly simpler on the attack. ****
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3/2/2017 - Gannet2013 Likes this wine:
Great bottle. All the classic aged Rioja notes from LRA - tobacco, leather, red fruits. Dark and spicy. Light on its feet - drink or hold.
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2/20/2017 - John McCabe wrote: 91 Points
Striking; you would pick this as Rioja in a blind tasting. There's a smokey leather tone that is pronounced. This is light-bodied, red fruit, with a bit of edge. Not sure it's my style really though this may be very appealing to some.
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1/27/2017 - chcook wrote:
PNP. cork perfect. color bricking garnet. nose is all oak. and some dill with dark cherry. swishing shows good acid, some cherries and then a wall of oak - the brawny kind that sticks. sipping gives better feel of the plummy currants and fruit and really hides a lot of the oak. much better than my previous two bottles, but still not my favorite. if I had any more would wait even longer and hope that the oak integrates further. fruit is going strong
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1/24/2017 - Rivvy wrote: 87 Points
Don't have much info on the provenance of my bottle, but very faint if any nose, kinda flat, just tasted a bit over the hill. Based on n=1.
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1/17/2017 - yarnon wrote: 88 Points
nose reminiscent of chicken soup! dill, with some vegetal notes. Good, but unusual.
Palate is consistent, with some red fruit added.
Medium finish
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1/16/2017 - kingkanu wrote: 91 Points
This bottle was absolutely singing, great dark cherry fruit, spices, leather, tobacco, really fresh and long. The last couple of bottles were nowhere near this, lots of bottle variation which is no so surprising with the volume I guess, on this showing it has plenty of life ahead of it
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1/12/2017 - Piotr K Likes this wine: 94 Points
This wine is soooo good ☺️ Fruity nose, dark red color and amazing taste. Balanced, some forest fruit, liquorice, some acidity. Only finish might be longer.
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1/7/2017 - Tannatastic Likes this wine: 95 Points
At this moment, IMHO naturally, this is the best bottle of anything LRA. After a fabulous Faustino 1, I'm also starting to 'get' the 2001 vintage.
Very bright, with a blackcurrant leaf and sweet vanilla nose, it also has a hint of liquorice. The liquorice and dill profile was further enhanced (in a very positive way) on the palate by the fennel we had with roast lamb. I'm guessing it's gone through Malolactic, with the tell-tale creamy and soft mouthfeel, but still with that bracing Rioja acidity. Very balanced. Just superb. Definitely Burgundian with some nice red fruits.
I would say the next 3-5 years is going to see this peaking, but the evolution of this wine over the last few years has been so dramatic, it's possible that it could keep going for decades. I'm going to have to ration the remaining bottles!
Outstanding value, by the way.
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1/1/2017 - Geoffy Likes this wine: 94 Points
My wine of 2016. Everything I'd hope for from a quality 15 year old Rioja. Elegant, complex, long and (pretentious comment alert) versatile. It was great on its own, with steaks and accompaniments, and even after a sweet course.
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12/31/2016 - wirelesswine wrote:
Only had a brief taste amongst many other bottles, but a few guests claimed it was over oaked. I didn't study it but found it quite nice.
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12/29/2016 - Goldstone Likes this wine: 88 Points
Briefly decanted than drank over a couple of hours. Transparent, dark red cherry colour. Nose of sour red and black cherries plus some spice. Palate is slightly sour but rounded and harmonious but very light in mouthfeel. Moderate length. This was much better than the prior two bottles I opened a couple of years ago but it now seems a very young wine at the beginning of a long journey to maturity. This is such a hard wine to pin down, as so many CTers have noted.
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12/27/2016 - Ardross wrote: 82 Points
Very red in colour surprisingly prominent sour cherry on palate not how I expect a 15 year old Ardanza to be - not unpleasant but rather strange and fruitless. This now appears to be one of the faulty bottlings.
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12/26/2016 - CWilliam wrote: 92 Points
PNP and paired with ham & smoked turkey.
Medium red color with some browning around the rim with a clear meniscus.
On nose, dirt, dried cherry, menthol & dried cranberry. On palate, medium body, high acidity & tart cherry, red currants & dried cranberry + touch of sweet tobacco. Long finish. I really enjoyed this. 92-93+
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12/18/2016 - Veldhaaz wrote: 85 Points
It seemed a bit over the hill. There still was some acidity en even some far away tannins but it seemed to have lost its power. I did not decant, just openend it an hour of two before drinking. A bit of a disappointment for me, but my wife thought it was great. I'd say: drink, don't hold any longer. But maby it was juist this bottle. I only had one.
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12/2/2016 - Alexroy wrote: 91 Points
Mature, red fruit, some berries, nice balance, good length. Drinking well.
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11/27/2016 - empire80 Likes this wine: 92 Points
very much in line with my note from last year
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11/20/2016 - KeithAkers wrote: 91 Points
A lazy sunday afternoon (Eric&Megan's): Nose: The nose is classic Rioja with dill, sour red cherries, herbs, leather, earth tones, strawberries, and tobacco. There is excellent depth with the signature american oak notes.
Taste: Medium bodied with medium+ acidity and medium+ tannins. The tannins are fine grained and supporting with sour red cherries, strawberries, dill notes, leather, tobacco, and earth tones.
Overall: This is drinking beautifully. It's well balanced and quintessential Rioja Reserva.
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11/20/2016 - olemski wrote: 89 Points
Nice wine in maturity.
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11/11/2016 - SimonG wrote: 93 Points
LRA Ardanza & 904 (The Medlar, London): Quite lush on the nose. This does have fruit. A touch of smoke across damson and plum fruit. Quite fat and leggy in the glass. Just a touch of VA on the finish. ***(*)
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11/1/2016 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
Now this was absolutely amazing. It was teh Reserva Especial, the one only done in 1964, 1973 and 2001. And darn was this some fine drinking.
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10/7/2016 - andtheodor wrote:
I've been greedily drinking these since I pulled one last year and found the overbearing oak finally subsided allowing some fruit to emerge. Unfortunately, this bottle was back to my experiences some years ago where acrid oak paints everything in a sickly cotton candy kind of sugary sweetness and leaves a bitter rather than harmonious finish. The next day this was greatly improved so I think there's reasonable expectation that every bottle of this will eventually come into balance, it's just that some seem to have already done so while others are not there yet.
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10/3/2016 - TGRLU Likes this wine: 92 Points
Harmonisch. Leder, waldboden und dunkle Früchte. Sicher noch viele Jahre perfekt trinkbar.
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9/18/2016 - no leashes wrote: 91 Points
Red cherries, orange peel and spice. Delicious!! Drinking beautifully right now -- paired with Mixteco Grill carryout (chicken in mole sauce) and worked perfectly.
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9/13/2016 - Old School Fan Likes this wine: 92 Points
Terrific bottle of Ardanza! This bottle was dominated by fruit and spice notes showing red cherry, orange peel, cranberry, nutmeg, leather and tobacco. Classic traditional Rioja sour acid with just an faint hint of dill, vanilla, coconut from the oak. Pretty wine, so easy to drink!!
I've been struggling with La Rioja Alta over the past few years. Several bottles (not all bottles) of Ardanza, Arana and Alberdi have been absolutely undrinkable. They've been lifeless, limp wines wines with little/no fruit dominated by overpowering notes of American oak (dill, cedar and vanilla) as if the bottles were slightly corked. For example, in a case of Alberdi, 7 of the 12 bottles were this way while 5 were absolutely terrific. For 5 bottle of 2004 Ardanza, 2 were "flat" and undrinkable but 3 were good. Very strange.
Has anyone else been finding similar problems with LRA?
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9/11/2016 - SkyCellar Likes this wine: 92 Points
Very special.
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9/11/2016 - kevin h wrote: 92 Points
Rich, complex oaky Rioja. Nice mocha and dense red fruits. Evolving well but a long life.
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9/8/2016 - rmalloy Likes this wine: 90 Points
Subtle, refined nose. Tart cherry, coconut, tobacco, black olives, and Andes mints. Not as expressive as the 2005 Ardanza I tasted yesterday.
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8/27/2016 - Faknr0ll wrote: 90 Points
wonderful, this bottle was slightly peaking I would say but it can do another year two, great vfm
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8/19/2016 - wicozani Likes this wine: 91 Points
Another fascinating bottle, this time on the pop 'n pour by itself. A striking green olive note joins that previously described on both nose and palate. Another thought it smelled of prunes, but I didn't think so. Will treat with a lengthy decant next time.
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8/17/2016 - K&J Likes this wine: 93 Points
Very good wine! Didn't get the bacon fat this time around. Aging very nicely!
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8/15/2016 - Marcosolow wrote: 90 Points
Very nice. Good acidity, cherry and oak flavors.
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8/7/2016 - PDavisMarble wrote: 91 Points
Lovely and reliable. Keeps improving in bottle, developing great secondary flavors and aromas.
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8/4/2016 - winemaker Likes this wine: 93 Points
Terrific bottle. This was quite Burgundian. Really drinking well.
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7/21/2016 - greidy Likes this wine: 91 Points
Beautiful bright and shining red color, with some orange hue and whitish narrow rim. At the beginning opens with lots of red fruits, licorice, orange peel, some earth.
After couple of hours - less fruits, more wood, some leaves and sugar cotton candy...
On the palate tasty and integrated, pretty dry , tannin is very smooth and silky, medium finish. Due to nice acidity - very good with food.
Very good wine, but not as perfect as many bottles we had last year and years ago, maybe slight bottle variation.
We have another, last one, will see how good it will be in about a year...
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7/4/2016 - garambler Likes this wine: 92 Points
I took this to a friends birthday party on 7/4/16. It had a fragrant, earthy bouquet of leather, violet, black cherry, anise, sassafras, cinnamon and spice aromas. The palate was rich, complex and layered with flavors that followed the nose. 92+
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7/2/2016 - kanab ram Likes this wine:
This is drinking great now.
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7/1/2016 - andtheodor wrote:
Faintly corked but otherwise full of warm old oak and furniture tones, bright red cherry, tobacco, very fine.
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6/30/2016 - rmalloy Likes this wine: 92 Points
So obviously Rioja. Blood orange and balsamic acidity. Tobacco and tapenade. A little minty. Coconut oak. Nothing in common with jammy New World wines.
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6/27/2016 - kanab ram Likes this wine:
This is in a really good place right now. The tannins have softened and all components are well integrated.
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6/24/2016 - Levinsb wrote: 93 Points
Beautiful - perfect now. Juicy and fragrant and long.
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6/19/2016 - olemski wrote: 93 Points
Probably as good as this wine is ever going to get. Tertiary aromas aplenty, and still full and fresh in the mouth. Long aftertaste.
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6/1/2016 - rossi.wine wrote: 94 Points
From magnum. Even more impressive than the last time I had it around a year ago. Lovely nose, dark fruited, notes of dried fruit, sweet spices, leather, earth and cured meat. Soft on the palate with layered sweet fruit, great intensity, melting tannins. Superbly balanced. Very long. Wonderful. 93-95
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5/21/2016 - Bodyfxr wrote: 92 Points
This wine seems to be evolving nicely. After a one hour decant the nose and palate were shinning beautifully with just the right balance of fruit,earth and spice with well rounded tannins and a pearl essence finish. I will be dipping into my holdings each year to see where this wine goes.
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5/20/2016 - SimonG wrote: 93 Points
Work bbq (Home): Deep ruby, still very youthful and vibrant. Bright red fruit, a faint touch of vanilla, and just a hint of leather and spice. Quite vibrant, briary red fruit. Bright and fresh, plenty of acidity and some medium fine unresolved tannin. Approachable, but more to be gained in the future. Lovely. ***(*)
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5/19/2016 - andtheodor wrote: 91 Points
It's hard to envision a more quintessentially Rioja wine than this - sure it's still a pickley from the oak but that has been largely consumed by the youthful and intense core of cherry and tobacco. Love the sweet/tart balance, so much personality and pairing potential. Curious to see what this becomes in full maturity, it could be something great.
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5/17/2016 - Biggsy wrote: 91 Points
Tobacco filled nose with blackberry and leather aromas. Lovely silky texture with a bit of grip. Nice balance between the ripe berry fruits and the more savoury cigar smoke note underneath. A subtle touch of vanilla on the finish. Really good.
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5/12/2016 - Rickets wrote: 92 Points
in a really nice place right now. decant for an hour.
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5/7/2016 - rmalloy Likes this wine: 93 Points
Wild and funky. Barnyardy, leathery, and bretty. Tastes more like a framboise lambic than a red wine. Slightly tarry. Good mineral bite. A little toasty. A little coconut cream. Moderate tannins. Subtle interwoven bitterness. I hope Rioja always makes wines like this.
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5/4/2016 - sequoiagrove Likes this wine: 95 Points
OMG. that says it all.
ok, ok , Ill say a bit more. So Im on a business trip to Mallorca. And After the official business, Im trecking with these Italians, and we start talking about wine. They are absolutely appauled by the fact I speak so highly of rioja wine. They know the cheap crap rioja in their country that it is impossible that I know anything about wine and can like rioja. then we switch topic to itlaian wine where I mention I like pian delle vigne brunello 2000.
that makes them pause. and go; so, you taste all these wonderful wines, and still you say rioja is one of your favourites?? how is this even possible??? [with italian accent, which sort of enhances the exclamation]
So, one of the italian has found "the best place in palma to have paella". We agree to go there and I choose the wine.
Im sceptical about this port facing tripadvisor place, I cant find a wine list, but I see that have Jamon Iberico, which is on my todo list. and they have lamb cutlets which would go wonderfully with a rioja, if they have it! Meanwhile I look for winebars and find 2 potential places were to have good wines afterwards.
We agree. and meet in the evening for dinner. I go straight for the wine card and talk to the waitor (that speaks the most english, which isnt a lot, so Im going Italian mode. which works a bit better. Turns out they have ardanza res. esp. 2001 and immediately I go Thats the one! we take 2! Turns out its their last 2 bottles.
the waiter opens and pours in decanter (even though the spaniard in our midst doesnt know any spanish word for decanter) and lets me taste first. One whiff and Im in heaven!
i say "this is EXACTLY what I think real wine is and what I think rioja is , when I mention rioja and think of rioja! And I did not expect to find anything like this here.
the iberico ham comes in as well. the italian wine enthusiasnt tries it and goes " wow, what the fuck , this is REALLY REALLY good. this night is turning out to be really something alreadY". i managed to convert a sceptic.
He kept talking about how amazing that wine was during the entire evening.
it had that transcended broken down fruit with wood and tobacco, that fills me with joy and gives me goosebumps, brick colour, lingering finish.
the label described that they made this version in only three vintages. 1964, 1973, and 2001, where the weather was in a certain way.
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5/1/2016 - ChaineMatt Likes this wine: 92 Points
Drinking beautifully now, this wine could have another 5 years. Bright acidity but also a touch of sweetness, the fruit is prominent and this rioja has perhaps a little less spice and terroir than most but it is perfectly balanced and surprisingly it paired beautifully with seared scallops, meyer lemon risotto and soy foam. All components brought out something different in the wine.
Bright cherry, mulberry, flowery, a bit of tar at first but it melted over the next hour.
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4/17/2016 - andtheodor wrote: flawed
Corked.
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4/5/2016 - Alexroy wrote: 93 Points
Spice, red fruit, vinegar on nose. Superb, smooth, red fruit, tomato. Gorgeous, long, drinking amazingly well.
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4/3/2016 - Too much practice. wrote: 88 Points
Time to start drinking up the 75cl bottles. Struck me as less impressive than previously. Still, I regret that was my last bottle.
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3/27/2016 - Stevey wrote: 87 Points
I've had this wine (2001 vintage) a few times. In 2011 at a Barcelona restaurant where one bottle was amazing and another bottle not so much. Bought 2 bottles of same to take home, drank one a couple of years ago and it was OK, somewhat one-dimensional, far from the great 1st bottle I drank in Barcelona.
I just drank my 2nd of 2 bottle brought home and it less OK than the last bottle. This one was tart, raspberry, cherry. Medium body medium tannins at mid-palate. It didn't change much with more air time. Not very complex, certainly not like the first bottle I drank at that Barcelona restaurant that was great.
So after drinking 4 bottles over ~5-year period, I have to agree with others that this wine suffers from bottle variation - i.e., some bottles good, some aren't - significantly more variation than I've tasted with any other wine. Thus if you're thinking of buying one of this, it's caveat emptor, buyer beware.
If you have one, drink now. I don't think it'll get any better with more age.
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3/24/2016 - DavidWong168 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Medium purple in the glass. No bricking noticeable, but then the light was low and the setting intimate.
Nose of fresh flowers and sweet tobacco. A palate of lively red fruit, tea leaves and earth combined with low acidity, a medium body and silky tannins present a package of remarkable balance and finesse. The Rioja exhibits a vibrancy that belies its age. Of course none of the foregoing description matters unless the wine can deliver pleasure and this one delivers it in spades.
Love at first sip.
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3/24/2016 - ctjared Likes this wine:
so good. nose has funk (like good burgundy) and maybe some tobacco (like barolo).
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3/12/2016 - Armando B wrote: 91 Points
Excellent bottle (and very different experience than a bottle I drank 2 years ago). Wonderful nose of red fruit and spices. Very traditional rioja with restrained red fruit and oak and dill accents. The texture was the best thing about the wine--reminiscent of a good burgundy with some age.
Based on the community notes and my experience, it does seem that there is some pretty significant variance between bottles.
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3/10/2016 - drwine2001 wrote:
Bonhams Pre-Sale Tasting (San Francisco): Pale. All whisky barrel on the nose. Light to medium body. Supple with nice sweetness of fruit and good length, but the American oak returns in force at the end, rendering the finish green and astringent.
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2/23/2016 - Ben85 Likes this wine:
Sausage & Mash Dinner: Great wine and what great value too! Bought from Majestic for £20 years ago. Still a great wine, truly classic Rioja and at its peak now, I would suggest. Superb nose with classic strawberry, vanilla and spice. Palate a little faded relative to the nose, but still overall great stuff.
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2/16/2016 - Bodyfxr wrote: 93 Points
Presented this wine in an eclectic blind tasting flight with a right bank Bordeaux, an iconic Napa cab and a lovely brunello di montalcino and this was the WOTF. The nose was big and beautiful with dense red fruits, flowers and earth. The palate was medium to full bodied with the perfect balance of fruit and acids. The tannins are soft but firm enough to give this wine solid structure and depth. I can't wait to see how this wine continues to evolve as it is still young within its drinking window.
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1/28/2016 - Denny629 wrote: 93 Points
Superb!
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1/18/2016 - sam_rosato@hotmail.com Likes this wine: 93 Points
Great Wine, medium body, a pleasant long & lingering finish, wish I had more in the cellar
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1/16/2016 - Ideasthatstick Likes this wine:
What a fine wine. It amazes me how really good wine files above the fray. This is a lovely integrated Rioja. I think it's getting close to the end of its drinking window but I will say this is a lean elegant wine firing on all cylinders. Great color that reveals bricking near the bottom of the glass, a vibrant grassy, vegetal nose. But mature and engaged. The front palate is a bit astringent on the edges but the mid and back palate reveal a lean well thought out wine. That astringency may burn off with time, I'll let you know. But this wine has personality all its own and embodies why wine is so alive. After about thirty minutes I am still noticing the astringent edges not burning off. That's a drag. The cork broke on opening but the wine is intact. I have a two more and will comment on those. DAY TWO. This wine has a backbone. It still sings after twenty four hours. The astringency is still there, but the lean vibrant focused fruit does not fade. I fully recommend but have pause due to the lack of smoothness on finish. Still kind of amazing.
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1/9/2016 - Billiken Likes this wine: 88 Points
Perfumed, floral nose with rose petals. Overly well resolved on the palate. The acidity is gone. Fruit is muted at best. More cigar box on the palette than anything, but not overly pronounced. Not a bad wine, just underwhelming.
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1/4/2016 - tautlinehitch Likes this wine: 93 Points
Cork failed on extraction, but the wine seemed to be fine. Drunk over an evening with braised beef and polenta. From memory, two days later - complexity is the overriding impression. Nose certainly had underbrush, black berry fruit, earth, pine, maybe a faint hint of brown sugar. Palate quite tart, very firm tannins, berry fruit coming forward a little. Very long finish, very stable in the mouth. A terrific wine, showing no signs of age other than that crumbly cork.
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1/4/2016 - andtheodor wrote: 92 Points
Wow, this has really transformed in the last 5 years into a classic Rioja. What ostentatious oak there was is now finely woven into the structure and perfume, incense, red cherries, crunchy and sweet and fresh. I loved this and so did the non oenophiles.
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1/1/2016 - Griffeyfan04 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Again rock solid like previous notes with maybe just a hint more age to it but otherwise a very nice wine indeed
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1/1/2016 - laralh wrote: 88 Points
Bjørnebær, moreller, vanilje og eik. Bra lengde og fylde. Lang ettersmak.
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12/22/2015 - Praxis wrote: 91 Points
Light reddish orange in color with a watery rim. The aroma is intense with notes of red fruits, creamy vanilla oak, tobacco and dried herbs. The impression on the palate is medium-bodied, dryish with flavors of pomegranates, underripe cherries, cranberries, creamy oak, dried autumn leaves, damp earth, fennel, tobacco and some underlying leather. The creamy vanilla oak component dominates and persists long after the finish. This Reserva Especial is a nuanced wine to say the least and smooth to a certain extent though not fully resolved. Perhaps I should have waited for another 3 – 5 years. A very decent price for a very monumental wine.
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12/14/2015 - NoTrollingerPlease Likes this wine: 91 Points
Great, classical Rioja with a Long life ahead. Needs air and a big Glass at the Moment.
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12/14/2015 - NoTrollingerPlease wrote: flawed
Badly corked
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12/3/2015 - Harley1199 Likes this wine:
3rd LRA Tasting Event of the Q4 (Enoteca Barolo - Madrid): Rockets and gunpowder. It is shown reduced. Notes of pastry and yeast. Perhaps lactic sour cream too. Dense and tasty in the mouth. At this stage I would not open any of my bottles.
Cohetes y pólvora. Se muestra reducida. Notas de pastelería y levadura. Quizás también lácticas a nata agria. Denso y sabroso en boca. En esta fase no abriría ninguna de mis botellas.
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11/29/2015 - Pdxwinegeek wrote: 90 Points
Drank at TG, with a variety of other wines, so impression was somewhat unfocused, but came across as fruitier and simpler than my prior bottles, still good
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11/26/2015 - Swaggering Beaunie Likes this wine: 93 Points
Outstanding. Great purity and depth of red fruit (cranberry, pomegranate, and red currant), generous acidity, mild fine tannins, and some cocoa and anise at the finish, along with that unique "Rioja" character.
I wish I had a case of this. Worth much more than the $30 I paid for it.
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11/24/2015 - empire80 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Excellent. As my previous note, but just that bit better. At peak? But certainly no rush.
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11/21/2015 - peternelson wrote: 90 Points
Doing ok, very classic suntan lotion/sandalwood/dill nose with a medium body. Tasted in a large blind line-up. Stood out easily.
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10/25/2015 - moany rhoney wrote: 91 Points
Took to Johns party, lively wine, really needed food though. Think this will be better in a year or two.
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10/12/2015 - whudock Likes this wine: 92 Points
surprisingly young for a 2001 with some alcohol heat remaining. The wine has orange notes to its ruby. the nose is cherry, plum and earth with hints of leather and oak. the taste is very well balanced with depth and nuance. the finish poersists. opened 40 minutes before serving. The wine started to fade after three hours.
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10/10/2015 - isaacjamesbaker wrote: 91 Points
2001 Rioja (Maryland): Smooth and ripe on the nose, rich, velvety waves of cherries, rose petals and vanilla. Juicy with smooth yet structured tannins, the bing cherry, red apple and tangerine fruit maintains a fresh vibe. I get lots of peppercorns and tobacco and an earthy-vanilla finish. More “hedonistic” than the first two wines, but this is, at heart, a bright and vibrant wine.
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10/2/2015 - jdporter3 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Just outstanding. At a dinner after a bottle of Remelluri. Not fair to the Remelluri. Modest cherry notes now and a little anise finish. My big California cab buddies could not stop talking about this wine and its value. Compared it to their $150 bottles.
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9/28/2015 - Mossrose wrote: 91 Points
This Especial version of the Reserva is made only in great vintages. So it ought to be significantly higher in quality than wines merely very good. On the whole, the 2001 Spanish wines remain remarkably rich and are strong competitors for the best vintage of the decade. Against those very high expectations, this Ardanza is somewhat disappointing. Strong oak flavors still stick out, the acidity often comes across as tart, the texture is several steps from caressing, the fruit is only moderately delicious, and the overall taste is not seamless. A high volatile acidity may be the main source of these problems. We hoped that prolonged tasting would resolve those problems, but alas, now we are at the last inch on the 6th day open, with little improvement.
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9/28/2015 - Tannatastic Likes this wine: 93 Points
Haha, well I guess this is where I go against the grain and confess that I wish I'd bought cases of the stuff. Starting to mellow from that facefull-smashing-fruit-and-oak combo, and is easily in Gran Reserva territory for other vintages.
Still bags of fruit, on the nose and palate, heading more towards blackcurrant and blackberry, maybe a hint of cherry and a nice lingering liquorice-like aftertaste. The acidity is starting to balance out and become refreshing and mouthwatering, as you would expect from good Rioja.
Entering its first flush of mature drinking window, this is a simply stunning wine that cannot be beaten on price and highlights what all the fuss is about with regards the 2001 vintage. Reserva Especial indeed.
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9/27/2015 - kingkanu wrote:
Tasting like it's getting younger, hold for a while yet
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9/25/2015 - chablis28 wrote: 91 Points
PnP into a Burg glass. Drank better and better as the night went on. The vanilla receded into the background and the flavors became more complex. Nose took on forest floor and tobacco elements. Very happy with this, my last btl. Might benefit from a few more years too? Paid $30 and worth it.
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9/20/2015 - Decanthor Likes this wine: 90 Points
This is still good, but beginning to fade. In 2011, this was full of bright fruits, vanilla, and some (region appropriate) leather/wood. Now, the brown/brick colors are coming in and the fruits are darker, with a slightly balsamic finish. Loved the pairing with our Spanish tapas, but I feel that this was fresher a few years ago. 90-
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9/20/2015 - olemski wrote: 86 Points
Beginning to fade - lacks buffering.
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9/18/2015 - Biggsy wrote: 92 Points
Really great nose with inky black fruits and lighter floral notes. Layers of flavour, starts leathery and meaty, becoming brighter revealing sweet but tart strawberry fruit and balsamic. Velvety texture and perfectly poised, a touch of spice on the very fine tannins and coconut oak on the long, long finish.
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9/15/2015 - AV2012 wrote: 89 Points
Vina Ardanza vertical: Concentrated, integrated oak. Dry, peppery feeling, pronounced accidity, dry, some vegetable beetroot notes. Seems young and lacking elegance after all the oldies. Of course, on its own, it wouldn't feel that young.
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8/30/2015 - Ron Van Holland wrote:
Previously tasted and noted on 6-3-13 and 6-1-14. This 375ml version remains fresh and delightful, concentrated but light-footed. Drinking well right now, with plenty of stuffing for further evolution.
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8/21/2015 - Paul D wrote: 90 Points
Medium garnet core, pale garnet/mahogany rim. Developed, classic Rioja nose, tobacco, leather, creamy vanilla, underlying red fruit, hint of mint. Medium bodied, soft, resolved tannins, elegant, leathery red fruit, creamy vanilla, harmonious with attractive fresh acidity, good length finish. Delicious, drinking well.
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8/20/2015 - Alexroy wrote: 94 Points
Brick red, translucent, showing age. Red fruit, herbs, spice, vanilla on nose. Young, fresh, full deep red fruit, balanced tannins, rich and gorgeous.
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8/7/2015 - MichaelMA wrote: 90 Points
Did not blow me away to the same extent as the first bottle, but still a fine example of traditional rioja.
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8/5/2015 - VDLT Wine Likes this wine:
Solidly traditional expression of Rioja. Austere fruit (maybe a phase?) but the total package is earthy, mineral driven and deep.
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7/29/2015 - no leashes wrote: 91 Points
Delicious and fully mature, but no need to rush. Red fruit, tobacco and earth, well balanced and drinking beautifully.
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7/26/2015 - newkid17 Does not like this wine: 83 Points
Just not my style. Vegetal, funk, no fruit except over ripened plum, but less sweet.
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7/17/2015 - Donjcorleone wrote: 92 Points
A perfumed nose of ripe red fruits, mint, sandalwood and vanilla which lead way to a juicy palate with a plum and blood orange flavored palate that carries good acidity on through the finish. A delightful wine for the price.
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7/2/2015 - wabi47 Likes this wine: 92 Points
vanilla and oak up front which quickly faded into the background; smoother than i recall; medium body with lovely red fruit and citrus--agree with the blood orange comment from another taster; perfect with the paella at Venga. Still getting better.
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6/26/2015 - SanderB wrote: 93 Points
Garnet with slight bricking. Herbal nose with dill dominant. Needed about an hour to open. Wonderful red licorice, lots and lots of cedar, orange marmalade, with a tartness that holds it together. Dusty raspberry finish. Great place right now.
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6/21/2015 - jeffreylubowski Likes this wine: 92 Points
5th bottle in several years. I served this to my friends blind at a party. It changed all throughout the night in the decanter. Vanilla and American oak followed by sweet cherry and blood orange. Long finish. Traditional rioja that most got blind. Will last for decades. A special wine.
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6/12/2015 - jdporter3 Likes this wine:
Drank with vertical of 2004, 2005 - see notes on those. Excellent as before, not likely to get better but certainly has life in it. A very good wine.
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6/3/2015 - rossi.wine wrote: 92 Points
From magnum. Wonderful nose, complex and open with rich fruit, smoke, slightly meaty. On the palate fresh and mineral with round, soft tannins. Nicely balanced, vibrant and long. Very good. Drink or hold. 91-93
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6/1/2015 - Pdxwinegeek wrote: 90 Points
Really good, was entertaining friends so did not take down specific tasting notes, but the years in the bottle definitely provided a balance and smoothness, but it still tasted fresh and vital, it was enjoyed by all.
Only one bottle left....
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5/23/2015 - americanstorm Likes this wine: 92 Points
Great wine. Really good qpr. Wish I had more. Really easy drinking and at a very nice place right now. Give it about 15 - 20 min decant and you are good to go.
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5/23/2015 - loegaute wrote: 88 Points
Plommesyltetøy, bjørnebær, lær, varm stein, røyk, svidd treverk og dill. Friskt og saftig anslag, god konsentrasjon og lengde. Frisk, spenstig syre og lett tørrende tanniner. Sursøt. Følger nesen, men med litt rosin og mye mer dill. 88p.
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5/10/2015 - Zoomin Z Likes this wine: 92 Points
Winner of the night, compared to two other Riojas on Mother's Day. (all left open to breathe for 1-2 hours)
Bright red fruits (mostly cherry) and masculine but balanced oak, a medium body with generous fruit and pleasing, substantial, food friendly acidity. Classic tannins now getting mellower with age.
Would not hold on to these too much longer.
This is what I think of, when I think of Rioja.
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5/10/2015 - wineslide wrote:
This is the last bottle of this wine I have. The previous two I tasted were downright awful while the ones before that were quite nice.
Opened this yesterday, this bottle is one of the good ones. Cedar, cherries and a smooth lightish weight for Rioja. Will report back tomorrow.
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4/19/2015 - AV2012 wrote: 88 Points
Classic, old school Rioja, just as before. A lot of dill and pickle from US oak, medium body, some red fruits, rather high accidity, very nice food wine, that becomes fatter and bolder with air.
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4/16/2015 - Will Devize wrote: 87 Points
Dense and bright but desperately oaky at this stage. Fierce acid, flavour profile much more shouty than the last bottle. Also lacking harmony and tannic integration although this will hopefully improve with age. Leave til 2017.
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4/15/2015 - Mlermontov wrote: 93 Points
From the Cave of Ali Kebob-a: oh my! while Muga was mature-ish and polished - this wine is a young wilderbeast!! Started of funky and meaty with vanilla notes but evolved over the night into mint and herbs and forest floor. bright cherry mid with powerful tannins and refreshing tangy acidity. like biting into and handful of berries. finish is long, tangy with smooth tannins that will require years more of aging. another ridiculous QPR and a reminder - I NEED MORE RIOJA. this is just awesome, mindblowing young wine. (93++)
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4/5/2015 - yossarian.livez Does not like this wine:
Completely unlike the last bottle. Now that i've tasted through a few of them, tremendous bottle variation. And while not off, just scatter shot and brisque.
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3/9/2015 - Colia wrote: 96 Points
Damn fine impression of a Gevrey-Chambertin. Sweet strawberry and cherries, black tea, and spices. Still bright and alive, but the wine was all about texture. Silk.
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3/1/2015 - Edouard84 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Last bottle was the best.
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2/27/2015 - Tarabucetta wrote: 88 Points
Aerated more than an hour in a carafe.
Too much oak from my point of view. You can find less expensive wine in Bordeaux with the same taste. I'm bit disappointed regarding to the excellent Gran reserva 904.
This wine is still young
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2/16/2015 - tooch wrote:
February Rotating Wine Dinner (Mon Ami Gabi - Chicago, IL): In a flight of older Rioja's this absolutely stood out. Denser, darker, and years away from the beautiful 1985 vintage open alongside it. I think the material here is quite good, but I worry about the oak here. Tons of oak everywhere you look in this wine and you have to wonder if this will age in a similar arc as the 1985?
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2/7/2015 - DK Amateur wrote:
Decanted an hour before drinking and served in Riedel Vinum Bordeaux glasses. Needed a bit more time than that to show all its spicy, earthy, dark-berried aromas with a distinct strawberry note. Juicy and vigourous. Hard to decide if its best now, in this kind of relative Rioja youth, or in ten or twenty years when it will presumably be seamlessly mellow.
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2/2/2015 - Murphy6000 wrote:
Gamey, beefy, flavoursome. A well made, characterful wine.
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2/1/2015 - Nealefisher wrote: 91 Points
Super Bowl Sunday - Last bottle of this, much better than the previous. Strong notes of red fruits and very light tannins. Paired well with lamb. Easy drinking, not too complex. Still very nice.
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1/26/2015 - GTFreek wrote:
Blind tasted. Sweet caramelized fennel on the nose, dried red cherry, crushed violets, stewed strawberry, sour cherry, a tell tale coconut note. Clearly developed with some age. Medium tannins, acidity. The whole room (13 people) correctly guessed aged Rioja.
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1/25/2015 - julao Likes this wine: 92 Points
Domino nigth @ home w/foursome (8 btls consumed), consistent notes, everybody loved the wine as Well as food (burrata con tomate deshidratado y huevos rotos sobre espárragos)
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1/17/2015 - Los 12 Glotones wrote: 91 Points
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Els12golafres Wine Tasting Group: http://vinosclasicos.blogspot.com.es/2014/12/vina-ardanza-2001-reserva-especial.html
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De color rubí rojizo de capa media, claro, límpido, brillante. Relejos rojizos y anaranjados, refulgente. Borde estrecho, cobrizo, diferenciado respecto al menisco.
Aromas de fuerte intensidad, repleto de matices. Abunda la fruta roja, reducida, con una fuerte impronta de madera tostada, cedro, y una batería de reductivos (monte umbrío, hojarasca, yute, duelas envinadas). Brilla en exceso, aún sin mucho orden, sacando notas tostadas, regaliz Zara, cacao en polvo, especias ahumadas. Muchísima fuerza. Después de 14 años este vino sigue jovencísimo.
En boca es grueso, amplio, maduro, con un apunte de dulcedumbre tan varietal que nos da a pensar que aquí hay más que el 20% de garnacha declarada. Sabroso, vivo, enérgico, de una solidez tremenda y personalidad arrolladora. Taninos firmes, aún marcados, y una acidez que envuelve el conjunto como la cobertura de un caramelo. Un Viña Ardanza en gran estado de forma que apenas ha iniciado su andadura. Tiene todo lo necesario para disfrutar un recorrido larguísimo y seguir puliéndose. Y vaya si lo necesita!!! El mejor Ardanza desde 1996!!!
Esta botella procede de uno de los primeros lotes vendidos por la bodega y el resultado es absolutamente diferente de los otros que hemos probado. Muchos de ellos eran vinos simplones, excesivos y faltos de equilibrio. Las dudas son claras: cómo se pudo vender tantísimo Ardanza del 2001 sin realizar ensamblaje de cosechas? Cuesta creer que durante 4-5 años se haya podido encontrar este vino en casi cualquier lugar. Por muy abundante que fuera la añada no puede dar para tanto... Damos por hecho que ha habido un ensamblaje, sin saber hasta que punto, con las cosechas de 2002 y 2003. Lo de "Reserva Especial" ha sido una gran operación de marketing y un éxito de ventas pero nos ha dejado con muchas dudas. Mal asunto!!
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80% tempranillo, 20% garnacha - 13.5% vol.
La garnacha procede de viñedos ubicados en Tudelilla y el resto de uvas son originarias de la finca Viña Ardanza de Montecillo así como de pequeños productores de las localidades de Haro, Briñas, Briones, Villalba y Labastida. Realiza la primera fermentación en depósitos de acero inoxidable durante 14 días. La fermentación maloláctica tardó en realizarse 21 días. Trasegado a barricas de roble americano de 225 litros de 3 años de edad media, en marzo de 2002. Es sometido a crianza durante un periodo de 36 meses, con un total de 2 trasiegas manuales cada año hasta la fecha de su embotellado, en septiembre de 2005. Un mínimo de 48 meses de guarda en botellero en los calados de la bodega antes de ser comercializado.
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2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (3)
1/11/2015 - Griffeyfan04 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Similar notes to my last bottle. No variation like some have seen. Love the saddle leather, orange peel, and game meats on the nose and palate. Really a nice wine
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12/29/2014 - rubdomi wrote:
bottle oxidized. like vinegar.
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12/28/2014 - josephme wrote:
Bottle corked
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12/28/2014 - Hsinchu wrote: 90 Points
Decanted for an hour before it opened up. Very nice with ham. No sediment.
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12/27/2014 - Mr T wrote:
PNP so mostly got the dill of American oak
Better with air but not a great showing
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12/25/2014 - Bodyfxr wrote: 93 Points
Decanted for an hour. Amazingly no sediment. Lovely deep crimson/violet hue. This wine is drinking beautifully at the moment. I can't imagine what this might continue to evolve into. A very smooth combination of fruit and smoke with mild herbaceousness. A well made rioja.
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12/25/2014 - Benj wrote: 90 Points
Fairly consistent with last year's note but showing its age a little more. Still excellent acid but either this bottle isn't quite as good or it's starting to go downhill. This one was almost a little gooey. Still delicious.
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12/22/2014 - Vinomane wrote:
Just turning the corner into early maturity. Drunk with two guests alongside the 2004 Reserva, this was the clear favorite, with much better balance. Still too soon to score after 6 bottles over the course of 3 years.
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11/24/2014 - Spencer wrote:
Outrageously oaky, even after a couple hours of audouzing. Eventually this rounded out and was enjoyable and fairly complex. Bright spicy fruit. Needs some more time in bottle.
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11/24/2014 - shellylowen Likes this wine: 89 Points
Nice silky cherry, but now with a little funky nose.
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11/22/2014 - bon vivant wrote:
Obviously did not decant this for long enough, as in day one this was just rather light with pronounced acidity. Day 2, much better showing with a little more substance. tart red fruit, still lots of wood, spice, tea, mint, tobacco and a promising finish. Gased and refrigerated and tonight 4 days later this was still very solid with no signs of oxidation and perhaps even a little more enjoyable. It is hard to say where this will go but i suspect this may become a lot more interesting with some serious cellar time. Lets hope.
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11/22/2014 - PDavisMarble wrote: 89 Points
Blood red. A touch vegetal on the nose, initially. Needed time to open up. As it did, notes of fruit washed over the herbs and cedar. Needs more time in bottle. Still youthful.
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11/19/2014 - dke wrote: 90 Points
Nice rioja with bright acidity. Some cherries, leather, tobacco, earth. Initially too much bitterness but smooths out on the second night. Might need few more years in the bottle.
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10/25/2014 - bbakove wrote: 89 Points
Interesting developments over the past year. Ruby color out to the edge. Spice notes on the nose seem more akin to sandalwood now, with black cherry and a faint bit of leather. Flavors are more integrated now with a sweet impression on the attack. Luscious mouthfeel. Acid and tannins are moderate and seem to come from the oak. It's possible this wine is now at it's peak, as the fruit flavors seems to be progressing faster than the wood. We'll see in a year. Very enjoyable.
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10/24/2014 - Enfant sauvage Likes this wine:
The oak is integrating, though it is still pretty huge in this. What disturbs me more is that my last two bottles have tended more toward the fruity and a bit sweet, which is not how my first bottles were, nor is it what I expect from my old school rioja. That said, this bottle was better than the last, nothing pruny about it at all. My remaining few bottles will be left to rest for quite a while.
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10/22/2014 - lolo66 wrote: 89 Points
after giving it a slow ox for an hour the taste was sour cherry and a strong taste of dill pickles. Having had experience with this wine, I am hopeful this will blow off, but don't expect to until tomorrow. thus a small pour, vacu seal, in the fridge, and then enjoy tomorrow - hopefully.
2nd day. While the oak has subsided, I have noticed the fruit not strong enough to hold up to the oak. What is there is nice, pleasant, feminine fruit, that darn oak...
This has become an experiment for me. Day 4 - still vacuum sealed. The wine is now more about sweet balsamic melded into the oak. less sour cherry. Hmmm. Maybe there is a future. Acidity seems stronger on the finish now as well. I am coming to the conclusion this wine needs a lot more time to integrate and show its true potential. I would project something like another 7 years or so and drink this at 20 years of age and more.
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10/17/2014 - jfarley3 wrote: 87 Points
Garnet with slightly browning edge I color. Nose of brandied cherry, oak, and brown spice. Medium to full body, the alcohol overrides the fruit. Definitely has the spiciness on the back of the palate and the finish. A little out of balance and the fruit starting to lose the battle. Drink now.
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10/14/2014 - honest bob wrote: 92 Points
From 75cl, perfect cork, decanted one hour. Wonderfully fresh, with the bright acidity and red fruit of a superlative Burgundy (Chambolle Musigny 1. Cru, perhaps, but with more body?) but with American oak, of course, and some serious dry but perfectly ripe redcurrant-pip tannins, just to show that this wine is no pushover. No hurry. Now–2020. 92P
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10/7/2014 - MedocMad wrote: 90 Points
Not so much Wow factor on this bottle I guess its closed or closely down ??
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10/5/2014 - InflationHedge Likes this wine: 93 Points
Consistent with prior bottle. This is really singing - bright ripe fruit, coffee/mocha, good complexity & long finish. Drinking beautifully now, but showing no sign of slowing.
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10/4/2014 - garambler Likes this wine: 91 Points
I took this to a 10/4/14 Tempranillo tasting. It had a deep, fragrant bouquet of violet, black cherry, sandalwood, sassafras, cinnamon, vanilla and spice aromas. The palate was medium-bodied, elegant and dry with flavors of black cherry, cola, cinnamon, anise, vanilla, spice and minerals. Our group’s average score was 90.25.
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10/2/2014 - nsellen wrote: 91 Points
Just a bit of age at the rim and an tinge of orange in the pour. Nose open and inviting. Mouth balances sweet, savoury, vegetal and enough cut to keep it all clean. Super place on day 1 and just a little below on day 2.
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9/22/2014 - jcovino Likes this wine: 89 Points
Simple, Burgundian, easy.....
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9/20/2014 - SanderB wrote: 93 Points
Inky purple. Deep graphite and dried fruit nose. Leather, some tartness, velvety texture, tannins completely integrated leaving a long dusty finish.
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9/16/2014 - honest bob wrote: 91 Points
Priorat, Montsant and Rioja; 9/5/2014-9/18/2014: From 75cl, perfect cork, P+P at room temperature in a restaurant in Laguardia. Fully mature and open from the start, improved over 90 minutes. Purringly smooth, the old-style Rioja equivalent of a super-luxury limousine —it moves so silently, so gently, you barely notice the immense power and weight. Less thrilling than the RA 2001 Gran Reserva 904 tasted last night, it is nonetheless a fantastic, if more gentle wine. Balsamic, warm, perceptible American oak, but no sign of volatility. Great now and for years to come. 90-91P
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9/14/2014 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 92 Points
Some Spanish Wines on a Saturday afternoon (Some very old ones) (CB): Very nice. Ruby/purple in color. The nose has dusty cherries with slight vanilla. A bit of red licorice but also a bit of mint. Lovely texture. Slight tannins. Showing nice layering of fruit and forest floor. Nice balance. Dirking great right now.
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9/8/2014 - InflationHedge Likes this wine: 91 Points
Much better than previous bottle...the raisin sweetness has subsided, replaced by juicy dark fruits. Also more depth on the palate. Not sure how this garnered the ratings, but I am looking forward to seeing how this evolves.
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9/3/2014 - gazinho Likes this wine: 90 Points
Still feeling fresh, no bricking in this one.
All the usual generous oak & fruit, tasting sweeter than ever!
Particularly good with a Chorizo & Garbanzos stew.
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8/29/2014 - Tom Myers Likes this wine: 91 Points
Needs an hour of decanting
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8/19/2014 - bugdoced Likes this wine: 91 Points
initially thought there was too much age by the color,nose and first taste
but in a short while this settled down into a dark fruit earthy treat that held up over a three day period
hard to ask for more and a great qpr
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8/19/2014 - sharonandroland Likes this wine: 94 Points
Top bottle. Always an incredible pleasure.
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8/13/2014 - mtaczak wrote: 90 Points
Drinking ok, but still not especially interesting. Dilly and sour. Opens up after an hour or two but never blossoms.
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8/8/2014 - Weston3220 wrote:
decanted for an hour still very youthful, palate wise very refined, balanced loads of acidity, red fruit beautiful but also very young, with good brought out the best in it. Loads of Savory Gamey notes also
Conc: Still young and needs another decade of sideways time
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7/29/2014 - Votefordennis Likes this wine: 93 Points
Outstanding aroma, nice caramel color, great finish, fantastic
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7/25/2014 - jdporter3 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Might be better that the 2001 LRA of which I also have a case. Funny nose, kind of cork and cedar but not unpleasant. Definitely pleasing cherry notes and limited depth, length. Still, very nice with lighter pork tenderloin and well liked by all.
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7/20/2014 - cristian_m wrote: 91 Points
Very good with great evolution over the course of the night. Acidity is in a really good spot right now. Tinges of overripeness with the fruit.
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7/19/2014 - diggydan wrote: 93 Points
Excellent drinking tonight. Bright cherry and oak on the nose; bright and rich cherry and oak on the palate. Yes, the finish has a bit of dill pickle flavor from the 'merican oak but that tastes good to me.
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7/17/2014 - Rechrom wrote: 92 Points
Drinking very well after a decant, and even better after a night in a poured off half bottle. Has great fruit and balance. Limited complexity, but excellent with food and alone. Very easy drinking wine at this point.
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6/29/2014 - LJT wrote: 91 Points
Very nice bouquet. Full taste and long aftertaste. Better than other bottles of this wine I have had before. This was perfect last night, with grilled tuna and vegetables.
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6/22/2014 - PDavisMarble wrote: 90 Points
Blood red. Characteristic nose. Chewy mouthfeel. Nice long finish. Consistent with the rest of the lot -- aging well.
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6/19/2014 - Champagneinhand Likes this wine: 85 Points
I had so much hope for this bottle, as I enjoyed a great RdD Alion of the same age two weeks back and it was wonderful. This wasn't flawed or corked, just not impressive. The red fruits were there and the spices from American oak, but there was a weird unresolved bitterness of wood which sort of ruined the finish and no creaminess I have come to expect from the use of American oak and long aging.
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6/15/2014 - dlstrauss wrote: 92 Points
Doesn't disappoint.
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6/14/2014 - sharonandroland Likes this wine: 93 Points
Perfect bottle - alwaysa pleasure to drink.
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6/3/2014 - kevin h wrote: 93 Points
A really lovely bottle with all the classic Rioja aromas of mocha, orange peel, leather, boot polish and redcurrant. Rich deep wine with great finesse add gravy fruit, subtle oak. It has it all. This is all about elegance and complexity rather than power, superb.
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6/1/2014 - Fur in the glass Likes this wine:
Opened and let sit for an hour or so. Amazing nose on this- vanilla, fruit and wood. Oakey palate. Both went down well with the crowd.
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6/1/2014 - Ron Van Holland wrote: 93 Points
Stunning bouquet, with impeccable follow-through. Outstanding. Complex and aromatically powerful without being heavy, this wine pairs with food like a pinot noir/red Burgundy (more than like a cabernet sauvignon or merlot/red Bordeaux). Excellent last night with hardwood-grilled salmon with dill aioli.
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5/26/2014 - Swaggering Beaunie Likes this wine: 92 Points
(Tasted after a 3-hour decant). This is a delightful and delicious Rioja in the traditional style, exhibiting juicy blackberry and blackcurrant, smoke, and quite a bit of cigar box, along with generous acidity, firm tannins, and hints of sweet dark tobacco and graham cracker. It finishes with lingering tannins and a bit of lilac-like perfume.
This is how Rioja ought to be. It's approachable now with a decant, but has many years of shelf life left. I wish I had cases and cases of this vintage.
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5/25/2014 - javi777 Likes this wine: 96 Points
This IS a wonderful bottle from a great vintage year. Medium body but with power, peppery, jammy, lots of caramelized red fruit, a bit of leather and easy on the oak. At around 21 dollars when i bought it a few years ago and aged already for 13 years it delivers such finesse and depth that i only wish i could have gotten more
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5/23/2014 - Herschel Krustofski Likes this wine: 92 Points
Decanted 1 hour (needs 2 hours, really), sampled over 2 additional hours. Feels younger than 13 years old. Strawberry and a hint of cranberry at first, give way to licorice and fig. Best after 2 hours. Good depth. Traditional, impressive wine. Just beginning to blossom. I'd drink my remaining bottles over the next 10 years.
Slightly restrained and not as vivid as the Castillo Ygay 2004 we had yesterday but that's probably comparing apples and oranges.... There's room for both, but perhaps not side by side.
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5/17/2014 - Rickets wrote: 80 Points
Not quite what I expected. Lovely nose consistent with well-aged rioja. Palate was well balanced ripe berries with spice. However the finish left a tart, bitter, pungent taste that was plainly offensive. Not corked though... was this the bottle variation that so many speak of? I hope my remaining 3 bottles are better....
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5/14/2014 - Kevdog Likes this wine: 91 Points
Smelled musty on opening (cork was very musty) and was afraid it was flawed. Tasted ok on opening so have it an hour. Nose took 2 hours for musty to blow off and another hour to develope. Upon second hour this wine began to open up and improved throughout night. Complex, elegant, good fruit and structure. I was not put off by the oak at all. This wine is a great value if you have the patience to let it open up.
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5/11/2014 - Oldworlddrinker wrote: 90 Points
Following recommendations from other tasters decanted for 1H+. Nose of whole cloves, cinnamon and all spice, little if any fruit on the nose. On the palate, the spices notes continues along vanilla, sandalwood and cherry cola. The wine has good acidity, light tannins that have been nicely integrated.
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5/11/2014 - jrpas1 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Nose of black cherry, vanilla, tobacco, coffee. Cherry notes continue onto the palate, some cola, good acidity. Worked nicely with Persian kabobs and stew.
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5/4/2014 - wineslide wrote:
I am a little relieved after the last couple of bottles I drank that this one did not turn my stomach. I was really surprised when I took in the nose and noted red fruit, some oak and all of the savory elements I had seen in the past.
All in all, the wine was pretty tasty, but I cannot for the life of me believe the bottle variation that I have experienced with this one.
Will follow up with a Day 2 tasting tweet soon.
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5/4/2014 - AIB Likes this wine: 90 Points
Drinking great. My wife suggested hints of pickle but she had too much to drink.
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4/28/2014 - dyuhas wrote: 85 Points
Nothing special. Red table wine.
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4/25/2014 - weingutwilhelm wrote: 91 Points
Dense aromas of earthy spice, antique wood and dried strawberry preserves. Focused sour cherry concentrate, lifted and rusty on the palate. Tart acidity and soft black-tea tannins.
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4/20/2014 - tomklev Likes this wine: 91 Points
Remarkably cool and tight, with really nice notes of blueberry, blackberry, chocolate, caramel, mint, licorice, what have you. Very good.
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4/20/2014 - theonlylittledog wrote: 93 Points
More integrated than a couple of years ago. Rich and funky.
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4/18/2014 - bags wrote:
this has integrated and settled down remarkably--frankly, maybe too much. It's got a nice Burgundian feel to it; I got none of the leather or funk. But, of course, there's demonstrated bottle variation. This one at least, I could serve to non-geeky friends without worry. Smooth and well-behaved. I doubt it's going to improve, but it could go on for years. I'm moving this from "save and develop" to a casual, but solid pop and pour.
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4/18/2014 - Burgundynick wrote: 84 Points
I have to say I was a tad disappointed. It had a great nose with deep fruit, hints of leather and lovely caramel. The palate was overly acidic. It was good but that's all. The 904 is far better and the cvne imperial is too. 84 points
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4/14/2014 - capacious Likes this wine: 90 Points
Distinctive, good balance of mineral and fruit, refreshingly fruity but restrained, a great value.
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4/14/2014 - K&J Likes this wine: 93 Points
Fabulous, classic, elegant Rioja. Medium bodied so it doesn't slap you in the face! Tasted a touch of bacon fat which I don't think is a norm but rather adds to its complexity. Absolutely wonderful wine!
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4/12/2014 - 3daywinereview.com wrote: flawed
Sadly cooked as the last bottle was solid.
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4/6/2014 - Tannatastic wrote: 91 Points
CVNE vs La Rioja Alta faceoff (Chez Mas): Very dark and young looking.
Young Rioja nose, a facefull of Birdseye Vanilla custard, with a hint of blueberries and blackcurrants thrown in. (One taster even claimed a hint of cauliflower!).
Palate of strawberries, fizzy cola bottle sweets, some blackcurrant and other dark fruits, drying, quite long and smooth finish. Fresh and young.
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4/6/2014 - 3daywinereview.com wrote: 92 Points
Some bricking. Classic Rioja with leather, funk, spice, earth and red currants. Still somewhat tannic but drinking on day 2 this has opened up a ton. Day one with a lot of wood. Medium plus finish and will see how this evolves over the next few days. At $32 not a bad price point wine. 92 plus
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4/6/2014 - chcook wrote:
All I smelled was wood and cherries. softened with decanting but still present. pleasant enough with food. not really my style
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4/2/2014 - ID wrote:
The cherry is very strong -- both in the nose and on the tongue. And it's a sour cherry. Very tart. Interesting, but not really very enjoyable.
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4/1/2014 - MarkinBaltimore Likes this wine: 93 Points
Bright red with noticeable orange tinge. Bouquet of maraschino cherries, cedar, olives, vanilla, rosemary, and aged meat. Full and mouth filling with drying tannins on the finish. Delicious with great balance, concentration, and a long finish.
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3/31/2014 - Nealefisher wrote: 88 Points
Some nice notes of spice, but a bit too tart on the finish.
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3/23/2014 - Rob-Rah wrote: 86 Points
Shrill, acid and herbs. So much acid. Bleh. None of these bottles taste the same as each other!
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3/23/2014 - Crispin Likes this wine: 91 Points
Excellent. Brick red. Took an hour to open up, still plenty of tannin but once open it was fruity with vanilla and cedar. Going to leave remaining bottles for a few years.
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3/18/2014 - HStaal wrote: 92 Points
WSET Level 3 Course - Berry Brothers & Rudd; 1/25/2014-3/22/2014 (Berry Brothers & Rudd - Basingstoke): Tasted Single Blind - under WSET 3 exam conditions (for practice). Presented with choice of 3 possible generic identities for the sample.
Appearance: clear, medium garnet with a tawny rim. Clear legs evident
Nose: clean medium(+) intensity aromas of red fruits, oak, mature savoury notes, developing/fully developed
Palate: dry, medium(+) acidity, medium(+) tannins, medium body, medium level of alcohol (13.5%), medium intensity of flavour - red fruit, oak, mature savoury notes, medium(+) length finish
Overall: very good balance, quite long, intense, complex
Conclusion: VERY GOOD; can drink now - suitable for further ageing. HIGH price (£14.39).
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3/16/2014 - wineslide Does not like this wine:
Another bottle and I still don't like this wine. Amazingly thin and loaded with savory notes, herbs and no fruit. It just smells sour, and that is how the fruit tastes as well.
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3/7/2014 - Griffeyfan04 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Decanted for an hour and a half before drinking. On initial pour into decanter there was some leather and earthy quality but nothing else. The wine has a somewhat dark garnet center edging out to a dark amber. After the decant this one had a lot more fruit singing. Some saddle leather, orange peel, strawberry, spice and a hint of plum and underbrush. Still some tannin hanging in there and a touch of acid and some tartness. A nice complex character to this wine with some layers. Not the longest finish ever but a pleasant one. And a decent mouthfeel to it. I have two more bottles and would say I am drinking them up within 3 years.
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2/27/2014 - Cullens wrote: 90 Points
Nice wine, interesting given its age. The wine needed time to open up, it seemed closed down and required air (1 hour) to allow the fruit come out. Because there was an intermingled flavor profile, I believe this wine was better years ago. Drink now.
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2/22/2014 - alanh13 wrote:
Popped and drunk with manchego. Good structure: acidity, tannin, minerality (gravelly) and oak influence (coconut, dill, clove) but no fruit whatsoever. Quite strange. May just need more air. Topped up bottle with argon gas and will try again.
... Not much different the following day: lacking fruit.
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2/20/2014 - Rich S Likes this wine: 90 Points
Dark crimson color. Big blast of dill and coconut cream on the nose along with spicy dark red fruits. Red currants, black cherry, a bit of sweet pipe tobacco and creamy vanilla oak notes on the palate. Medium+ acid, medium tannins with a dry, tart red fruit finish. The oak was a little too much at times but I don't think it detracted from the wine overall.
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2/17/2014 - Zweder wrote: 88 Points
Weekly tasting group #107; A fully blind test. (@ My place): Mature bouquet with autumn impressions, some smoke and tobacco. On the palate rustic, some chocolate, tea, tobacco, firm acidity, still jammy fruits and vanilla. Also some oxidized impressions. The acidity is a bit overruling in the wine. Overall this wine remind a bit of the "Grand Reserva" Rioja wines from the 1980's, where the oaky, high acidity plays a major role. Special wine and not sure if I really like it. The score for today was 88. Have another 75 cl. bottle and 2 magnums, so there will be a follow up.
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2/16/2014 - Seth Rosenberg Does not like this wine: 78 Points
Whoa, this isn't anything like the previous bottles that I had (and liked) - those were quite old world, with ripe fruit, stones, and sun. The nose of this is all simple new oak - like a battering ram, maybe some fruit behind it, but it is hard to tell, maybe a little spice. The palate is oaky, bitter and hollow. Now all that 'bottle variation' talk is starting to make sense to me. Note: this isn't flawed in any way that I know - it's not corked, it's not vinegar, it's not Brett - it's just bad, so I'm going to score it. Nose - 2/6, Palate - 3/6, Finish - 3/6, Je ne Sais Quoi - 0/2 = 8/20.
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1/25/2014 - guchl wrote: 92 Points
Absolutely awesome on pop and pour... great fruit, leather, vanilla... all nicely integrated and quite light on its feet. Day 2 has traded some fruit for some earth... still nice, but I miss the brighter notes.
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1/21/2014 - Mellers wrote:
2hr decant. Surprisingly light/cherry red appearance. Good secondary and some tertiary aromas of vanilla and leather, then real freshness on the palate with tannins which are starting to round. Dark fruit still showing well. Good balance overall. Really benefited from the decant and time in the glass - do not pop and pour. Far better than previous bottles - variation?
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1/11/2014 - CGWIND Likes this wine: 91 Points
Delicious. Nicely balanced fruit, with hint of earth and nice tannins. Showing nicely
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1/8/2014 - Levinsb wrote:
too oaky, pure vanilla wrapped red fruit. my earlier bottles didn't taste this way, so perhaps its hit a spot i don't care for or bottle variation, but i will wait on the rest...
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1/7/2014 - sharkarama wrote: 90 Points
Good fruit, some spice, maybe a little jaded
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1/4/2014 - maxima Likes this wine: 90 Points
Très beau Rioja, difficile à trouver au Québec!
Beau nez sur le cuir, les herbes, un peu d`élevage et du cassis avec une pointe de poivre.
En bouche, bel équilibre. Les tannins sont fondus, il y a de la mine de crayon, des cerises, un peu de tabac et de la canelle.
Belle longueur sur des relents de fumée!
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1/3/2014 - pikemasterflash wrote: 93 Points
This great QPR wine just keeps on delivering so consistently--cedar, vanilla and almost a creamy smooth feel.
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1/2/2014 - jeffreylubowski Likes this wine: 92 Points
Fourth bottle in four months. I can't keep my hands off. I always show this to spanish wine virgins and they flip out. Thirty bucks for this. Unreal. Same tastes as my last note. Hope I can save a few for the long haul.
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12/31/2013 - Vinomane wrote: 92 Points
Second straight excellent bottle. Definitely coming around at long last. Should perfectly bridge the gap between regular 2001 reservas (now fully mature with some in decline) and gran reservas (mostly still in hibernation) for the next 5-10 years.
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12/30/2013 - capacious Likes this wine: 87 Points
Somewhat astringent. Hopefully not on the downside because I bought a few cases based on the price. Recall enjoying more previously.
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12/24/2013 - Benj Likes this wine: 92 Points
Rioja at its best, for my palate. This is leather, red and dark fruit, warm rich American oak but bright and refreshing on the palate. A newer style than some riojas but not the punch in the face that others have become. Tannins are perfectly integrated now but people who like them super soft may want to wait another few years. 13.5%. $30.
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12/23/2013 - Martin Redmond Likes this wine: 92 Points
Dark brick garnet color with intriguing earthy, leather, smoke, dried red fruit, fresh meat, vanilla, cedar wood and spice aromas. On the palate, it's light-medium bodied, and fresh with a silky texture, smooth well integrated tannins and tart-ish cherry, vanilla, spice oak, and leather flavors. Long finish, clean finish. Great value in a mature Rioja at $30!
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12/22/2013 - RogerG Likes this wine:
Slightly orange edge, nose of warm fruit and strong dill. Dill comes through in the taste, along with a toasty, rounded flavor at the start. Soft tannins. First of 6 bottles. Next day the dill was less dominant.
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12/20/2013 - up4wine wrote: 91 Points
MHO party wine; As discussed before this wine can be quite variable bottle to bottle. Fortunately, this was a really excellent bottle; bright, clear fruit with just enough sweetness. The finish was long and pleasurable. Interestingly, my theory on the bottle # giving a clue as to the individual bottle quality appears to be incorrect. This bottle # was in the 870K's, whereas the previous bottle that I thought was past its peak was mid-100K #.
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12/14/2013 - Bob Barker Does not like this wine: 88 Points
Drank over three days. Extremely tight on day one. All about acidity, not showing anything. A little better on day two, but still not enjoyable, undrinkable on day three. None of the elegance suggested by the professional ratings. I would love to be wrong, but doubt that this will evolve into anything meaningful. Maybe just not my kind of wine. Try again in five years.
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12/13/2013 - Crispin wrote: 91 Points
Stunning. Brick red rim. Cedar and strawberry nose. Vanilla and oak all gently mixed with fruit, leather and some lovely structure. Gorgeous wine. Coming to a peak.
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12/12/2013 - eluebchow wrote: 93 Points
After having tried this wine several times, it seems to be getting better with each tasting. Even from the start, the nose is expressive, with notes of tobacco, balsamic, cherries, leather and earth. The wine certainly benefited from several hours of air, becoming more complex and nuanced, suggesting this will be great for years to come. A refined and memorable wine.
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11/30/2013 - PDavisMarble wrote: 90 Points
Blood red. Initial nose of leather, fresh sawn wood, moist earth and cherries. Initial notes of sweet cherries and chocolate, camphor, plums and currants. Nice acids. WIne developed for 2 hours inthe glass. Opened to more floral notes with less sweetness.
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11/24/2013 - Treblid wrote: 90 Points
- Smooth texture.
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11/23/2013 - sirwine Likes this wine: 92 Points
What a wonderful older wine that can hold up for years but is drinking well right now. Very dry with lovely vanilla and smoke on the nose and quatre épices and pomegranate in the mouth. Still enough acid and tannins to last a few more years. Love this wine with lamb shanks.
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11/17/2013 - up4wine wrote: 89 Points
This wine seems either in decline or inconsistent bottle to bottle. The serial # is in the 183K range, which is early compared to other bottles I have had. Fruit was not so bright as previous. I now have had 2 weak showings against 5 or 6 excellent bottles.
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11/10/2013 - chbeaumont wrote: 92 Points
Continues to progress at a snails pace. The weight & presence to accompany roast leg of lamb, lovely texture. Can be enjoyed now but potential room to improve.
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11/10/2013 - jeffreylubowski Likes this wine: 93 Points
Decanted for an hour. What a great wine for the price. Nice cherry and light oak. Can stand up to many more expensive Riojas (even in the same company's line). This Rioja is a crowd pleaser - a great one for those not familiar with the beauty of the most underrated country's wine.
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11/8/2013 - wineslide wrote:
Way more savory than I remember. Very little fruit made it through beyond the pruney goodness that is ever present. Herbs are really the word of the day here.
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11/4/2013 - stubbie999 Likes this wine:
Good, not great bottle (there's been a ton of bottle variation for me). Missing a bit of the brightness that the better bottles had, and the fruit seems a touch muddied and stewed. Still, quite enjoyable and lovely with some caprese topped sliders.
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10/27/2013 - empire80 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Cherry balsam, some earthy notes, hint of tobacco, fresh acidity on the finish. Very fine indeed.
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10/27/2013 - Enfant sauvage wrote:
Gave this one a good amount of air. It felt more integrated than previous bottles, though still just a baby. Unfortunately, this bottle seemed to have a bit less acid than previous, which made the none too subtle oak a bit too much. Some coconut from the American oak on top of raisin and prune - not ideal, but this remains an intriguing wine.
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10/26/2013 - PDavisMarble wrote: 91 Points
Blood red. Assertive, fruity nose with leather and camphor behind it. A lovely, powerful and complex wine, which is still young, though more integrated than when last tasted.
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10/21/2013 - easttide Likes this wine: 91 Points
Pretty nice after some air.
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10/20/2013 - Osiris021 Likes this wine: 93 Points
No formal notes.
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10/20/2013 - d'Yquembe Mutombo wrote: 91 Points
I enjoyed this a lot more than a bottle from last year. Medium bodied, ruby red color with extra electricity. High acidity and american oak combine to produce a delicious dill pickle essence that behaves nicely alongside the cherry and red berry fruit. I can see this wine being very polarizing...reminds me a lot of the 2008 Pegau in that way. Treads a very fine line between delicious and overtly flawed, but this juice stays on the right side of the line. Begs for food and highly versatile with pairings.
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10/20/2013 - alanh13 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Cork in perfect condition, perfect storage. On opening: quite alcoholic and hot, bloody, dense, a touch of sweetness and some volatility. Previous experience tells me this needs time. Going to decant for an hour or two...
Opened up considerably with a 90 minute decant. Quite obvious oak influence.
Beautiful with rack of lamb with rosemary & garlic: sweet strawberry with lots of oak: coconut, dill, vanilla. Almost reminded me of a serious Burgundy from a ripe vintage with lots of oak (Denis Mortet?). Very complex, but still seems young. Still has tiniest hint of traditional Rioja balsamic funkiness but it's the oak that dominates here and the lamb brings out the sweet fruit. I'm getting cedar on the finish, almost like whiskey.
This is exactly what good (young?!) Rioja should be. The structure is great, including a lovely dollop of acidity. This has a very long life. Excellent wine.
... With cheese plate (gouda, stilton): went very well, even standing up to some stilton. After it showed some slight dryness (contrasting with port though).
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10/18/2013 - Fredbird Likes this wine: 90 Points
Medium body smooth drinking and perfect match for Mediterranean platter of hummus, grape leaves, etc
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10/16/2013 - Bodyfxr wrote: 90 Points
Decanted for 3 hours prior to javimg with home made baby back ribs with Eric and Murph. See previous note.
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10/2/2013 - alabunka wrote: 88 Points
Again - this wine was very good but perhaps expectations were too high - the rating was the average from 3 people who shared it at dinner over pork chops; it had medium body and tannins but did not leap towards any memorable finish.
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9/26/2013 - nschmidt Likes this wine: 92 Points
Drank at Uncle Moustache. Still wonderful and will last for a while more.
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9/26/2013 - dkstar1 Likes this wine: 89 Points
This was great. My last bottle and I wish I'd held on to it a little longer or made sure I could get another. Now all I see are the 2004s out there. Ugh. I really enjoyed this wine, perhaps more this time than the last, though I scored it an 89 again.
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9/25/2013 - cweiss wrote:
Big fruit and big wood. Good balance and I'm willing to bet this will get better over time.
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9/21/2013 - Fur in the glass Likes this wine:
It was all vanilla and dark fruit. Late by the time this got opened, no decant but nice end to an evening of whites
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9/21/2013 - Vinomane wrote:
At last, a sound bottle. Drunk alongside the thrilling 1991 CVNE Imperial Reserva, this one screamed "that's ME in ten years!" Well, this time -- after a half-dozen failures -- the '01 Ardanza R.E. hype justified itself. Can't speak for previous bottles, but this one was headed for 94-pointdom in a decade. Hold ten years if you can resist. Some bottles, apparently, will reward your patience. And, who knows? -- maybe the unsatisfying predecessors were just too young, and I too impatient.
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9/18/2013 - rplumbo Likes this wine: 94 Points
Just like last time. Awesome! Love the spivey, leathery, dusty nose. Still goes great with food or as a cocktail.
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9/12/2013 - kevin h wrote: 91 Points
Fine red fruits, everything there just needs time for complexity to develop. A little orange peel and boot polish.
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9/9/2013 - oeno wrote: 90 Points
A lot of fruit, very forward, which was great with food from our favorite Thai restaurant.
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9/6/2013 - BUBBA DAWG Likes this wine: 92 Points
deep ruby hue with great clarity....barnyard funk, red fruits, sandalwood, and wet stones nicely delineated in bouquet...grilled fruits, licorice and herbs/spice dominate mid-palate...tart cherry tannins provide nice long finish to this medium body rioja...intriguingly simply and old world...great QPR...held up well under vacuum seal second day
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9/6/2013 - Rechrom wrote: 91 Points
Drinking well after a one hour decant. No subtlety, not much complexity, but very good fruit and an excellent wine with food. Not as good on its own, as a bit clunky. Not clear this has a lot of upside as the acid/tannin component does not seem to be there for long term improvement.
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9/6/2013 - Rnarkiss wrote: 89 Points
over the pick...........
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9/5/2013 - nschmidt Likes this wine:
A hit at Rosh Hashana dinner.
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9/5/2013 - Edouard84 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Very complex nose, with forest and mushroom notes, slightly oaky. Beautiful brown rim with a creamy texture
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9/1/2013 - pkatz Likes this wine: 93 Points
Could be the best one yet. The fruit really sweetened up after about an hour decant.
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8/31/2013 - capacious Likes this wine: 91 Points
Wow! First few bottles did not impress so waited a while and gave (too many) some as gifts. this one was expressive, surprising, slightly sweet, berries of all sorts- don't drink Rioja that often- so many others to drink- may change that strategy
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8/30/2013 - AV2012 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Less fruity than 2004, more acidity at this point, hopefully made for the long haul. Still pleasant and complex now (B+).
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8/25/2013 - Bordeauxman wrote: 90 Points
*
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8/17/2013 - wondersofwine Likes this wine: 93 Points
Light mahagony color. Dark muddled berries, some meaty characteristics. Decently long finish. Quite delectable.
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8/12/2013 - brujazz wrote: 92 Points
Dark, brawny and full bodied. A big bouquet of plums and chocolate with a very long finish. This is a full grown wine at the peak of its maturity. A tremendous mouthful of juice.
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8/11/2013 - LFCHALA wrote: 92 Points
Great wine. Fragrant. Medium body. Evolved in the mouth with hints of coffee. Ready to drink.
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8/9/2013 - cmcclane wrote: 92 Points
Awesome sour cherry
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8/7/2013 - mfreddi wrote: 94 Points
Delicious! Very good quality for the price. Old Rioja alta style.
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8/6/2013 - DK Amateur wrote:
Not quite up to the standard of the Vina Real gran reserva 2001, but very good on the second day: Licorice, salt and strawberries, lots of body. Less acidic than I remembered.
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8/5/2013 - Not647f wrote:
They had only made this wine three times byt the 2001 vintage, but judging by the copious notes here, they made a ton. Finally got around to drinking the bottle I was given as a really nice gift after helping a colleague. Upon first opening, one drinker called it "interesting." It didn't impress immediately, but I could tell that there was something going on and it was going to change. And the slightly musty flavors receded quickly, leaving a warm sensation framed by plums, baking spice, black grape skins, mild tobacco, and just enough acidity. I'm not convinced this is going anywhere from here, but my history with RE riojas is pretty limited. Fine for now, but not revelatory. With air, something to serve to guests. Another tasty Spanish wine for those with New World palates looking to make the transition and, compared to a lot of Bordeaux, still a decent value in a wine with age.
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8/3/2013 - sharonandroland Likes this wine: 94 Points
Always a revelation if it is one of the good bottles. Harmonious and perfectly balanced. Excellent depth of flavour.
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8/1/2013 - Vinomane Does not like this wine: 84 Points
Yet another disappointing bottle of this overproduced, overhyped mediocrity. This example was stinky, full of VA with no compensating merit. Next time, somebody kick me before I buy in quantity without first tasting.
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7/27/2013 - alanh13 wrote:
This didn't seem right. It eventually settled down a little bit but seemed overly alcoholic and lacking freshness. Don't think it was cooked as has been well stored but was shaken up quite a bit while on a 1 hour journey so maybe some kind of bottle sickness?
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7/27/2013 - Goldstone wrote: 85 Points
Decanted for 4+ hours ahead of a simple home-grilled rack of lamb dinner to celebrate my wife's birthday. This was a big disappointment and disappointingly consistent with my 10/20/2012 tasting note when I felt it had entered a sullen, closed and overly acidic phase. I had fantastic experience with this wine on release but it is really charmless and sour at the moment. Hopefully I know enough about the evolution on great Rioja that it could blossom eventually, but my guess is to leave it forgotten in the cellar for 10 years. These comments omit the fact I only paid $33 per bottle on release and that the wine has been in the bottle for only around 3 years so you can't really expect it to perform like a typical 11-year old wine. That's Rioja Reserva Especial for you!
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7/25/2013 - dmccann3 Likes this wine: 93 Points
I liked this wine when I first tasted it and it only improved more as it opened. It starts with hints of raspberry and ends with a long smooth finish.
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7/23/2013 - shellylowen Likes this wine: 91 Points
Very good but needs decanting. Silky smooth the second day.
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7/23/2013 - RichardP wrote: 92 Points
Nose of camphor, eucalyptus, and vanilla; on the palate, powerful raspberry and cherry fruit, with a cinnamon note and a strong vanilla note from the oak. I don't usually like strong oaky flavors, but they integrate perfectly here. The only weakness is a bit of roughness on the palate that should disappear with several more years of age. The value for money here is outstanding.
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7/17/2013 - Nerdy Earth Boy Does not like this wine: 86 Points
Maybe it was just me, but this wine did not have any depth and was clearly not that exciting Spanish vino that I had been anticipating. And I am stuck with 3 more bottles. Not thrilled about that.
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7/9/2013 - defigio Likes this wine: 91 Points
Appearance: Clear, translucent med garnet color with oranging rim, M visc.
Nose: Baked red fruit, organic earth, forest moss, dried clove. American oak.
Palate: Sour dark cherry, red fruit, baking spice, earth. Significant oak influence. M+ acid, M tannin, M body/alc., M finish (though a lot of complexity disappears quickly). Balanced, but I'd like to see this again in 5 years after it has a chance to integrate a little further.
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7/3/2013 - Doblk Likes this wine: 90 Points
Lovely earthy nose. Complex palate - more earth, mint, anise, black fruit. Still a bit of tannin. I found the acidity a bit out of balance, but that might help it keep for some time. Overall very good.
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7/2/2013 - David_T wrote: 89 Points
Aromas of cherries, tea and earth. The palate has cherries, licorice and earth with medium, integrated acid/tannins. Drink now or hold, I don't necessarily see this improving more with age but isn't heading downhill either.
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7/1/2013 - nschmidt wrote: 92 Points
Drank at Tishas with friends. The favorite of myself and one other but others preferred the leewin cabernet art series. It was certainly better than the Tondonia we had 2 nights before.
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6/28/2013 - JerrusR wrote: 93 Points
Delicate tannins, noticeable neutral oak integration. Had this wine at Aureole in Las Vegas this past Friday decanted for about 10 minutes. Right out of the gate, this wine showed ripe red fruit characteristics with a hint of baked honey on the nose. Tart on the palate in a good way, silky smooth finish. Med body, low alcohol paired beautifully with the Mallard Duck. This is how an evening should be; harmonious. If you like old world wine, this one wine please you every time. 80% Tempranillo, 20% Grenacha.
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6/27/2013 - GatorChris wrote: flawed
Another corked bottle.
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6/26/2013 - Harley1199 Likes this wine:
Here we're again at restaurant Reconquista in Toledo. With Beatriz.
This Ardanza RE, what a value!
A punch of leather followed by delicious red fruit aroma.
Silky mouthfeel. Calling for a new glass.
High acidity when finishing pairing a cheese cake.
Volviendo al restaurante Reconquista en Toledo, de nuevo con Bea.
¡Menudo valor este Ardanza RE!
Un puñetazo a cuero seguido de un delicioso aroma a frutillos rojos.
Sensación en boca asedada. Llamando a un nuevo trago.
Alta acidez al terminar acompañando un pastel de queso.
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6/23/2013 - midpalate Likes this wine: 94 Points
Brick red with lightly spiced nose of currant, cinnamon, pepper. An integrated Rioja with finesse from entry to finish. Sweet red fruit of kirsch across the palate, with mellowed oak, but balanced and complex. This is plain delicious. A wine that makes the case for waiting. The kicker is how affordable this gem is. Buy what you can if you can find this. Ready now with decant.
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6/23/2013 - Merengue Likes this wine: 90 Points
Give it an hr in a decanter and the initial heavy vaniila oak will integrate beautifully. It is still fresh but also is showing secondary notes of leather, cinnamon and cedar dust. Medium bodied, a bit pinot like in body with balancing acidity that keeps in beautiful balance. Very traditional but delightful nonetheless. Flavia liked it a lot.
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6/22/2013 - onewineheaven Likes this wine: 92 Points
Let it breathe for a couple of hours before serving. At first it was weedy, woody, acidic, and harsh. It took a couple of hours for the tart dried cherries, rose petal, loam, mushrooms, and black currant to emerge. Seriously, don't even bother to taste for a couple of hours after opening, it's a waste of wine and palate.
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6/21/2013 - up4wine wrote: 90 Points
I have now had 6 or more bottles of this wine. Overall, I don't think the wine has varied much, except for one bottle. However, I think my impression of it has in light of comparing it to other Rioja's consumed over the past couple of years. The Vin Ardanza has very bright fruit and a beautiful sweetness that is persistent, but not over the top. There are hints of cherry and strawberry, as always. This is a Rioja in a more modern style than some. It is a little more simple and straightforward. It is very easy to drink or sip, but does not cause much contemplation like Rioja's in the older style, where the influence of the terroir, the barrique, and the winemaker stands out more. This wine is really great as a first course, but I guess my tastes are developing in a direction where I am looking for more complexity in the main course.
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6/20/2013 - mccaffery wrote:
Apparently a bit young. Needs to open a bit more
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6/16/2013 - MBannon Likes this wine: 91 Points
Textbook Rioja. Lots of red cherry flavor and dry, dusty tannins. Excellent. I have no doubt this will drink well for many, many years.
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6/15/2013 - rplumbo wrote: 95 Points
Loved it. Plenty of tannin to drink for the next while, but in such a wonderful place now!
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6/14/2013 - hosscrow wrote:
notes to follow
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6/13/2013 - MedocMad wrote: 92 Points
A really well made wine with multiple layers a real treat for the money.
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6/12/2013 - BrianPA wrote:
On the downhill now. Faint nose, light cherry, strong oak and lots of acid. Meh -- OK but nothing special.
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6/12/2013 - Fateful Destiny Likes this wine: 92 Points
Last one. Quite good.
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6/9/2013 - alanh13 wrote:
Similar to before. Classic textbook Rioja. Great structure but open, ready to drink Rioja. Sweet red fruit and vanilla, obvious oak ageing. Some nice funky balsamic notes.
With mushroom soup: nose much more muted now but great on palate. Nice balance of sweet fruit, oak, structure and Rioja funkiness. Much better with beef in red wine.
Following day (inert gas, fridge): funky, oaky (spice, coconut, tobacco), sweet red fruit, soy, very complex. Great structure underneath. But this needs food. A spicy paella calmed it considerably and was drinking well in its aftermath.
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6/3/2013 - Ron Van Holland wrote: 92 Points
Medium garnet color with some bricking. Stunning nose 2" above the rim of red cherry and northern honeysuckle, with notes of cloves and ginger. Mouth comes with spice and tang mid palate. The finish rolls in waves of tangy acidity, smooth but gripping tannins, and light, complex fruit.
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6/1/2013 - Nbkat8 wrote: 87 Points
I didn't get a lot out of this wine. The fruit is gone and your left with some cigar box, pencil lead, licorice taste. Was hoping for some spicy characteristics you usually find with Spanish Wines. The finish was blah, Overall very one dimensional to me.
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5/31/2013 - bebackin15 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Lots of juicy red fruits, oak, and that classic tempranillo finish. An hour or so spent in the decanter would serve as a utility maximizer!
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5/30/2013 - Scubableu Likes this wine: 90 Points
Still love this wine, but it may have peaked
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5/27/2013 - ATL wrote:
Very, very nice. Vibrant, fruity yet well balanced. Will benefit from further age but still really pleasant now.
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5/24/2013 - dkstar1 Likes this wine: 88 Points
Pnp. My next bottle, that I plan to drink in 3 years and will give more time to open up will probably score a point of two more. Great potential here but not quite ready. Previous comments are in line with my experience thus far...a little overpriced at $27 based on current sampling.
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5/21/2013 - briandavispdx wrote: 88 Points
A little cherry, a little plum, a lot of oak. A whole lot of oak. This was my third bottle of this and I recall the first two as being a little more balanced, whereas the fruit definitely got lost a little with the powerful wood dominating this bottle from nose to finish. Still a very enjoyable bottle of wine that started to really shine after being open for a few hours (I was impatient and didn't decant, but more oxygen clearly was of benefit here). I agree with many who have speculated that there's a significant degree of bottle variation--I enjoyed the first two much more, in the 92-93 range, but this bottle definitely didn't earn that sort of score. Looking at holdings on CT alone (nearly 1000 cases?! Whoa!), there was quite a bit of this juice made, so it might provide a good case study as to why we generally look for smaller operations. Again, not bad, but this bottle was overpriced at $30 whereas the first two were steals.
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5/15/2013 - soyhead wrote: 89 Points
nose - coconut, seductive, almost tropical
mouth - many times having this wine now. while i continue to see its allure, i am increasingly bothered by the heavy handed american oak treatment. still overall an enjoyable drink
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5/13/2013 - Harley1199 Likes this wine:
Returning to restaurant Reconquista, Toledo, this time with Carla, Hugo and Beatriz.
More cherries and less smoke. Still a delicious stuff.
To repeat?
Volviendo al restaurante Reconquista de Roledo, esta vez con Carla, Hugo y Beatriz que repite.
Más cerezas y menos humo. Todavía un vino delicioso.
¿Para repetir?
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5/10/2013 - Blake Brown Likes this wine: 89 Points
If there is a common thread to the wines from Rioja, it`s the wild nature of the fruit even though I had always looked for the tar and roses that some sources have referred to as the general character of these Tempranillo blends; there`s some cherry and plum here and a touch of anise; good wine.
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5/9/2013 - honest bob wrote: 91 Points
From 75cl, good cork. Decanted 2 hours. Intense red cherry-cedar-spice box aroma; muscular entry with very ripe red fruit, lots of cedar, vibrant acidity and real layered complexity leading through to the juniper-berry finish. "Burgundian", but very much Grand Cru in terms of body and ripeness. This got better and better until the last drop. Terrific value at 17 EUR at release; good for 5-10 years without a doubt. 91(+)P
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5/7/2013 - Armando B wrote:
There must be significant bottle variation, which I guess is not suprising in view of the apparently large amount of this wine on the market.
This bottle was a good, but no better, medium-aged Rioja made in a traditional manner. Red fruit with light leather and dust notes. Bit too much oak at first, but that dimished pretty quickly. Medium weight. Good wine, but nothing special. Hoping for more next time.
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5/6/2013 - Fateful Destiny Likes this wine: 92 Points
Much better this time. The last bottle must have been off. Nice red fruit with a richness on the nose. Good depth to the fruit with appropriate level of oak.
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5/6/2013 - johnh1001 wrote: 91 Points
Plenty of cedar, dark fruit and roses on the nose. The palate took about 30 minutes to get going. Light but with some grip. Emphasis on cedar and red fruit. Medium finish that feels like a burgundy.
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5/2/2013 - Harley1199 Likes this wine:
With Beatriz at restaurant Reconquita, Toledo. Funny and the meal was not bad at all.
On the other hand, what a bottle! Perfectly ready. A sexy beauty.
Crimson colour for a fragant nose of wild strawberries, rotten cherries, ashes, dust and raw meat. Delicious!
Same good echoes on the palate with a silky mouthfeel that is calling for another glass....Impressive stuff.
Still a young Ardanza (12 y.o.) giving its best at this point. Hardly can imagine when it will be 15-18 y.o. Gonna go to jail....
Con Beatriz en el Restaurante Reconquista, Toledo. Divertido y la comida no estaba mal del todo.
Del otro lado, ¡Qué gran botella! Totalmente lista. una belleza sexy.
Color cardenalicio para una nariz fragante a fresillas salvajes, cerezas podridas, cenizas, polvo y carne cruda. ¡Deliciosa!
Los mismos ecos en boca con una sensación asedada que llama a otra copa....menudo vinazo.
Un joven Ardanza todavía (sólo 12 años) dando lo mejor en este momento. Me cuesta imaginar lo que será con 15-18 años. Voy a ir a la cárcel...
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4/30/2013 - Wine Nut wrote: 93 Points
What an absolutely lovely wine. As soon as it is opened, the wine's bouquet bursts with lilacs, raspberries, cedar and tobacco. The color is a wonderful brick red which shows some age yet this wine remains incredibly fresh and fruit forward. The tannins are definitely alive and well as the wine lingers effortlessly in your mouth before giving way to red currant, tart cherry and bay leaf. This is so well made and highlights the true beauty of aged Rioja. Gracias!
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4/27/2013 - peternelson wrote: 93 Points
Compared to 2004 Arana, more pure cherry-strawberry red fruits; tarragon, herbs de provence, slight vanilla; dried flowers, crumbly brick and earth; super silky entry, fine by ample tannins, med.+ alc. and acid; good intensity, delicate spice notes and tangy tart reds fruits; excellent balance.
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4/25/2013 - junglejuice wrote: 93 Points
Each time I have had this wine I marveled at the complexity and style that is rare in the wine world today. Be warned - it is unapologetically old school. The rich nose of red fruit and underlying spice and vanilla make way to an initially tart entrance that opens up to a lush, medium bodied wine that fills out the longer it sits in the decanter. This is splendid stuff and worth seeking out by the caseload as it will only continue to improve for decades to come. I put this just a HAIR behind the 2001 Heredia Tondonia Reserva tasted recently, but both are spectacular buys. 93-94+.
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4/22/2013 - f22nickell wrote: 87 Points
Seattle Wine Group - April Wine Tasting Event - Theme: Rioja/Tempranillo (Amaroso Room - Wine Storage Bellevue): Color was Purple to Crimson, a bit pale. Aroma of tobacco, redwood, pine needles, and a hint of anise. Palate did not meet the nose's expectations. Very tart, no attack to speak of, just a growing of tart acid through finish. not balanced. 87 pts. 2nd place of 7 wines tasted.
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4/20/2013 - VinoServant wrote: 92 Points
This wine was insanely good. Classic Rioja flavors in this beauty - wild berry fruits with a mix of espresso and vanilla layered with balsamic / olive oil. Tasted a lot better after it had sat in a decanter for an hour. Buy a few bottles because you will only want more of this wine.
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4/19/2013 - Silveradoup wrote:
This must have been flawed, it smelled like stale dog food . . .
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4/16/2013 - winemaker Likes this wine: 91 Points
When first opened the color is sort of reddish brown. Medium ruby in the middle, transparent at the rim. Smells pretty seamless with red fruits and some oak/vanilla aromas, but not in a bad way. The taste is red fruits, velvety mouth feel, interesting verve delivered from the acidity with some vanilla, dill notes and some funk on the finish. This is a wine of interesting complexity. Kind of a cerebral experience as the tastes here while showing Rioja also have some other things going on to provide more interest.
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4/15/2013 - Fateful Destiny Likes this wine: 90 Points
I think this is on the downhill now (or at least my most recent bottle suggested that it is). Light cherry and strong oak with notable acidity. It just seems to have less depth and was more unidimensional than before. Drink up!
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4/13/2013 - milesdavis wrote:
8 hr decant - delicious - anise on first sip, with cinnamon going down - silky and voluptuous - only a bit of heat on the finish makes it less than excellent - paired with chicken and steak kabobs
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4/12/2013 - alanh13 Likes this wine: 89 Points
Wonderful, traditional Rioja. Lovely red cherry/raspberry fruit, spice, vanilla and a wonderful light balsamic-barnyard note running through it (of the classic Rioja variety). Very silky but obvious power underneath. It reminds me of an old Bordeaux but with mich more structure underneath. This will probably last another 10+ years but drinking wonderfully now.
Following day (inert gas at room temp): This was quite sweet, lots of vanilla, coconut, some oxidative notes, spice, sweet cherry, very sweet and pleasing. Some old Rioja stink going on, but of the sweet leather variety. Very interesting. Still structure there but the oak seems to be quite dominant here. Quite intense. I think it may be overpowering on its own, but would probably be beautiful with meat.
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4/10/2013 - Zoomin Z Likes this wine: 90 Points
Second bottle, fruit is thinner on both the nose and palate, still classic rioja oak, acidity more obvious, a good bottle with lasagna but not special like the first one.
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4/10/2013 - mfreddi wrote:
This is a really good wine for the price. Delicious nose and round mouth. Excellent Rioja!
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4/10/2013 - mfreddi wrote: 94 Points
This is a really good wine for the price. Delicious nose and round mouth. Excellent Rioja!
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4/8/2013 - Rob MacKay wrote: 91 Points
Nice balance from start to finish with a great blend of acidity in the beginning, giving way to nice red berry fruit that's framed by well integrated oak and fleshes out with some fine tannins on the back end. Very pleasing. $30 is a decent price for a wine of this quality.
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4/7/2013 - rocknroller wrote: 90 Points
Monthly Tasting Group: Spain and Portugal (Rincon 38, Mpls, MN): Very dark red color. Drank 1 glass over 30 minutes plus. This was pretty nice, cherry, spice, oak. The palate is medium bodied, cherry, firm tannins, oak, and some anise.Medium finish. 89-90pts.
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4/7/2013 - chablis28 wrote: 90 Points
A quick double decant just before taking to dinner which was a good idea. My wine buddy Brad, who has a great palate, immediately declared this oaky??? Not sure I agree. For me it displayed lovely cherry flavors combined with tobacco and minerality. I thought the oak was well integrated and provided a richness to the palate but not in an over the top modern way. All in all, not a rock star, but a pretty nice btl.
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4/5/2013 - bags wrote:
not as good as the first couple, even on the 2nd day; bottle variation is disturbing.
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4/2/2013 - K&J Likes this wine: 92 Points
Classic old world Tempranillo. Great structure and backbone for aging or for drinking now.
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4/2/2013 - say66what wrote: 90 Points
Pronounced and complex in the nose with toffe, coconut, strawberry, cinnamon, dried fruits, leather. On the palate again very complex with strawberry and sweet spices on the lead. Lower than medium acidity and medium tannin. Mellow, long finish.
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3/31/2013 - Herschel Krustofski Likes this wine: 93 Points
Had this twice before but perhaps it's just beginning to really blossom - not unexpected from La Rioja Alta.
Bright damson and more subtle licorice notes were most prominent (+ one mysterious note - perhaps heather?) but there's so much more. It's soft, silky, and very fruity for 12-year old.
Decanted 90 minutes this time and sampled over the subsequent hour (admittedly, previous tasting were only sampled in the first hour - really not enough). Astonishing value. Get it while you can; the 2004 is already on the market and I can't imagine the 2001 will be widely available for much longer.
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3/24/2013 - wicozani Likes this wine: 91 Points
A shimmering dark ruby in the glass, our first bottle of this featured cherries, red currant, citrus, leather and oak on the nose. Surprisingly youthful and exuberant, with a tightly wound, high-toned attack. Had been opened just 30 minutes before consuming with braised beef short ribs, and I see that a more lengthy decant is called for. Overall, we were surprised this was so youthful, with exuberant fruit and moderately high acidity. This was delicious and should age very well!
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3/21/2013 - urbanfarmer9@gmail.com Likes this wine: 92 Points
This wine has blossomed suddenly into an exciting combination of fruit and Rioja edginess. Very highly enjoyable and a real lesson for me in patience.
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3/19/2013 - Blauweiss Likes this wine: 89 Points
Textbook classig rioja, need I say more. Great stuff if you´re into old school spanish reds, fruitbomb-lovers need not apply!
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3/18/2013 - jconwell wrote: 92 Points
Still has its legs. It was a bit funky right at first, but two hours in the decanter and it was a prime example of what Rioja should be.
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3/14/2013 - octopussy Likes this wine: 91 Points
Drunk twice over the last 18 months. Dark red with viscosity. In the nose, a lot of vanilla, some oak, lots of chocolate and cherry - Black Forest Cake. With more air, this gets lighter in its aromatic profile with lots of red currant. On the palate, the tannins are rather smooth, the acidity is present, but well integrated. It's long, transparent and fine. Simply excellent.
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3/9/2013 - bjr11 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Drinking well, classic Rioja, needed several hours to open up
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3/9/2013 - spader Likes this wine: 89 Points
This has all the characteristics of a good, mature Rioja without being truly outstanding. Nevertheless, great value for money.
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3/7/2013 - curtr Likes this wine: 92 Points
Wow! Big depth and richness for a Rioja.
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3/7/2013 - Wamrod wrote: 91 Points
Perfect cork
Bricking red - yet still with a holdout touch of purple/garnet, oddly enough
Lovely nose - just what an old rioja should be - leather, cedar box, spices and berries
The medium palate is lovely too - almost too drinkable - great tangy fruit - smooth and fine - short medium finish
This is drinking very nicely right now - I'm glad the few I have left have been sitting at 56 degrees their whole life. They will continue to provide pleasure
But if yours aren't cellared properly, it's time to drink these babies
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3/7/2013 - swyang wrote: 91 Points
How strange, yet again, that a bottle which had seemed to be near the end of its life seem to have rejuvenated this much!~ Last bottle was already in its tertiary stage, with almost medium to fine body, but this bottle was in full vigorous shape. Dark red, full of dark fruits, wet earth, complex nose of leather, oak, and fine tanning all keeping it tight. Beautifully made, as usual, and keeping the tempranillo profile intact, it displays deep pride of Rioja. Very enjoyble indeed.
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3/2/2013 - WillersC wrote: 91 Points
Really lovely, smooth and long. Complex mix of flavours (fruit, oak, leather etc..), and wide open on the palate and nose. Drink and enjoy
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2/27/2013 - sajc Likes this wine: 92 Points
I love the balance and contrast between the earthy/leathery and sharp tart/sour notes. I don't drink much Spanish wine (as of yet), but I am surprised how young this tastes.
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2/25/2013 - admid wrote: 91 Points
Ap: dark ruby red
Ar: sweet red berries, strawberries and rather integrated oak
Full bodied. Very good balance and structure. Smooth and beautiful palate.
Very good length
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2/24/2013 - Cullens wrote: 88 Points
Pleasant but on the downside. Better on day 2, Hmmm......
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2/24/2013 - sharonandroland Likes this wine: 92 Points
Probably not a perfect bottle or not aired enough - still an immense pleasure.
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2/23/2013 - cos82 wrote: 87 Points
I loved this wine when tried last April. Has lost something in the past year. Bing cherry red in color. Still a nice nose of fruit and earth, but the fruit on the palate is missing. Not bad, but mostly earth, cedar and minerals with some sour cherry. A decent balanced wine w/o flaws, but prior bottle set a high delicious standard.
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2/22/2013 - m_arcon wrote: 91 Points
Grape variety: 80% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha
Only the third vintage that is called "Reserva Especial" after 1964 and 1973.
Colour: Brick-red colour with a bit a darker core.
Nose: Black & red cherries, leather, cigar box, oak, earth and balsamic notes on the nose.
Palate: On the palate medium-bodied with a nice fresh touch, good acidity and tast of red cherries and pepper, in the end earth and a bit of oak again. Medium finish.
Overall a good PQW. Enjoyable now, but it will be interesting to check this wine in 5-10 years against it brother Alta Gran Reserva 904, the Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial, Muga Rioja Gran Reserva Prado Enea and some others from this extraordinary 2001 vintage. So you better keep a bottle in your cellar.
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2/21/2013 - Wine Nut Likes this wine: 92 Points
This wine has improved dramatically since my 1st bottle last year. The color is a beautiful burgundy and the nose is utterly tantalizing with hints of strawberry, cinnamon, clove and vanilla. Tannins are well integrated, with a silky texture emerging with tart bing cherry, white pepper and oak. The finish is long and delicious. This wine definitely has a bright future.
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2/20/2013 - jww Likes this wine: 92 Points
Very nice wine lush fruity nose full flavored ripe fruity
Smooth finish very drinkable now
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2/20/2013 - Chris Davies Likes this wine: 90 Points
Impressive. Powerful, fresh fruit and plenty of sweet vanilla. Good balance and length. Still quite primary, I think this will get more interesting.
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2/18/2013 - cidiel wrote: 91 Points
- Garnet color and aromas of raspberry. It's somewhat balanced and has flavours of raisin and vanilla with a medium/full body. Oily texture with a medium finish - Decanted for 2/3 hours ahead. Very good finish nice flavors.
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2/16/2013 - soyhead wrote: 91 Points
this time around, now primed, seeing the coconut and dill more clearly. also complex fruit. 'interesting' per Eric. I quite like.
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2/16/2013 - parkgarage wrote: 90 Points
Ein wahrlich guter Tropfen
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2/15/2013 - looiwt wrote:
Tasted blind I would have guessed this as a nicely developed Chianti Classico. Love the flavour profile here - lovely red cherries with some mineral on the nose, on the palate more chery notes, with a bit of rustic, sour fruit. Slightly spicy on the finish. Like I said, Chianti typicity all the way on the nose, palate, body and finish. 8/10
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2/14/2013 - swyang wrote: 92 Points
very nice, very enjoyable indeed. refined nose of rose, leather, wet earth and a typical aged tempranillo, mingling of spice, tar with deep core despite its refined texture. On the palate, it is suggesting that now is the right time to start enjoying it, as the tertiary components are coming along with much to express but not at all flabby, in fact quite the opposite the beautiful tension still is very well present. Not a heavy sauced food would go well, but rather a nice slice of prociutto or simply grilled meat or even a fine Brie cheese would be a nice match. Look forward to the next few bottles. Very fine indeed.
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2/10/2013 - pkatz wrote: 92 Points
Consistent with prior notes.
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2/9/2013 - VinoPKM wrote: 91 Points
91+, I think there is some bottle variations on this wine. It is more new world and hints of oak. But, this a damn good tasty Rioja- great fruit and savory notes. Very food friendly and great on its own. Based on this bottle killer QPR and would recommend.
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2/9/2013 - Rob-Rah wrote:
This is my first defective bottle from my case. Nothing "wrong" so to speak. Just nothing like the previous bottles. Strong taste of coconut and not much else, slim body, fruit reticent. Good sweetness. I guess there have only just been bottled after a decade in wood, so they could take a while to settle down. Not rated.
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2/8/2013 - rhanke wrote: 90 Points
My bottle was showing well. dark smoke
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2/8/2013 - Number51 wrote:
Wine with enormous bottle variations. I'd advise to stay away.
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2/2/2013 - bbakove wrote: 88 Points
Had this in Vegas and it was amazing. Bottle #2 here at home was spoiled, #3 was quite good but didn't produce the same eexperience as #1. Light spicy fruit flavors, mild oak, savory herbs and earth. This is built with complexity and finesse but I wonder at the variation between my 3 bottles and the reviews below.
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2/2/2013 - Mad Wine Likes this wine: 92 Points
Stewed tomatoes, leather, & earth. Good tannins remain. Delicious.
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1/31/2013 - kenv Likes this wine: 91 Points
WCC Rioja Blind (Dorato's Resturant, Guilderland, NY): [Double decanted around 4pm with 30 minutes of air. Served around 8:30.] Elegant, sweet, slightly tannic. May need a little time.
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1/31/2013 - Enrique Soto wrote: 90 Points
Well balanced, smooth and with some. Leather bouquet
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1/30/2013 - Rezy13 Does not like this wine: 82 Points
Almost translucent red; dill, vanilla, nail polish remover on the nose; American oak is covering up the majority of the cherry fruit; you get a little cranberry and leather on the finish. Called '01 Rioja Gran Reserva. Should not have gone after the aged Bordeaux. Victim of being out of context. Maybe another bottle served first would taste a little better?
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1/26/2013 - psmith wrote: 89 Points
Dark fruits. Earthy and rustic, with characteristic lRA dill and oak-driven notes. Full bodied. Sour cherry. Well balanced and still youthful. Enjoyable.
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1/25/2013 - jtinto wrote: 91 Points
Rich, juicy, fruit forward. I want to say in the more modern style. Well balanced with a sweet finish that has good length making this outstanding for me. I do see how this could be too fruity, lacking that earthy component, and a touch sweet for traditionalists.
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1/22/2013 - short and confused wrote: 93 Points
Color: Dark red. Nose: Intense red fruits (raspberry and cherry) with rich mineral, vanilla, earth and spice notes. Palate: Full bodied with rich vibrant red fruit (again cherry and raspberry). Intense inner mouth perfume and great persistence on the palate. What a value.
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1/19/2013 - JChan wrote: 87 Points
Taste like pond water initially and little nose. Further improve with times (around 1 hr after opening) with red fruit and oak. A little bit acidic and oak character persist to the end. Quite interesting but not my favorite style. A bit under my expectation given numerous good comments below.
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1/18/2013 - psrv wrote: 85 Points
PnP. Aromas and flavors of tart red fruit, cherries, and earth, with almost no tannins. A harsh acidic finish ruined this wine for me; seems unbalanced at this point. Tried after a few hours and the acidity had not subsided.
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1/17/2013 - fdub wrote: 92 Points
Drank at the Napa Men's Lunch Club. Slight oxidative edge but adds a nice dimension to the nose. Pure red fruit with tobacco and spices. Great mid weight palate with lush red fruit, earth and tar. The acid is nicely proportioned to balance this out.
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1/16/2013 - Ron Felthoven wrote:
Oaky and a touch modern but pretty nice. I think it still has some time to do something interesting and for the oak to integrate. Fruit is still there and acid is med +.
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1/15/2013 - dream Likes this wine: 90 Points
Wonderful nose of spicy, earthy cherries with hints of old wood, dill and mint. Needed time to open and then intense on the palate with flavors of dried cherry, earth, green stalk and wood. High-toned and quite juicy with firm acidity and grippy tannins with complex spice notes on the finish. Still young but this is relatively fruit-forward for a traditional Rioja with a bright future.
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1/13/2013 - Bill Johnson Likes this wine: 90 Points
When 1st opened it has a tangy aftertaste. Give it 10minutes. That goes away and it smooths out. Not a powerful nose but nice raspberry on the taste. Drink with light pasta or fowl. Won't hold up to spice or beef. Drink ASAP
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1/13/2013 - chbeaumont wrote: 92 Points
Remains youthful, reserved; fine grained, integrated; distinguished, classy. Extended length. Can be drunk now but deserves to be left alone for 3+ years.
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1/12/2013 - pkatz wrote: 92 Points
GV syncophants who cringe at the slightest hint of oak will not like this wine, but if you want a delightfully mature wine with excellent balance and delicious flavors at a great price - go for it - especially if you don't have a cellar full of aged wine. This compares favorably with Bdx that sells for many times the price.
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1/12/2013 - Lipsman wrote: 92 Points
Aroma of cherries but reserved. Tastes of bitter black cherries, smoke, sweet, licorice, with sherry and almonds. Light to medium bodied. Long on the palate. Loads of fruit. Very well made and balanced. A wonderful traditional Rioja.
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1/11/2013 - MattMauldin wrote: 90 Points
Brick-ruby color. Aromas of black cherry, orange rind, fennel & eucalyptus start things off. Bright red fruit on the palate with hints of licorice, spice and pine-earth. Good acid and roundness throughout, and a juicy full finish with smooth tannins. As others have stated, this really comes alive after about an hour, a little delicately disjointed prior to that. Very good. Mature-drink up.
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1/11/2013 - Number51 wrote: 82 Points
This is my second bottle. (I purchased all of them from WL)
Prior bottle was difficult to like - its balsamic component stood out too much, for my taste, it was 80 points.
This bottle is different with more freshness, and its balsamic component is under control, yet I find its acidity to be harsh, and the balance is awkward. This bottle is 84 points for me.
What's going on? Isn't this wine supposed to be awesome?
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1/8/2013 - Martin Redmond Likes this wine: 92 Points
Dark brick garnet color with intriguing earthy, leather, smoke, dried red fruit, fresh meat, vanilla, cedar wood and dill aromas. On the palate, it's light-medium bodied, and fresh with a silky texture, smooth well integrated tannins and tart-ish dried red fruit, vanilla oak, and leather flavors. Long finish. Great value in a mature Rioja at $30!
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1/7/2013 - Montecristo13 wrote: 94 Points
Excelent, truly enjoyable bottle of wine. Quite good
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1/5/2013 - bebackin15 wrote: 92 Points
Great Wine! Wife and I both loved it. Wonderful nose of oak and red fruits - classic tempranillo. Spicy cherry fruit. Interesting complexity on the finish. Could drink this all day...
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1/5/2013 - mikeaukenbals Likes this wine: 92 Points
another good bottle. had some left on the second day and it was just as good, though didn't improve at all.
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1/4/2013 - oeno wrote: 89 Points
It almost seemed corked at first. After about 1/2 hour it blew off and was drinking fine but not very fruity or tannic with mild Italian food.
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1/3/2013 - sachsen wrote: 91 Points
This was pretty nasty upon opening, but we were pleasantly surprised at how it changed after just about 30-45 minutes in the glass. I think the wine was tired after about 3 hours of air, which doesn't bode well for those planning on aging this a long, long time.
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1/1/2013 - Wine Gopher wrote: 92 Points
Excellent complexity with great mouthfeel and enough acidity to pair well with many foods. Red cherry, herbs and a hint of raisin. This is in a really good place right now.
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1/1/2013 - Will Devize wrote: 92 Points
This has a superbly complex and well delineated nose of sweet balsamic cherries, well-judged american oak, dried herbs and cedar. The palate is medium-bodied, sinuous yet dense, and is packed to the gunwales with tart red fruits which ride on its unresolved, savoury, acid-based stuffing. The impression is of a wine that oozes pedigree and complexity yet will need many many years for its acid barriers to recede.
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1/1/2013 - hajoha wrote: 90 Points
Mørke røde bær, kirsebær, noe vanilje på duft.
Kirsebær følger opp i munn, med bra konsentrasjon.
Tanninene kjennes godt, og den sitter brukbart lenge.
Etter et par timer virket vinen mer fokusert, og ga mer av seg selv.
Siste glasset var det beste, så her tror jeg det er rom for forbedringer.
Knallvin til knallpris!
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12/31/2012 - tocksme Likes this wine: 92 Points
Very fruity for its age. Acid. Not too tannic. Benefitted from opening a few hours before, but did not decant, although should have. Second bottle took a while to open up.
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12/31/2012 - TEH wrote: 91 Points
Wonderful flavors buteverything was muted and a bit flat. Not sure how much life is left in this hopefully just going through a faze.
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12/31/2012 - Yiannis wrote: 93 Points
Notes from 2 equally good yet totally different bottles drank over dinner with friends.
Bottle nr.1 had a medium brick color and a lovely, fully mature nose of mushrooms, red cherry, spice, smoke and noble animal notes. Medium-bodied and silky-textured with nice tertiary flavors and balancing acidity. Long aftertaste. Very elegant and ready to drink.
Bottle nr. 2 showed a dark garnet color and a fruity nose of red and dark cherry fruit, blackberries, sweet spices and smoke. On the palate it was medium-bodied with firm tannins, rich fruit and high acidity. Long aftertaste. Quite youthful.
If tasted blind, I would have assumed that bottle nr. 2 was at least 5 years younger than bottle nr.1. A great example of a different evolution between 2 bottles of the same vintage and the same wine.
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12/30/2012 - kevin h wrote: 92 Points
Consistently good with oak and mocha dominating, long and complex with nice integration of red fruits. Behaves more like a Gran Reserva. Having drunk three in just over a year I will now be putting this away for a while as it is likely to improve further.
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12/29/2012 - CWilliam Likes this wine: 92 Points
Decanted for 3 hours before writing tasting note (did not get to enjoy wine with a meal as it was shared with friends).
Darker red than expected for a wine with 11 years of age. On nose, black cherry, cherry, black tea & cedar - very nice. On palate, black cherry, cranberry primarily today with medium body, high acids and long finish. Would buy again - decant for a while if drinking now as it improved substantially with air.
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12/27/2012 - Vinomane wrote:
Another ho-hum bottle of this overproduced, overhyped cliché wine. 120 U.S. merchants remain stocked at $25-$40 long after everybody and his nephew grabbed their cases. Just call it supporting a great winery in a time of need.
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12/26/2012 - Tannatastic Likes this wine: 90 Points
Notes remain consistent with last bottle. When tasted alongside a '95, the '01 comes across as a more muscular, modern Rioja. The appearance is much deeper and darker than you would expect (perhaps closer to something like a Minervois?) despite only 6 years difference in age. Theres still plenty of Ardanza character, but its muted behind a veil of fuitiness, principally blackurrant and kirsch. Also a good dose of something liquorice-like on the nose. Whether this is simply what it first appears, or has the legs to develop and mellow a little remains to be seen. I hope its the latter, and if that were the case, then it could be a star. Still enjoyable nonetheless, but...
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12/26/2012 - nevis11 Likes this wine: 91 Points
A few nasty chemically elements on the nose when first opened, but these dissipated fairly quickly to leave a rich nose of butter, oak and mixed herbs. Palate shows high acid, intense dried red fruits, a little orange marmalade, and some tarry tannic complexity. Very "interesting" but not particularly loveable at this stage.
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12/25/2012 - sjr4 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Jeff liked this wine. Good value. tart and sweet dried cherries, plums and prunes.
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12/25/2012 - ruth3 Likes this wine: 89 Points
acid attack, initial buttery oak which then dissipated, lots of clear concentrated sour cherry fruit. seemed a little tight albeit delicious. a couple more years needed? serial number in the 300k range.
went well with roast pork
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12/25/2012 - lb426 Likes this wine: 93 Points
well-balanced
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12/25/2012 - scottnmand wrote: 92 Points
Still a little young and tannins will hopefully integrate further. I can't wait until some of the fruit settles down and the earthy, gamey, smokey characteristics can dominate. The nose is not as amazing as the 98 gran reserva (904), but I think this palate has more depth and longer finish. Great wine right now and will buy some more for the coming years.
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12/25/2012 - BillBell73 wrote: 90 Points
I believe this is going to end up being very good but the oak and fruit are a little too pronounced for my taste at this point. There's a whole lot going on here and I can't wait to see it once it settles down. This is a great vintage and showing very few signs of age. I plan to sit on the rest of my bottles for a while but bought a couple extra just to check in.
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12/22/2012 - up4wine wrote: 92 Points
This bottle was superb, as was the case with several other bottles I have had. Bright, crisp, clear, concentrated cherries on nose and palate with very long finish. You would not think this to be 10 years old other than the fact that it is very well integrated and balanced. However, I need to express some dismay over a different bottle (not from my cellar) of this exact same wine. First, the bottle in this current note was serial # 404xxx. The bottle of dismay was in the 950xxx range. This latter bottle (rate as 86) was over oaked and full of phenolics and other less desirable chemical funes. Even after letting it blow off for 30-50 minutes after a serious decant, the high SN bottle never came close to the 404xxx bottle. I am concnerned that the high number bottle was a later bottling from less desirable stock or less desirable aging/storage casks. Unfortunately, the marketing people have added a RP 94 label to all the stock of currently available, which are these hgih SN bottles. This particular wine has been on the retail shelves for ~2 years. The early bottle were truly
outstanding and at a great price. Now, the price is still great, but the wine aint.
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12/17/2012 - tendring Likes this wine: 91 Points
Wine Education Service - Rioja - Gran Reserva (LSE): Just opaque, plenty of age.
very animal nose, some sweet notes, a hint of oak.
A dry style, some sweetness, lovely structure, great length.
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12/17/2012 - hadwin Likes this wine: 91 Points
WES - Rioja Gran Reserva (Imperial College London): Clear and Bright. Very intense with some browning at the edge. Rich and intense nose with polish and pepper. Velvety soft and subtle on the palate. Rich, long and sweet with no bitterness on the finish.
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12/15/2012 - soyhead wrote: 93 Points
nose - nutty, sour berries, slight acetone nose
mouth - sweet and sour berries tickle the tongue on the attack, with richness of concentration and good minerality noted on the midpalate. This wine has developed some interesting secondary characteristics including coconut, orange peel, and burnt sugar, while preserving a juicy fruit core of cherries and other lighter red fruits. It has a spunky acidic kick which is nicely balanced by moderate dry tannins on the finish. It is a great example of the complexity that Rioja can attain. Not necessarily for fruit bomb lover, this displays elegance over sheer power, though i dont hesitate to restate that the concentration of flavor is noteworthy. It has transcended being merely grape juice. The more i nurse this, the more it grows on me. Highly recommended, esp at the price.
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12/15/2012 - Enfant sauvage wrote:
There is a lot of bottle variation in these. Gave this a 4-hour decant, but the oak was still too much for me. A half glass was left and spent 24 hours more in the decanter at which point it was absolutely glorious.
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12/12/2012 - Jamesgold wrote: flawed
Flawed.
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12/11/2012 - VTCellarDweller Likes this wine: 93 Points
This has been an extremely polarizing wine based on the TN history on CT and WB posts. Bottle variation is the obvious thing to latch onto, but that is an effect, not the cause.
I won't speculate on a cause for it and will comment only on what I have tasted as it has been filtered through my own biased preferences, 40 years of enthusiastic tasting, and personal palate sensitivity at this stage of my life.
We purchased 2+ cases of this from three different east coast merchants over a five month period in 2011. The wines are now racked in our cellar with no way to determine which bottles came from any particular seller. They are part of a 12+ case section of 2001 Rioja in our cellar. Needless to say, I am a big fan of this vintage.
With that preamble, we have opened two of these bottles this year both of which were excellent and evidenced none of the dill pickle, overly acidic, rubber tire character described by many who have given this wine poor marks.
The bottle we opened last night was decanted for 3 hours before serving. It offered nuanced aromatics with a flavor profile and mouth feel that is close to my original tasting note of 7/16/2011. Yes there is still a significant presence of American Oak evidenced by prominent vanilla and coconut but this has integrated noticeably and the tannins have softened since the first bottle 18 months ago. It has rounded out developing a more moderated and refined presentment. Hopefully we will not encounter any of the ugly bottles that some of the others have.
Based on my experience, this is a beautifully balanced wine with exceptional potential and a distinctive personality that some will like and others may detest.
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12/9/2012 - burr Likes this wine: 94 Points
Brick to garnet, light bodied, thin legs. Pretty, soaring nose of cherry, fresh flowers, charcoal, cedar. Add vanilla oakinesss and tannins on the palate to the berry/cherry, cedar, leather flavors. Well superior to the 01 Prado Enea tasted along side.
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12/8/2012 - PJRONeill wrote: flawed
Very mildly corked. Its been a bad run with this half-case. Two bottles undrinkable because of overwhelming dill pickle aroma, one corked and three perfectly fine. At this point, a $28 bottle of wine ceases to be one of value given the failure rate.
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12/8/2012 - jeward wrote: 94 Points
Terrific wine. Fruit and leather on the pallet. Smoky nose.
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12/7/2012 - robertgoulet wrote:
Friday, December 07, 2012 - Good lord this is lathered in American oak. This wine absolutely wears it on its sleeve...total pickle juice, coconut, watered down vanilla, some rubber tire, fairly high acidity...years ago I would probably love this, but the oak hides all of the Tempranillo grape...I like this house, but it appears they over did it in '01...the oak will always dominate the grape characteristics in this wine...a shame
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12/6/2012 - Rollerball wrote: 92 Points
wow, delicious. To my taste does not need decanting. A theatrical briny, mature, and masculine nose is followed by a decent, firecracker-fruit and grilled-beef palate begging to be just *enjoyed* (for instance with a fine lamb ragu!) right now.
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12/2/2012 - Bodyfxr wrote: 87 Points
Decanted this bottle for one hour and the wine remained very tight. Left in decanter in wine cellar until next day. Very fruit reward on nose and palate with very little structure or character. Tannins were light with a short finish. This is an overall pleasant wine however quite unremarkable. I dont think aging will improve the character of this wine as it is medium bodied and not very tannic. Seems more like a Pinot to me.
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12/2/2012 - Kraigers1 wrote: 90 Points
Needs time to open up after popping cork. Leather; still some fruit there
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11/27/2012 - PJRONeill wrote: flawed
Overwhelmed with dill pickle aroma and flavor. Flaw.
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11/23/2012 - Birged wrote: 91 Points
Very smooth drinking with big cherry fruit and mellow tannins in the finish.
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11/21/2012 - Hazeo wrote: 91 Points
Better than the last bottle, . Bricking colour and some signs of maturity, with nice bright red cherry, tea, earthiness. An excellent classic Rioja that was delicious right after pop and pour, the finish was smooth and elegant but a bit short. Perhaps its not a wine for the long haul?
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11/20/2012 - dbkitc wrote: 93 Points
(at Bar American - NYC) Lovely. Great verve, medium bodied fruit - long finish. Should be fantastic in 10 to 15 years. (93)
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11/16/2012 - fanglangzhe Likes this wine: 91 Points
Smell: dark cherries, dark berries, meat, light vanilla oak. Taste: dark & red berries, light touch of oak, great acidity, subtle hint of charcoal/pencil lead. Great balance. Wonder if bottle variation accounts for the inconsistent reviews, but this one was great. It was delicious 10 minutes out of the bottle.
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11/14/2012 - SoundinBetween wrote:
tasted good but drank under less-than-ideal conditions, so no rating
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11/12/2012 - shawnh wrote: 85 Points
Disappointing. Pleasant smooth Rioja, but nothing remarkable on nose or palate. Short finish. Could it simply be closed at 11 years old? Nothing here to suggest a long future. I'd drink a glass if offered to me but not buy a bottle...
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11/10/2012 - Edouard84 wrote: 87 Points
Disappointed. Closed nose and almost tasteless
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11/10/2012 - JR_Boston wrote: 93 Points
- Ruby color with medium forming legs.
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11/9/2012 - christhewino Likes this wine: 90 Points
This is lovely, aromas of oak and stewed fruits. The flavours are dry, with red fruits, lychee (?) and some bramble. Lovely and soft but with a decent body to it. The finish is pretty long too.
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11/8/2012 - Mr T wrote:
Very pretty wine..with some air starts to open and beautiful blend of soft red fruits and earthy tones...very light on the palate but hardly insubstantial...very pretty....night 2 I did taste more of the American oak dill
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11/8/2012 - DJBauer wrote: 90 Points
A classy rioja. Light on its feet but with a nice soft tannin finish. Some white flowers and blackberries on the nose. Nice cherry on the tongue. Drinking really well now. Everyone loved it.
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11/4/2012 - Serafin gonzalez wrote: 91 Points
Excelente sabor y buen olor
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11/4/2012 - noni15 wrote: 90 Points
- Garnet color with medium forming legs with a medium/full body with a medium finish - Very elegant and balanced to the nose. Red berries and oak very well integrated with a medium/long finish on the mouth. Ready to drink. Fine Spanish wine.
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11/2/2012 - Gail and Len wrote: 90 Points
- Violet color and aromas of strawberry jam. It's balanced and has flavours of strawberry jam with a medium/full body. Round texture - Smooth and delicious. Not able to decant, but surprisingly, it opened up in the glass fairly quickly. The fruit paired well with smoked pork ribs. Not a lot of complexity, but that should be expected at this stage.
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11/1/2012 - Montecristo13 wrote: 92 Points
Good initially but muchhh better after 45minutes.
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10/31/2012 - Rbuka wrote: 95 Points
Smarmy and delicious - straw and honeysuckle.
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10/30/2012 - rayq wrote: 92 Points
BBR Spanish Gold tasting.
Lovely traditional Rioja nose. Old oak and aged sweet fruit. The nose is a true indicator of what is delivered on the palate.
No searing acidity os tart cherry like a previous bottle. Proper old Rioja, smooth and ready to drink.
Very good
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10/27/2012 - thetong wrote: 93 Points
Ruby red fruit that is crystal clear in its presentation. Quite complex, layered flavor. Moderate tannins. Fantastic QPR.
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10/25/2012 - Femisapien wrote: 94 Points
Very good.
Bargain price.
Needs to breath for at least 15 minutes and be slightly cold.
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10/23/2012 - ericindc wrote: 86 Points
Score mainly for what it is now, this could be much better a few years down the road. This needs alot more time. I agree with others 3-5 years minimum or 2+ hrs decant. Really strong pine, oak on the nose. Taste had lots complexity, but its currently dominated by strong resin, red fruit, vanilla (oak) with some heat. Really long viscous finish with the pine/resin flavor.
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10/22/2012 - Montecristo13 wrote: 93 Points
Liked it but expected better. Actually like the 99 Ardanza better. Have 5 more bottles. I will let it breathe longer next time
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10/22/2012 - Ron Felthoven wrote:
Others are right about the oak on this one. Needs a good decant to blow off.
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10/20/2012 - Goldstone wrote: 87 Points
I was so looking forward to this after being really impressed the first time I tried it nearly 12 months ago but it has gone backwards into a closed, sullen phase. Double-decanted for 3 hours and then decanted for another 2 hours before drinking. The cork looks like it was put in yeaterday. Colour is a dusky, transparent velvet red. Nose is classic oak and vanilla pod Rioja and some vanilla custard.....then red cherries and red plums. Palate is a high acidic initial attack but quickly segues into sharp red cherry then a dry fresh sawn box-wood and oaky finish. Very young...very high-toned, acetone, nail varnish remover and the merest hint of alluring red/black cherry fruit with more time in the glass. Distinct vanilla oak aftertaste. Has entered a sullen phase....... some impressive length develops after 2+ hours in the glass but it remains like a high-octave church bell that needs a lot more time to tone down. Stoppered and vacuumed all but one glass to see if another 24 hours would help. On the second day it has turned from transparent to deep ruby red opaque (how's that?) and has also put on weight on the nose....now deeper and more balanced primaries of oak and red/black cherry. Palate is now also deeper and more rounded and with some coffee bean coming through but still sharply young. I would leave for a couple of years whilst it sulks....but I'm more convinced than before that this could grow into a great wine in 5-10 years' time, even though I scored it 92 last year when it had more immediate charm of precosity.
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10/20/2012 - revanness wrote: 92 Points
Ready to drink.
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10/19/2012 - Zellao wrote: 90 Points
Aged 36 months in American Oak. Intense red fruits aromas. I'd like to taste it after decanting for a while to see its full expression.
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10/15/2012 - tocksme Likes this wine: 92 Points
Opened, tasted and closed for two days (having pumped out air). Initially sulfuric and a little harsh. Upon reopening, very smooth, with mild tannins and almost no alcohol flavor. Actually quite fruity, with flavors of black plum and leather. I look forward to the next one, which I will time a little better.
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10/15/2012 - DanTheRhoneFan wrote: 85 Points
I have 3 of these and this was the first one tried. Pop and Pour. Perhaps I should have read the reviews first since I now see several that say to decant for an hour to allow the medicinal/green qualities to reduce. I found the nose to be of forest, oak, and sour cherry. The taste had a sweet berry and oak front-end but then became green and medicinal in the middle to a medium green and spice finish. Medium bodied. I couldn't get past the greenness and therefore the low score but I still have hope for the other two. Next time will allow it to breathe in the decanter for a bit (or sit on the other 2 for another year or two).
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10/14/2012 - gazinho Likes this wine: 90 Points
Dark lustrous ruby with shadows of bricking.
Yup, lots of mature oak, vanilla - old style Rioja.
Cassis with hints of leather.
A big, generous presence with a sweet lingering finish.
Just great with flavoursome foods.
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10/14/2012 - MedocMad wrote: 92 Points
Super wine so many layers great value at £15.00
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10/12/2012 - grafstrb wrote: 88 Points
-- popped and poured --
-- tasted non-blind over a few hours --
NOSE: lots of oak --- pickles; spicy oak; red-fruited; moderately to moderately+ expressive.
BODY: medium bodied; black-garnet color with bricking throughout; {forgot to note weight of wine} – I seem to recall it being about medium bodied.
TASTE: acidic; a bit pickly; spicy oak; red berries; medium-light to medium concentration of fruit; clean; seems to be loosely structured; very little tannin; if this ages well, it will be on the strength of its acidity; on the elegant side; 13.5% alc. not noticeable. Solid but ultimately unremarkable right now (and possibly forever?).
B: 50, 5, 11, 15, 7 = 88
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10/10/2012 - TravisW wrote: 91 Points
Getting there but not fully integrated just yet. Leave for 3-5 years for the full tertiary whack. Loads now, and more in the future. Delicate on the palate but with real flavour intensity. We must have had one from a good batch. Delicious.
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10/10/2012 - spacewrangler wrote: 80 Points
Oak oak oak and dill. If you can get past that, and I tried, it's got ok fruit. I'd buy it for $10 to see if the wood eventually integrates, but this is 11 years old. Love the note that says 'classic Rioja', lol! Polar opposite of classic.
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10/9/2012 - robmatic wrote: 88 Points
The abundant oak keeps this from being outstanding. We'll have to wait and see how that plays out, but for now I'd recommend this only to oak lovers. Otherwise a very fine wine.
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10/7/2012 - yossarian.livez wrote: 90 Points
Excellent rioja. Just entering it's mature staged. Great with charcuterie/spicy sausage. Elegant. Long finish. Balanced.
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10/4/2012 - Rhone Rick wrote: 90 Points
Very impressed. Drank at Recette in NYC. Want some for m cellar.
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10/1/2012 - SkyCellar Likes this wine: 88 Points
This is a very nice wine that needs to be decanted for at least an hour. It starts with a strong medicinal taste that fades/merges into something quite lovely, but it takes time. Be patient.
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9/30/2012 - soyhead wrote: 92 Points
nose - mature nose of earthy sour berry, verging on being stinky as in turned earth. ooh yum. someone else mentioned pipe tobacco.
mouth - pretty much as the nose suggests, a sour fermented berry flavor that borders on tasting like a liquer, this is a very intriguing wine, and while it may strike some as being slightly 'off', i dig it.
ridiculous value when you realize its 10+ yrs old.
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9/30/2012 - kungfubaby Likes this wine: 91 Points
Stylish, mature, drinking perfectly now. Fascinated by the variety of reviews.
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9/30/2012 - DZ2012 wrote: 92 Points
Let breath for an hour. Deep ruby red. Red and black fruits. Drinking very well.
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9/30/2012 - Night Thief wrote: 90 Points
Dark red with some bricking. Menthol, dark fruit, and oak on the nose (maybe Sandalwood?). Dried cherries, slight blackcurrant, dirt, vanilla and pepper on the palate. Slight bit of soft tannin. Great balance. None of the components overpowering the other. Good acidity. Lengthy finish. Sophisticated old-world flavor.
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9/28/2012 - slippytoad wrote: 88 Points
Bottle variation? The cork was dried out and the bottle didn't show as much complexity as the last one.
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9/28/2012 - diggydan wrote: 91 Points
Finally tried this after reading all the hype. Deep red color fading ever so slightly at the rim. Long thick legs, relatively big bodied for a rioja: this wine is more about power than elegance, strength than finesse. Dark fruit, notes of spice, oak, and secondary aromas on the nose. Sweet red fruit on the attack coupled with a glycerine mouthfeel. The tannic underpinnings of the wine show through the mid-palate. Finishes long, with sour cherries and dill from its oak upbringing. I'm definitely buying a few more on sale at a local store for $26 as this was delicious tonight though still relatively primary and fruit-filled but blessed with the structure to improve with more age.
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9/28/2012 - Barolo Raymond wrote: 90 Points
Emirates Lounge LHR: Medium(+) garnet-ruby, narrow fast-moving legs. Medium(+) developed aromas of ripe red cherries, caramel, earth, oak. Dry, medium fruity acidity, medium mature and integrated tannins, medium alcohol and medium(+) body. Medium (+) concentrated flavours of ripe cherries, beries, vanilla, sweet oak, spice. Complex, sliky texture. Great length and beautiful lasting yet light-footed finish leaving you to want more.
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9/26/2012 - fCOT wrote: 91 Points
elegance, finesse and precision.Bright cherries with vanilla(moderate), tobacco and earth notes.A great bottle !
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9/25/2012 - no leashes wrote: 91 Points
Rich red fruit, with some tobacco and earth. Might get better, but why wait -- this is delicious now. Still drinking beautifully on the second night.
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9/24/2012 - Hazeo wrote: 90 Points
A little more oxidative notes on this bottle with a clipped finish. Still has the bright red fruit, spice, tea and good acidity but not as good a showing. Day 2, smoother and more elegant but lack the complexity and depth of the previous bottle. Not particularly confident on the longevity of this wine because of this bottle, but there does seem to be a lot of bottle-bottle variance. Day 3, surprisingly this did not hold up as well as the 1989 Viña Ardanza Reserva earlier this month.
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9/23/2012 - ksde wrote: 92 Points
Nice plush, even palate with a nice nose of spicy Rioja. The grenacha blending is most likely responsible for the nice mid palate jammy effect and this wine has a slight Chateauneuf character. This was consumed over a few nights with no special storage other than putting the cork back on the bottle. This is a very good sign for a wine to hold up so well over a few nights without coming apart. It is dinking like it is in its prime with everything in balance.
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9/22/2012 - Nedder_travels_the_world wrote: 92 Points
pnp huge nose. classic rioja. good acidity. great with food or on its own
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9/22/2012 - Merengue wrote: 90 Points
Tasted at Calvert Woodley Rioja tasting. Bottle had been opened for 2hrs. Muscular, oaky and dust but with beautiful complementary notes of plums, spices, tobacco and leather. This can age a few more years but if drinking soon make sure to decant 2hrs in advance. Definitely a wine that screams food.
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9/21/2012 - Sniffy-Sniff Likes this wine: 92 Points
Two passes through vinturi, then about 45 minutes in the decanter. Out of the gate, this is definitely sour and the dill and vegetal components dominate. About the 90 minute mark the wine darkened in color, put on some weight and then the fruit started to turn sweet and the oak came through. I can see how this wine is not for everyone. It's definitely unique. I let about 2 ounces sit in a glass for another 2 hours to see what it would do and, to my disappointment, it fell apart. Based on that test alone, I don't see this lasting another 10 years. Finally, this wine screams for food. I would not suggest drinking on its own.
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9/19/2012 - cmcclane wrote:
Let decant for 2 hrs and drank over the next 3 hrs. This reminded me of a Belgian beer it was so sour. Is this strong sour cherry taste normal for a Rioja? The color was brick with a brown outer ring. Is this a bad bottle? Formula7records@gmail.com
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9/19/2012 - EMTAME wrote: 91 Points
Nice old world style. Red fruit, cedar, leather, and a dill note on the back end. Medium bodied with a smooth, mildly spiced finish. Would be interesting to follow this one over the next 8-10 years.
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9/18/2012 - Tannatastic wrote: 90 Points
Consumed at Botin.
As always impressive, and an old favourite. The nose is big, with dark fruit, oak/vanilla, cigar-box, (perhaps cedar wood?) and a hint of smoked meat. We drank straight from the off, so it was a little closed on the palate to start, but as the evening progressed it opened up into a big (perhaps slighly more modern approach?) Rioja.
Stylistically this is a much more powerful wine than a typical Ardanza replacing a certain floral finesse for mucscularity, and I get the same volatile/hot alcohol and acidity that has been mentioned previously. I'm interested to see whether it will last the long-haul, or is simply a sturdier version of a classic. This may be down to it needing time (and it'll be worth seeing over the next decade), but at the moment the 2000, for me, is a much better example of typical Rioja and Ardanza. Nevertheless, still a good quality wine for an excellent price.
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9/15/2012 - WineRay05 wrote: 94 Points
Excellent!
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9/15/2012 - ctjared wrote:
Consistently good stuff. Preceded Toro from Numnathia, perfect.
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9/13/2012 - patsox wrote:
Sadly, a bad bottle, overcome by VA. Too bad - I was looking forward to testing all the hype.
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9/11/2012 - gjv115 wrote:
The last bottle was memorable, this one struck me a flat. It was coming around, so maybe we just didn't give it enough time to breathe. It didn't get much.
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9/9/2012 - Neurowine1 wrote: 92 Points
Definitely the WOTN among 5 very nice Spanish reds. Brought me back to my old days of Rioja drinking. Gorgeous evocative nose that practically fills the room. Sweet vanilla, red and black berries, leather, cocoa. A finish that goes on. Nothing else quite tastes like classic Rioja. This is a stunner!
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9/8/2012 - alanh13 wrote: 88 Points
This time it seemed slightly funkier with that classic Rioja balsamic/soy-like volatile acidity. But excellent structure underneath. Beautiful with lamb.
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9/8/2012 - winetastingnote wrote: 94 Points
Extremely smooth tannins, cherry and clove notes, medium bodied, garnet in color, long pleasurable finish, a great wine!
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9/8/2012 - Kraigers1 wrote: 92 Points
Solid wine and Is a pleasure to drink - the age on this is showing great an it's drinking terrifically.
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9/7/2012 - igaf wrote:
Consistent with my previous notes. It's a very good wine (somewhere in between moderately modern and traditional style) and a great value, so I wish I had more, however I cannot really share hyper enthusiasm of so many other notes here. Failed to see what is really so Especial there.
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9/1/2012 - DK Amateur Likes this wine:
Decanted 3 hours. Drunk after a 2004 Roagna Asili this had quite an impact though it was less detailed in taste: Fantastic perfume of smoke, dried strawberries and salt, and probably a lot of other things I have forgotten. Harmonious sweet taste balanced by tannin and moderate acidity. The empty glass retains the smell of old American oak. Grand old-style Rioja of the Burgundian type.
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8/28/2012 - tirmi Likes this wine: 92 Points
Светлый рубиновый цвет, плавный светлый ореол на стенке бокала. Богатый фруктовый аромат с нотками табака. Вкус мягкий с послевкусием сушенной сливы. Сбалансированная кислотность. Зрелые танины.
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8/27/2012 - empire80 wrote: 91 Points
Rich bouquet, firm tannin, plenty of fruit, vanilla and oak, long finish. Tasted very young despite 11 years age - great now but sure to improve.
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8/26/2012 - nschmidt wrote: 93 Points
Drank at the beach. Beautiful, dry mouthfeel. Like it more every time I have one.
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8/26/2012 - fitchbuck wrote: 91 Points
This was one of those bottled enigmas for me. All elements were in harmony but one: a souring aftertaste. Annoying at first, it nearly dissipated thru the middle of our drinking, but persisted for the finish. Perhaps it was inappropriately stored by Wine.com ... or whomever they got it from. This had the bones to be a haymaker, but got knocked out in the 3rd round from its black sheep spawn.
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8/26/2012 - nsellen wrote: 90 Points
That's a relief, after the last one. Once the pond water smell had dissipated, the nose is the true star. It's got the lot. After that, the taste is generous and engaging but the bouquet.....
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8/25/2012 - gordoyflaca wrote: 92 Points
Glad to try one now, but meant to age. Clean and pure. Cedar and leather and bright though dark cherry, with nice herbal notes.
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8/25/2012 - MattMauldin wrote: 93 Points
Wine Bloggers Conference- Night of Many Bottles and random others; 8/17/2012-8/28/2012 (Portland, OR): Savory umami and cassis notes with black pepper, currant, dried fruit and earth on the palate. Full round tannin and a long finish. Very nice.
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8/19/2012 - julao wrote: 93 Points
This Rioja is very Burgundian, ruby color, mid body & structure.
Nose is Floral roses & violet, mushrooms, leather, cedar.
Palate mirrors the nose, soft integrated tannins, + some smoke notes, flesh & tobaco not a long finnish but very lovely and enjoyable a great QFP for a 11 year aged wine.
The legs are Medium. It smells like Mushroom, Cedar, Sandalwood, and Smokey Bacon. It tastes like Cinnamon, Smokey Bacon, Sandalwood, Rose, Violet, Tobacco, and Meaty. The body is Medium/Full. The wine has Smooth texture. The wine finishes Medium.
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8/18/2012 - Fur in the glass Likes this wine:
Out of the bottle this time with no decant. Same great vanilla nose. One of us thought it was a bit weedy. Had a bit of cassis near the finish that got wider and wider as time went on. Same delicate quality but maybe not as much spice this time.
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8/18/2012 - julao wrote: 93 Points
This Rioja is very Burgundian, ruby color, mid body & structure.
Nose is Floral roses & violet, mushrooms, leather, cedar.
Palate mirrors the nose, soft integrated tannins, + some smoke notes, flesh & tobaco not a long finnish but very lovely and enjoyable a great QFP for a 11 year aged wine.
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8/15/2012 - Morrillism Likes this wine: 94 Points
Simply awesome! The wine is complex and elegant in a traditional Rioja style. I just sat there and couldn't help but think about the weather, the harvest, and the amazing attention to detail for this vintage. It sports aromas of leather, black cherry, and cinnamon. The wine has impeccable balance and a silky mouthfeel. The finish goes on and on and on...will be buying more. Give it at least an hour decant-
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8/13/2012 - Enfant sauvage wrote: 91 Points
Improving with each passing bottle. The oak/dill still dominates and the parts don't feel very integrated yet, but there are lots of lovely parts that seem to progessing positively. Didn't let this one evolve long enough to get to the cinammon or some of the other more interesting notes, but lots of nice cherry goodness up front.
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8/11/2012 - sharonandroland wrote: 93 Points
Another excellent bottle - archetype of a perfect old style Rioja. Complex, seductive and great length.
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8/10/2012 - jibby wrote: 93 Points
Dill. Woody. Medium-high, balanced acidity. Low tannins. Cherry reins.
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8/10/2012 - shleepy wrote: 94 Points
This is dill juice, right? Why is it red, though? Delicious, in any case.
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8/10/2012 - Hazeo wrote: 93 Points
Excellent classic Rioja with tart red fruit. Burgundian in elegance. Superbly balanced with spice, lush fruit and lovely acidity.
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8/9/2012 - DoubleMagnum wrote: 91 Points
Another great bottle. Still holding up and developing well.
Notas bastante similares a la anterior. Que vino señores!
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8/6/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:
My last of three half bottles of this. Drank wonderfully right out of the chute. Pretty, silky, floral, red berries, leather, and a hefty dose of earth. Dill pickle (from the American oak) was there, but not obtrusive...rather very pleasant. Finished great and I am glad to have 3 more 750ml bottles. So one out of my three half bottles was completely flawed and the other two were fantastic. Let's hope the 750s are all going to be like my last two half bottles.
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8/5/2012 - Seth Rosenberg wrote: 92 Points
Classic nose: earthy, barnyard, a touch spice, plummy fruit - deep and dark. Refined palate: earthy, coffee spice great balance - elegant mouthfeel with great acid. Spicy and acid finish. Exactly what I am looking for - in an old school Rioja. Killer QPR. Nose - 5/6, Palate - 5/6, Finish - 5/6, Je Ne Sais Quoi - 1/2 = 16/20.
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8/4/2012 - JR_Boston wrote: 95 Points
Drank at Heather's birthday dinner at No. 9 Park. One of the best Riojas I've ever had. Fantastic nose - leather, licorice, cherry and spice. Wonderul silky finish. Perfect old world Rioja.
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7/30/2012 - Gormmuller wrote: 92 Points
Notes of berry, peber and licorice tastes a bit narrow with some tanines but still a descent balance btw fruit, oak and tanins.
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7/29/2012 - Bordeauxman wrote: 91 Points
No notes taken but drinking very well.
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7/29/2012 - psmith wrote: 91 Points
Dark fruits. Full, with a more characteristic sour cherry and dill oaky component. Nice balance. Still young. Good wine.
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7/28/2012 - Badgermitch wrote: 91 Points
Great old style Rioja
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7/22/2012 - psmith wrote: 89 Points
Ripe dark fruits, with less foreward and overt oak than I usually get from this producer. Medium bodied, and surprisingly flashy styling. A sweet fruit impression. Young and clean, if not particularly complex. Nice.
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7/22/2012 - plechazunga wrote:
Popped and poured. Drank at the end of the night so not many notes. It had fruit and some leather, woodsy, tannic elements. No rush to drink now, but in a good place at the moment.
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7/21/2012 - djdaqm wrote: 92 Points
Light yet full of flavor. The oak is still prominent a bit. Wait at least a year to drink. Not with the flavor of nancites encurtidos that I associated with Rioja.
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7/20/2012 - jschnabel wrote: 92 Points
Nose of blueberry, cinnamon and Carmel. Ripe cherry fruit, with dusty earth, mushrooms and leather finish. Muy bueno.
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7/20/2012 - Blaufrank76 wrote: 89 Points
Great aromas of dark berries, fruits, herbs, chocolate and oak. Tannins and acidity still very present. Still needs at least two years of cellaring.High potential.
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7/15/2012 - liondream wrote: 92 Points
This is awesome! With berry taste, but nearly no tannis, sweet but do not overpower the acidity. With an hour breathing, it becomes a wonderful wine.
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7/14/2012 - vegasoenophile wrote: 92 Points
Blue and black fruit notes on the nose along with a complex aromas of cinnamon, balsamic reduction, black cherry and lavender. Medium bodied, showing some nice age with flavors of earthy, dusty blue and black fruit with some suggestions of red berries as well. Light hints of truffle, coffee and a savory quality. Really drinking nicely!
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7/13/2012 - Fur in the glass Likes this wine:
Awesome nose of cherry and vanilla. Tried after 45 min in the decanter and had a bit of fire on the end but another 40 min and it was smooth all around- delicate fruit, mild spice.
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7/13/2012 - chcook wrote:
Popped and poured. Cork perfect. Color brownish brick garnet. On opening, this had intense black raspberry on the nose. With air, this started to take on some chocolate notes in addition to the dark fruits. First impression on the palate was tingly acid and tannin.which overwhelmed the fruit. Nose started to take on pretty oaky character too. Given prev notes by others went ahead and decanted. This softened the fruit considerably (not good) but also softened the structure too. With more time and air the nose started taking on some dill. With air palate becomes all secondary and tart cherry. Would be good with a stew or braised beef I think.
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7/7/2012 - slippytoad wrote: 93 Points
Huge favorite with my friends, just very good, but quite light, Rioja. Plenty of age but not really showing signs of slowing.
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7/6/2012 - 82Latour wrote:
July 4th Part 2: Won't give it a rating as the bottle tasted a bit off, but definitely not corked. Velvety mouthfeel, with med finish. Nose and Palate were tough to distinguish.
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7/5/2012 - Fateful Destiny Likes this wine: 91 Points
Good. Nice characteristic Rioja oakiness and bitter cherry flavors. Probably not as complete (balance between oakiness and fruit) as the last bottle which could have been because I had it with a salad for dinner rather than a steak or something similar. Still a good one and I added more while I still can.
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7/4/2012 - dekay wrote: 88 Points
Consistent with prior bottle. Light bricking. Mature, ripe fruit on the nose; sour cherry and earth. Medium-bodied, lively but mildly sour acidity and not much tannin. Not bad with ribs.
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7/4/2012 - Riccardo Malocchio wrote: 90 Points
Considerably more integrated than my last bottle back in December, but most of this wine's glories are still hiding behind a wall of American oak. Excellent structure with a sweet core of very fresh fruit and some secondary qualities starting to emerge. Still much too young, of course, and I'd like to wait at least 5 yrs before popping another. (Fat chance.)
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7/4/2012 - Vinomane wrote: 89 Points
Although this wine came top in the recent Times Rioja tasting, and despite these enthusiastic reviews, my only bottle so far was a disappointment. Given the hype, wide availability, and good prices, and being a traditional Rioja lover anyhow, I stocked up without tasting first. Seems a huge amount of this was made, so bottle variation must be common. Hope the next specimen shows better integration and something more on the finish.
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7/2/2012 - Levinsb wrote: 93 Points
Juicy round red fruits. Enjoyed with good friends.
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7/2/2012 - AN wrote: 92 Points
Another great bottle of Ardanza, very complex nose and palate, still full of ripe fruit and loads of tertiary flavours. In Magnum.
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6/30/2012 - hfindlay wrote:
The most memorable wine I've had all year. Decanted for one hour, pungent nose of violets (like sticking your nose in a flower bed), notable poise on the palate, as if the wine had wings. Then, a fascinating array of flavors, including red stone fruit, wild blackberries. Ripe, rich, and mocha-y on the edges, young, pure and vibrant at its core. Some toast and then a very very long finish. I loved this wine. There was just so much going on. We drank it at a big celebratory dinner in Las Vegas before a cult Napa cab that was six times the price, and the Vina Ardanza blew it off the table. No contest.
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6/30/2012 - Pdxwinegeek wrote: 90 Points
Very nice, 2nd bottle drank much more impressively from the get go than the first did, Palate showed balance ,length, good Rioja typicity and red fruits, still with enough acids to be quite juicy and thirst quenching, The tannins I tasted in the first bottle seemed absent tonight.
It was juicy and acidic enough to drink with an asian noodle dish we served tonight and not seem poorly matched.
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6/29/2012 - feffer wrote:
We opened another bottle because we liked the first so much and this bottle was just as good, but more youthful. This wine could still have several very good years left in it.
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6/29/2012 - nicefish wrote: 91 Points
Drinking well now.
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6/28/2012 - feffer wrote:
REALLY REALLY GOOD. We just popped and poured and it was delicious. Pretty soft. I'm glad we opened this now and not later.
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6/28/2012 - Levinsb wrote: 93 Points
Gorgeous juicy red fruits , great acidity. Still a bit tannic, but not overpoweringly so. Love the lively fresh fruit on this. great now and has cellar potential to soften. Will buy more.
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6/26/2012 - wabi47 wrote: 88 Points
very good brooding ripe mixed stone fruit, some wood; integrated tannins; lowish acidity makes it rounder than i prefer.
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6/24/2012 - mikeaukenbals wrote: 93 Points
buy more
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6/23/2012 - johnh1001 wrote: 93 Points
Tasted at the winery and with dinner that night. Winery was out of a 375ml bottle which was great. Complex nose of wood, spice, coffee and dark fruit. Palate matched with pretty strawberry notes. Long finish. The 750ml at dinner was similar, but decidedly younger with a denser palate, less complexity and more tannin.
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6/22/2012 - Reevers wrote: 90 Points
No need to decant but may benefit so will try next time. Rather a softer 'modern' style of rioja but most enjoyable.
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6/11/2012 - Chops wrote: 92 Points
Tansported me back to Spain. Classic Rioja. Decanted for 30min, well balanced, medium bodied with nice oak.
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6/9/2012 - ihavezinned wrote: 90 Points
nose: bell pepper, really overripe berries, rip fig, wet forest floor after a rain, big oak
palate: tart ripe read & black fruit, earthiness, mushroom
nice acidity, long finish, gripping tannins
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6/8/2012 - Pdxwinegeek wrote: 87 Points
Popped and poured, some bricking around edges, big nose, but first taste was disappointing, seemed too tannic relative to fruit, two hours in it definitely improved with time, tannins still overwhelm the fruit, but dark fruits are there, and tannins seem tamer with exposure to air. Still expecting excellence given the source, vintage and the rave writeup in the NYT couple months back, did not get it. Right now its a decent wine with food, hopefully can improve with age.
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6/6/2012 - sharonandroland wrote: 93 Points
Great as always
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6/6/2012 - Marc wrote: 92 Points
With J+C - Excellent, savory, tannic and complex wine. Very dark American oak quality that that offers depth and dimension , rather than sweet coconut and vanilla. I suspect this will always be a tannic wine but it is classy and offers an unusual flavour profile. Certainly outstanding.
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6/4/2012 - bschwindtcoffee wrote: 91 Points
Drank several months ago, but WOTN at a tapas party. Rich and balanced. Buying 1/2 case.
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6/2/2012 - tplskylrk wrote:
Really earthy old world style. Not really in my wheelhouse but I like it.
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6/1/2012 - DRS-Inc wrote: 91 Points
PnV & drank over 5 hours. Brick-red hue. Complex with understated richness & depth. Notes of juicy tart black cherry, cranberry, plum, leather, vanilla, little bit of baking spices, herbs, & still loads of oak that hopefully will integrate over next several years. Soft & slightly grainy tannins, good mix of acidity that paired well with food, mid-bodied & medium finish ending with dominant oak tones. This has good potential, but would wait at least 5 years for the next one as I expect this to begin to fully blossom then. Good QPR.
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5/29/2012 - Rickets wrote: 90 Points
Very nice. Nose of plum and caramel. Well balanced on the palate, with hints of leather, spice, and well-integrated oak. Excellent balance with medium-long finish. Drinking very well right now, but I would say there is no hurry to drink this - it's got a few years left for sure. Good value.
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5/26/2012 - meistereder wrote: 95 Points
The age of this wine is showing perfectly. Meaty, earthy, leathery undertones linger like a theme. So delicious. With roasted pork.
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5/25/2012 - InternationalWineReport wrote: 90 Points
Displays a very nice brick-like color. Giving off powerful aromas of cherry, blackberry, plum, toasted coconut, vanilla, leather and tobacco. The texture is nice here, built around fine grained yet soft tannins. Everything seemed to be working pretty well together until the finish, which was cut short. This is an interesting wine from an excellent vintage and worth a shot. (Drink 2012-2021) - May, 2012. (JD)
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5/24/2012 - Harley1199 wrote:
At Restaurant Rialto, Albacete.
Beautiful cherry colour, yeah.
Rich nose with raspberries, sandalwood or cinnamon, of course.
Smoothie palate, spicy and savoury indeed.
Everything is there but needs time.
This wine is going to be a great reserve but not yet.
Last glass had the better thing. At this point, good paring food.
En el restaurante Rialto, Albacete.
Bonito color cereza, exacto.
Rica nariz con frambuesas, sándalo o canela, por supuesto.
Boca suavecita, especiada y sabrosa sin duda.
Todo está ahí pero necesita tiempo.
Este vino va a ser uno de los grandes reservas pero no aún.
La última copa tenía lo mejor. Bueno acompañando comida.
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5/19/2012 - benny wrote: 92 Points
Decanted for 4 hours. Needs it. Wonderful nose. Finish long but a bit acidic. This wine kept evolving in the glass. 92 for sure.
could be up to 94 given some time to develop in the bottle. But is outstanding now.
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5/19/2012 - Rob-Rah wrote: 89 Points
4 hour decant. Seemed almost a bit overdone on finally drinking. Hmmmmm. Decant, but not too much. I tasted this fresh out of bottle, before the decanter, and it was more vibrant. Hmmmmmmmmmmm.
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5/19/2012 - mcases wrote: 92 Points
Impressive wine. Thsi is getting better every year. although beiing a classic rioja seems a bordeaux style wine in the nose and it takes a couple of hours to open. Long and grassy wine. Drink or hold for a couple of years.
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5/16/2012 - jibby wrote: 89 Points
Dark ruby red. In the nose, vanilla notes. Ripe fruit. Bing cherries. Cranberry. A hint of dill. Bright acidity. Low-medium tannins. Overall, quite drinkable, though I wouldn't say it's especially complex.
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5/11/2012 - chbeaumont Likes this wine: 92 Points
Rather severe, tight, tremendous depth & length. Best left alone, for say 5 years. 24 hours later classic soft strawberried fruit & vanillin oak on the nose & palate, fades out gently.
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5/9/2012 - Chomsky wrote:
I can see why people are excited about this wine - there's great freshness and energy along with admirable depth and power - but man is this infanticide right now. There's an absolute wall of dilly American oak on the finish that will take ages to resolve. Wait 10-20 years.
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5/6/2012 - ub40guy wrote: 95 Points
One of the best wines I've ever had from Rioja. The bouquet is so complex and perfumed I could just smell this wine for hours and be happy. Floral scents weave in between dark cherry and baking spices and tanned leather. A hint of dill from the oak is absolutely classic for Rioja aged in American oak and I consider it a marker for superior wines from this region. One person tasting this with me described the nose as "divine." The palate is broad and complex, dark cherry, damson plum, cocoa dust, all come across in a silky smooth, integrated package. Hard to believe this has 11 years of bottle age already, should show well for many, many years. This is refined Tempranillo from one of the best producers on the planet in regards to this varietal.
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5/4/2012 - caesar662 wrote: 89 Points
Fantastic
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5/4/2012 - Scubableu wrote: 92 Points
Wow.... the nose on this wine is exquisite. Ruby red color, tannins are well balanced , full but not over powering on the palate. One left :(
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4/30/2012 - tplskylrk wrote:
Really nice old world. Can't say this is really in my flavor profile so best not score it. Can't find anything but nice things to say. Could have spent 10$ for this or 50$ just never made much of an impression.
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4/29/2012 - pjaines wrote:
Stupidly good value for money here. Dense palate packed full of mocha, cherries, vanilla and mature red fruit. The palate has incredible depth - half young half old - some maturity underpinned with very fine fruit. This has the legs for some serious aging. On the palate this becomes quite sweet after a few glasses - I'd suggest this really could sit in the cellar for 10 years easily. And for £16 why wouldn't you put some away?
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4/29/2012 - lagache wrote: 91 Points
Parfaitement a maturité. Finale longue delicate et equilibree.
Manque legerement de personnalité.
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4/29/2012 - kevin h wrote: 92 Points
Oak and mocha on the nose. Youthful wine but showing very good complexity - well above what you'd expect from just a reserva. Classy wine with red fruits, oak, leather, coffee and plenty more to give. To be enjoyed over the next couple of decades.
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4/29/2012 - DoubleMagnum wrote:
Constant notes
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4/26/2012 - Zoomin Z Likes this wine: 94 Points
After letting it breathe for several hours, an intense sweet red fruit and mellow oak bouquet; heavier body than the vast majority of rioja; long, smooth finish; the taste of the fruit is harmonious but not in your face (I would rate it even higher if the fruit was a little more intense and more fruit-forward, but that is probably a reflection of my American tastes) Great now and should last another 5 to 10 years. Great with any roasted meat, great with top notch Paella.
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4/26/2012 - yofog wrote: 92 Points
There's a very high delicious factor here--the moment I pull the cork I'm hit with that old familiar scent: piquillo, herbs, spicy oak, dried cherries, dusty earth, and all that carries over onto the juicy and long palate. Texturally the oak is already integrated, and I rather like what it adds to the nose. Trouble is; I'm not sure this is really so superior to past vintages. On the other hand, it's still quite an inexpensive wine, and I'll probably be picking up a case.
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4/24/2012 - Corgi wrote:
This was a nice surprise. Soft and fluid. Liquified fresh dill herbs. Paired nicely with a simple pizza and garlic bread.
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4/23/2012 - cos82 wrote: 92 Points
I loved this bottle which to me is drinking perfectly. Pretty mature red in color. A beautiful fruit and floral nose from initial pour throughout. Refined balanced palate of red fruits, licorice and subtle hint of oak.
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4/23/2012 - Ron Felthoven wrote: 92 Points
Very complex and delicious. Came off as a bit hot initially until I cooled it off a little.
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4/22/2012 - Rechrom wrote: 92 Points
Very pretty wine. Tight, woody and acidic at open, after two hours in the decanter opened up with a good but not great nose of licorice and blackberry. Berrys on an interesting and deep palate. Full of character, will be better if wood can integrate some, but to me the wood is part of a very nice mix.
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4/20/2012 - DCF Likes this wine: 92 Points
Classic Rioja. Aroma of currant and leather, balanced flavors of black cherry and leather with oak in the background. Round texture, medium finish. Great for a convivial glass with friends.
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4/17/2012 - HStaal wrote: 90 Points
Very Good – clear mid/dark ruby/garnet; red fruit on nose – some oak; off-dry; low acidity; medium / full body; medium tannins; mid length finish; decanted 3 hours before drinking; well intergrated oak not intrusive (vanilla, smokiness) ; red fruit – cherries; fig; lovely balance; soft and mellow; needs more time or long decant – look forward to drinking the rest over a number of years.
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4/17/2012 - Rob-Rah wrote: 90 Points
Fresh from the bottle, brownish red. Opaque. Reticent and taught. Acidic. Much better with a few hours air, bringing out depth and fruit. Not blown away by this, but it's a lovely drink nonetheless, and I'm glad I have a case.
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4/17/2012 - Bklyndude wrote: 91 Points
Hoped to be blown away by this wine after recent NYT rave. Glass staining red with no evidence of bricking despite age. Tasted after 6 hour decant. Aromas of cherries, fig and burnt almond that carry thru in more muted fashion on the palate. A bit watery on the mid-palate; menthol notes on the short finish. Very nice and smooth but pedestrian. Bought case so will revisit soon.
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4/16/2012 - up4wine wrote: 92 Points
Even better than the last bottle. This bottle was very slow to start. Nose had a little metal to blow off and then went into a closed down stance for about 1 hr. Oh, but then the fruit blossomed and the palate took off. Great cherries with even tannins and a balanced acid level for food.
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4/14/2012 - David_T wrote: 89 Points
Gorgeous nose of grilled meat, blackberry and red+black licorice. The palate doesn't have quite the intensity of the nose, but shows a nice fruit/meat/earth balance, with well integrated tannins and acid. Not getting as much oak/tannins as others' notes have mentioned. Nice wine, nearing if not at its prime.
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4/13/2012 - CTuttle wrote:
A modern rioja. Very polished. Excellent balance, but the oak phobes should beware. I find this currently dancing on the razor's edge of balance between fruit and wood. I think five years from now, this wine will be outstanding. Started out very spicy and could have fooled me for southern Rhone. Later, the tempranillo characteristics started peeking out. Sadly none left for day 2. Next time.
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4/11/2012 - Befloyd Likes this wine: 96 Points
A fantastic wine... Same as my last notes...
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4/9/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:
So this is what a good bottle of this tastes like...Unlike the other half bottle I opened previously, this one was absolutely outstanding. Kept improving over the course of 4 days (yes, this was an exercise in academia of sorts). Dark cherry and black currant, lots of earth, dried herbs, orange peel and an almost saline note. Tremendously powerful on the palate despite being incredibly weightless/effortless on the palate. Finish just keeps on sailing. The only issue is obviously that there seems to be some significant bottle variation. That statement is based not only on my experience (one bottle amazing, one undrinkable), but also on a variety of notes I have read elsewhere describing the same level of disparity from one bottle to another. Definitely caveat emptor as I don't have a clue how my remaining 3 standard bottles and 1 half bottle will perform.
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4/9/2012 - nschmidt wrote: 90 Points
Translucent red. Very dry. Could use a little more fruit. I enjoyed it quite a bit.
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4/7/2012 - DoubleMagnum wrote: 92 Points
Excellent bottle. This seems at peak.
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4/7/2012 - routtatout Does not like this wine: 84 Points
New world novelty oak dominated this wine. Perhaps I needed to decant more, but what a let down.
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4/4/2012 - wineshlub wrote: 89 Points
Aromas of spice and leather. Oak tinged flavors of red fruit and earth. Robust leathery finish. Well balanced, strong backbone, classically styled Spanish Rioja. Very good, though not quite as good as the LDH Cubillo at the same price point.
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4/3/2012 - Zweder wrote: 90 Points
Got this wine completely blind and that was nice because I have a few. Transparent carmine brown color. The bouquet was a bit organic with julienne, oak and butter. On the palate earthy, tea, mocha and chocolate. Completely melted tannin with some drying bitterness and sweetness in the finish. I don't know the history of this bottle, but imho the wine is completely ready. Have to try one of my own bottles soon.
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4/1/2012 - marc d wrote:
classic Rioja, fabulous balance of fruit with wood spices, structure is pretty seamless too.
Very elegant, should age effortlessly.
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3/30/2012 - mnserra wrote: 90 Points
- Brick color with medium forming legs. It's balanced with a medium/full body. Round texture with a long finish.
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3/29/2012 - kirschke Likes this wine: 91 Points
Nice and earthy, went with the chorizos perfectly!
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3/27/2012 - alanh13 wrote: 90 Points
Just a one hour decant. Nose of light vanilla, sandalwood, cherry and raspberry. Very fruity on the palate, oaky but well integrated. Something almost bloody about this. Very intense, clean, but good acid that gives it a nice edge. A little heat on the end. Its quite tannic and probably a bit too early to drink yet. Very good value. I really like this but want to give it a few more years.
... Re-opened two days later: the tannins have softened and this is a beautiful, complex Rioja. It can stand up to a claret twice its price with ease. Still a little too much heat on the end but otherwise this is really lovely.
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3/25/2012 - Fateful Destiny Likes this wine: 94 Points
This bottle was amazing. Perhaps I was just in the mood for Rioja, or it was a good bottle but nice fruit, well refined, good oak and acidity. Well recommended.
Good compliment to the Spanish "Drunken Goat" cheese I purchased from Whole Foods.
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3/23/2012 - ctjared wrote:
This was fantastic at Barcelona. Silky tannin sand lots of life.
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3/18/2012 - Lars-Erik wrote: 93 Points
Hell yeah!
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3/17/2012 - David Meddings wrote: 87 Points
Uncorked 10 hours decanted 2 hours. Oak, vanilla, and red berry nose. Palate is high toned cherry laced acidity with a finely tannic and oak dominated lattice framework supporting the fruit. Final was long but markedly acidic. Notes are from memory but I could not make my mind up about this wine. Drinkable and enjoyable but I found the oak intrusive and sat awkwardly next to the acidity which I found overpowering. Still, no question about the depth of fruit here and it could all come together in the next 5-10 years...Score may rise for today this is all I could give.
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3/15/2012 - nsellen wrote: flawed
Looks a good age, brownish tinge to the rim. Nose affected by low level cork taint although I could still get some tea and tar. Taste unaffected and as other notes. Not fair to rate.
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3/11/2012 - bjr11 wrote: 90 Points
The prominent oak softens a bit with decanting, but in agreement with a CT minority that there may not be as much time left in this as some are assuming
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3/10/2012 - ccn wrote: 85 Points
Noticeably brown around the edges. Not enough fruit to support the wood -- this tastes like it's well on its decline. Given other reviews, possibly a bad bottle? Note that we did not decant and only tasted it over 2-3 hours so perhaps it required more airing; but I don't think there's enough fruit left for this to age.
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3/9/2012 - MichaelMA wrote: 93 Points
Wow. This wine blew me away. After reading some of the notes I opened the bottle in the morning and left it open on the counter until dinner -- about 12 hours later -- but I did not decant it. When I poured it there was a very noticeable leather scent, but with just a little more air the fruit started to come out and it was gorgeous. Brimming with red fruit, I hardly noticed any wood. Long finish. Drank with friends one of whom love Spanish wine and he was blown away, as was I. Will have to make time to go get a few more bottles.
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3/8/2012 - robmatic wrote:
Curious juice that seems to be undecided if it's traditional or modern. Either way, it's drinking well and is likely to continue to do so for a long time.
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3/5/2012 - kingkanu wrote: 90 Points
A slight bricking and translucent rim to this wine. Sweet vanilla and spec on the nose with some bright cherry notes. In the mouth it tastes rich and round, but has just enough acidity to feel light and refreshing, quite a long finish. You can just about taste the start of its evolution, it hints at leather and tobacco. Some fine tannin still left to resolve, but that just gives it a little appealing grip which also balances the ripeness of the fruit. Very tasty and may need to up the supplies of this wine, it will last for some time.
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3/3/2012 - gjv115 wrote: 93 Points
wow, bright cherry vanilla. Delicious. Drinking great right now.
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3/1/2012 - sharonandroland wrote: 93 Points
Devine
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3/1/2012 - GuruofAV wrote: 92 Points
Bright cherry nose, with firm tannins, a sharp mid palate
and a long finish ..... Very good
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2/29/2012 - jayedley wrote: 91 Points
Fully met expectations, a right tasty drop of Rioja. No signs this wine is getting tired.
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2/27/2012 - Zazzaman Likes this wine: 89 Points
A bottle and a separate half from hotel Bahia Real Atlantis in Fuerteventura, at around 45€ a bottle. No differences in taste but a surprising (to me) lack of lees in either bottle suggesting filtration. Deep brick red colour with some orange tones. Vanilla and red fruit on the nose, with a very integrated palate, soft mature tannins melding with the fruit with highlights of vanilla, leather, tobacco and sandalwood. Absolutely delicious with the half bottle seeming more alive! WoFW 16/20
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2/25/2012 - Dids wrote: 92 Points
Pretty much the same as before except one has to have alot of this stuff to see it to it's peak. It's too nice now!
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2/25/2012 - Dariusz181064 wrote: 93 Points
Excellent wine.
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2/22/2012 - GlassHalfFull wrote: 91 Points
Needs a few hours of decanting at this stage. Funk on the nose that dissipated after a couple hrs. Sour cherries dominates midpalate, somewhat masking a solid finish. Relatively smooth tannins. Very good, but maybe better with time.
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2/18/2012 - Sir-Harrie wrote: 92 Points
Sehr dichter Wein mit viel Frucht und Volumen, trotz des Alters. Kirsche, Walderdbeere und im Nachgang etwas Lakritz und Schockolade. Ein klasse Preis-/Leistungsverhältnis.
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2/18/2012 - pdadams66 wrote: 89 Points
Solid Rioja. Needs more time (oak has an edge that will round out over time I think). Lots of vanilla, classic Rioja nose and taste. Needs a decant right now.
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2/18/2012 - Annakylee wrote: 84 Points
Must be decanted for >1hr. Def do not pop and pour. Leather dark fruit oak acidic. V smooth and medlight body. Didn't get enough depth but prob bc did not decant enough.
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2/18/2012 - ID wrote:
This wine has a bit of a sharpness to it. There is a distinct and prominent cherry taste in it. It is only medium-bodied: definitely cannot be called heavy. In the end, it is very much a wine with a certain character to it. Having had one bottle, I'll have to think about which occasions I want to open my remaining bottles, because the wine very much has its own peculiar character that would not necessarily go with anything.
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2/17/2012 - Befloyd Likes this wine: 96 Points
Same as my last tasting notes... Fantastic Rioja!!!
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2/14/2012 - mikelikewine wrote: 92 Points
Decanted 3Hrs. I Love this stuff. This is everything I look for in a rioja - smooth as silk and with just the right amount of oak. QPR is through the roof - will definitely be buying more.
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2/11/2012 - NHLC Likes this wine: 92 Points
Wonderful bottle. Popped and poured. Initially had some heat that evaporated quickly. Notes of raspberry, cherry, vanilla, tobacco, leather, earth and a little spice. It has silky, Burgundian finesse. Oak is certainty present but restrained. Lovely balance, sharp acidity, mellow tannins with a lengthy, juicy finish. I want more!
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2/11/2012 - HUSTLEDC wrote: 92 Points
Decanted for 2hrs. Nose of tobacco,vanilla and bright red fruit, all with a great depth to them. That depth of fruit jumps out in the mouth with the oak wrapped around it perfectly. The wine has great acidity which balances it's depth. A lovely long finish. This wine is really good now but will be fantastic in another 5 yrs, whether i manage to keep my hands off until then will be another matter.
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2/9/2012 - greenwalter wrote: 89 Points
Light, but flowery, with an earthy nose.
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2/3/2012 - DoubleMagnum wrote: 91 Points
Consistent notes.
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2/2/2012 - PangurBan wrote: 91 Points
Nice dark red fruit with a leathery component. Great balance and a long finish. Starting show some complexity.
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1/30/2012 - SLIMES wrote:
VERY smooth, with excellent mouth feel. Outstanding QPR and held up much better than expected on night 2.
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1/20/2012 - Mugwump wrote: 90 Points
Dark ruby color; tart cherry, oak, earth and herbs; Ver nice and improves after opening.
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1/20/2012 - skisdeeppow wrote:
Excellent. Transparent ruby color. Nose of tart cherry, dill, a hint of coconut and some earthiness/leather as well. Bright red fruit, some coffee and leather on the palate with a little streak of spice. Drinking well at this point, but I think there is a nice upside to this wine. Solid qpr if you can get it in the low $20's.
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1/19/2012 - Befloyd Likes this wine: 96 Points
A simply amazing Rioja. I have enjoyed many wines from Rioja and this is by far the best I have ever had. The aspect of this wine that blew me away was the silky smooth texture and mouthfeel. The tannins and alcohol have been completely integrated into a silk smooth texture. Amazing!!!
The nose started off very oaky (I do not like lots of oak in my wine) but after an hour of decanting the oak disappeared, leaving a nose of fresh red fruit, cedar and vanilla.
The taste is of ripe, sweet red fruit. Strawberries, raspberries and ripe sweet bing cherries with a finish of sweet spice and vanilla.
I loved it so much I just order more! This is Rioja at it's best!
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1/19/2012 - winepog wrote: 92 Points
Nice wine, I enjoyed it a great deal...not unusual for a moderately aged Rioja - that is what it tasted like...the quality rang through as well as the oak to a small extent...
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1/15/2012 - Enfant sauvage wrote: 90 Points
I stand corrected. Much improved after being open a couple hours. Dill and menthol on the nose. After some air, the strongest flavor on the finish is stick cinnamon.
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1/13/2012 - urban_dk Likes this wine: 91 Points
Decanted for 7 hours before serving, and it lasted as part of a larger Rioja tasting for another 3 hours. Definitely needs a lot of time to open. Even after ten hours, it's obvious this wine's best days are still ahead. The dill profile that others have noted is clear on the nose, but not in the palate. The cherry/vanilla flavors are there on the palate, along with some soy, asian spice and earth notes. Acidity was noteworthy but not overpowering. I'd expect some of the spice profile to become more noteworthy as this ages. This has a more understated and complex flavor profile than most Gran Reservas I've tried, and I look forward to trying another bottle in a few years.
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1/13/2012 - Dids wrote: 92 Points
Opened last night and the oak too polished and a creamy vanilla profile to enjoy the fruit. There was some black curranted fruit and a spicey edge and oodles of fresh acidity to give it potential. Tonight, the vanilla oak doesn't really recede, the the fruit is singing through, blackcurrant, raspberry, tobacco, Vigorous in the mouth, bags of acidity, tannin more to the fore, cracking length, some wood in the mid palate.This wine is 5 years off hitting the high notes without any interference. Lovely stuff!
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1/12/2012 - Klugi Wine wrote: flawed
The wine beyond the cork showed a lot of potential. But sadly it was not really drinkable.
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1/8/2012 - kirschke wrote: 86 Points
Unlike the first one of these, very flat and never developed even after being open a day. Not bad but not good...
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1/8/2012 - chablis28 wrote: 91 Points
I just popped and poured but an hour or 2 decant would have been a good call as the oak was up front for about an hour then slowly this settled into a classic Rioja with cherry, earth, raspberry and spice flavors. The nose is relatively unevolved yet. Maybe a decant would have helped the nose? This is very fresh at 10yrs and should benefit from addl 3-5yrs. I'll wait at least 3 for btl #2.
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1/7/2012 - sharkarama wrote: 90 Points
Drunk over dinner with the 1973 after a two and a half hour decant. A full bodied and spicy wine but in comparison to its refined auntie a lot of wood almost masking the fruit. Ready but will probably improve over the next 28 years
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1/6/2012 - fc1910 wrote: 92 Points
Drunk with some Companeros at a Winebar at Hamburg, Germany a few Days ago. For me the best Year for this Reseva of La Rioja Alta I ever have been drinking! Just too young at the Moment. The Acidity still bites! Needed decanting and after at least 4 Hours this Bottle showed a very complex Wine. Very long and in my Opinion Time for more than 10 Years to develop. (as fast as possible bought myself 2 Cases and some Magnums! ;-) )
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1/3/2012 - king-bing wrote:
Double decanted an hour so so before drinking. Pretty good for the off but got better. Oak was integrated, unlike the 2001 Vina Real GR which I do find oppressively oaked. This is gentle vanilla, then cranberry, leather, still plenty of fruit. A touch of spice and an acidic lick in the finish only add interest. Pretty darn good for me and better than a number of Ardanzas I've had. Like those but updated, not modernised.
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1/1/2012 - microbox wrote: 91 Points
New Years Eve: decanted 3 hours. wonderful companion for a deboned quail filled with foie gras d'oie and black truffles
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12/30/2011 - PangurBan wrote: 91 Points
Ripe plums with hints of vanilla ,cigar tobacco and spice. Delicate and smooth in the mouth with fine tannins and vibrant acidity. The finish is long and sweet as it lingers on the palate.
raspberry and cherry with suggestions of potpourri, sandalwood and vanilla. Shows more power and darker fruits on the palate, picking up a touch of singed plum that adds a serious quality to the sweet black raspberry and cherry flavors without costing the wine any of its vibrancy. The long, sweet finish hangs on with very good tenacity.
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12/29/2011 - Grape_ape wrote: 90 Points
Definitely more traditional Rioja with sour red cherry, leather, some earth and showing a lot of american oak, as others have noted I get a lot of dill on the nose, and if there's a big drawback for me, is that its a bit too heavy on that aspect. Also worth noting is that few hours in I found it to be taking on oxidized notes, so this may be better consumed as a pop n pour so it doesn't start to fall apart. I decanted about an hour+, which was probably too long, and I was surprised how it seems to show oxidation so soon since I noticed multiple reviewers believe its still to young and has years ahead of it... while it seems to have to structure to support that, for me, the aromatics did seem to deteriorate after a few hours.
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12/27/2011 - Enfant sauvage wrote: 88 Points
Oak juice. Maybe a long decant will help next time. Maybe nothing will.
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12/22/2011 - Riccardo Malocchio wrote: 88 Points
On the nose, American oak, vanilla, dill pickle, and more oak. Palate of oak, pickle, cherry-vanilla streudel, and oak leading to an oaky finish that's somehow reminiscent of oak.
So I found it a tad oaky, but beneath all that liquid lumber is a potentially very good wine. And I hasten to add that I expect and enjoy the strong influence of American oak in traditional Rioja, including the wines of La Rioja Alta which are typically among the oakiest. But for me, and at least for this stage in its evolution, the wood is simply too dominant and unintegrated.
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12/21/2011 - Montecristo13 wrote: 89 Points
A bit disapointed. The lastima 2
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12/20/2011 - jsums wrote: 93 Points
Dark ruby color with slightly bricking rim. Inviting and very complex nose: dried cherry, fresh plum, and persimmon/apricot fruit framed by cedar, incense, teriyaki, balsamic vinegar, violet, a touch of dill, and a faint whiff of barnyard. Medium body on the palate: lively, expressive cherry, plum, and persimmon/apricot fruit with accents of balsamic vinegar, toasted cedar, teriyaki, black tea, clove/cinnamon spice, and again the light touch of dill. Medium+ acidity. Moderate/lighter tannins. Lingering balsamic vinegar, toasted cedar, clove/cinnamon spice, and black tea on the moderate/long finish. Already showing excellent integration and silky texture. Demonstrates complexity, subtlety, perfect balance, and extraordinary class. A truly great Rioja...what a gem! Enjoy over the next 8 years.
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12/19/2011 - Andice wrote: 93 Points
Hallmark of a traditional Rioja - the oak is well integrated and never overwhelming, aged and ready to drink. Warm candied nose w mint. Fresh raspberries, coffee powder and a touch of herbs making things interesting. Classy, balanced, well-judged. Tannins already resolved and velvety. Mid-bodied. Somehow reminded me of a good class Pomerol. Able to hold its own against wines 3x its price -QPR over the roof. http://sgbordeaux.blogspot.com/2011/12/la-rioja-alta-vina-ardanza-2001.html
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12/13/2011 - kronfeld wrote: 88 Points
I found it to be very closed down and would recommend waiting a few more years or decanting a couple of hours in advance if drinking now.
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12/12/2011 - kevin h wrote: 91 Points
Shy nose but all the right things are there, mocha dominates with a touch of oak, orange peel and leather - still youthful. Better flavours with a nice degree of complexity. Vanillin, coffee and red fruits with a lingering finish. Probably 5 years away from maturity but can be enjoyed now.
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12/10/2011 - up4wine wrote: 91 Points
This wine continues to shine brightly; great fruit with cherry nuances and subtle nuances in the nose that evolve over 1 -2 hours.
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12/10/2011 - G_H wrote: 91 Points
Had this at the Waverly Inn in New York and (apart of the Mas Julien 2005) this was the only bottle with a reasonable QPR on the menu (it was written on the wine list as the reserva not the especial, I asked about it when I ordered it and the sommelier had no clue...). Priced at 80$ this is great, very earthy, red berries, full bodied and with a long life ahead.
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12/9/2011 - steffenpelz wrote:
Oh boy...not sure what to think about this one. There's tremendous potential here. Dense, laser focused red and black fruit, leather, earth, and an imposing structure and magnificent finish. The fruit is in the black currant spectrum and mildly conjures up thoughts of Cabernet Sauvignon with respect to its taste, while the texture is textbook Tempranillo from Rioja. The marring issue with this wine is its intense flavor of dill pickle, which I assume is a direct byproduct of its American Oak treatment. Matter of fact, this wine reminds me a lot of 80s era Silver Oak Napa Valley bottlings. I didn't really enjoy drinking this wine (save for its educational value), so given that I have quite a few more, I pray that the oak will resolve over the next 10 or so years. If it won't, this might turn out one of the most tragic wastes of world-class grapes ever.
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12/9/2011 - Winward wrote: 93 Points
Actually drank this at Craft in NYC. Awesome choice guided by sommellier as response to a line of questioning that went: full bodied - earthy - soft tannins - less than $100. It ticked all the boxes - phenomenal.
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12/4/2011 - cgstocks wrote: 89 Points
Smooth, earthy bouquet with a deep, deep red color. The wine is much lighter than the color suggests which makes for a pleasant surprise. Even mix of fruit and balanced from start to finish. An excellent half bottle to enjoy with a light meal at home.
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12/4/2011 - omakasekt wrote: 89 Points
Opened (not decanted) for at least 4 hours before serving at dinner @ Liu Yuan Pavilion.
Big nose of red fruits, easy on the palate. Quite delicious at the onset and goes extremely well with the slightly spicy thinly steamed pork and flat noodles cold appetizer. Didn't go so well with the sweet tasting fried eel. Over time the nose became very jammy and also minty, and the palate remained more or less the same. I like this wine, with food, and it is good value for money. I think it will still improve.
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12/4/2011 - christyler wrote: 90 Points
Nice reddish black color - showing no signs of age. Nose is a little reserved and showing fruit and spice. It's very round and smooth on the palate, but with a nice rustic flavor profile. Lots of spice on the finish and just a hint of oak. I had it open for four hours before finishing the half bottle, and it didn't decline at all. Should have a long life ahead!
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12/3/2011 - maxfischer wrote: 92 Points
Lovely wine. Very resolved and approachable, medium body though with tempranillo spice and lighter fruit, and a long finish. Great depth and well integrated.
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12/2/2011 - Treblid wrote: 94 Points
Wonderful expression of the tempranillo, served with a meaty chili in the mountains with great friends. Berry flavor was solid and delicious, the tannins had mellowed very well. Will likey last a few more years but not more.
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11/29/2011 - Montecristo13 wrote: 93 Points
Excellent
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11/29/2011 - Montecristo13 wrote: 91 Points
Very good, excellent
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11/29/2011 - Fateful Destiny Likes this wine: 91 Points
Very nice Rioja Reserva. Good value
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11/27/2011 - belfast taxman wrote: 88 Points
Drank at Los Caracoles in Barcelona the night after a bottle of Roda I of the same vintage and the direct comparison did not favour this wine (albeit the price is significantly less) the wine seemed a little watery on the edge in the mouth amd certainly lacked the structure of the Roda = however a more than decent Rioja
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11/26/2011 - WetRock wrote:
Riojas at WineX (The Wine Exchange, Orange, CA): Still shows strong American oak characters with dill being prominent. Juicy with a bright structure. The acids really showed prominently today. One day I will kick myself for not buying more of this. Terrific if you like classic Rioja but needs time for that oak to integrate more.
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11/24/2011 - Decanthor wrote: 91 Points
Good expression of region. Love the nose on this with vanilla jumping out. Medium-bodied. Delicious with a medium-length finish. Maybe wood will integrate more in a few years, but when I drink Rioja, I expect a fair amount of oak in there anyway. I need to buy a few more. 91+
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11/22/2011 - tomred wrote: 92 Points
Tasting at Majestic, Farnham. Oak plus fruit, cassis and leather. In the mouth good old fashioned Rioja, lots of vanilla/oak, combined with the fruit.
It will mellow given time. Well balance and with very good length. Should be left in the celler for two or three years
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11/13/2011 - pikemasterflash wrote: 93 Points
It smelled just like the last Rioja I drank ('99 Riserva from a different producer). On the palate, it didn't taste as rustic as it smelled. Vanilla, cassis, it just goes on. I had high expectations and this turned out to meet my high hopes. So while the wine is not overly complex, it was completely enjoyable and six of these would be better than a good '96 BDX, on a relative basis, in my opinion.
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11/12/2011 - alion wrote: 90 Points
Classic strawberry and vanilla on the nose. Smooth, less complex than the Ygay. Suffers in comparison - lacking the brown sugar and damson concentration. Good. 90
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11/12/2011 - trucrime wrote: 95 Points
Tasted at K&L Campanile Rioja tasting, this was at the Golden State table. By far the best table of the entire tasting. Their thoughts: "In the very best vintages, La Rioja Alta designates Ardanza as a "Reserva Especial;" This has only happened two other times, in 1964 and 1973. The current release is the 2001 Reserva Especial, a deeply colored wine with a lovely perfume of cinnamon, lavender, incense, balsamic and black cherry. Medium-bodied, velvety textured and already complex."
My Thought: Smooth, cigar box, tinder.
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11/10/2011 - Goldstone wrote: 92 Points
La Rioja Alta Dinner (Ole Restaurant, 24 Ice House Street, Central, Hong Kong): Colour is still purple-hued (suggesting youth) but totally transparent. Nose is lovely Burgundy-like woodland strawberries and sous-bois. Palate is sharp young wild strawberries, and high refreshing acidity. Very light and chiffonesque but with a touch of cinnamon stick and other spices and slightly dry tannin, again suggesting youth. Good framing oak neatly slotted into the background. Lovely and a very feminine expression of Rioja. It really blossomed when you put it in a big Bordeaux glass (it hadn't been decanted beforehand). You can imagine this being absolutely captivating and silence-creating when it reaches a bit more maturity (5 years time?) but it died in the glass after 2 hours which suggests it doesn't have decades to unfold. This is crazily attractive value at around US$35.....I'd say it is worth US$70+. Note to Cellartracker: this is only the third vintage to be given the "Reserva Especial" classification (the others were 1964 and 1973).
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11/10/2011 - honest bob wrote: 88 Points
When in Spain... well, in Valencia red wines are served cool (in this case out of the fridge) and not decanted, so we thought... OK. Then just as we were getting stuck in to the second glass a child at the next table was sick on the floor; the sharp vomit smell in the restaurant didn't exactly help the dominant volatile oak acidity in the too-cold Rioja. So my impressions were jaundiced. All in all a bit of a trial, but at the end of the bottle it was possible to recognise the splendid sharp morello cherry which I so loved in this wine last time around. 88P(?)
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11/8/2011 - EMichels wrote: 91 Points
Beautiful licorice nose; Good body; Nice interest
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11/6/2011 - Grinner wrote: 88 Points
15th Annual Lyon 10 Year Retrospective (Chez Lyon in Eugene, OR): This wine stood out as having more oak and less fruit than most of the CdP's. Hence my score may have suffered in the comparo. Still it was very balanced and a pleasure to drink, just not deep enough to be outstanding. Dried up and blown away like dust on the wind on day 2.
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11/4/2011 - andtheodor wrote:
Vanilla, coconut, banana, cherry spice nose with a weird aspect of cream soda and charcoaled cherry. Sweet-tart palate with cranberry acidity, leather, and tobacco that seems to get overwhelmed by the bizarre oaky aromatics. Good, might resolve into a nice wine but I'm not sure I'll have any to find out...
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10/31/2011 - dlstrauss wrote: 93 Points
Very nice. Better on day 2.
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10/29/2011 - ikileo wrote:
Bottle breathed for 2 hours. Drank over 4 hours.
Nose: Sandalwood, earth tones, tempranillo notes. Nice and complex, almost popourri-like but with a nice core of matured red fruit.
Tase: The flavours were all very nicely integrated together. Fruit, oak, secondaries, tannins, acid. Very harmonious and well done. Went deliciously with a host of chinese dishes.
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10/26/2011 - robmatic wrote:
Full and round, with very generous oak treatment. Give it time.
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10/23/2011 - duchamp Likes this wine: 93 Points
Dark crimson, dark inviting nose of black cherry, raspberry, cherry liqueur, baking soda and exotic spices, black and red fruits on the attack followed by spice, burnt plum and buffering acidity, finish is long and lingering with more black fruits underscored with earth notes
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10/23/2011 - Julius Squeezer wrote: 93 Points
Classic Rioja nose of leather, earth, and vanilla. Beautifully silky and textured on the palate. A great example of the fantastic vintage. This, as other tasters have noted, really benefits from a long decant.
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10/22/2011 - Sniffy-Sniff Likes this wine: 93 Points
Decanted for about 90 minutes. However, right out of the bottle the nose was incredible. It screamed Rioja. Wonderful texture, perfect balance. This is drinking great right now. Paired nicely with grilled ribeye steaks and garlic smashed potatoes. Amazing QPR at $25. Highly recommended.
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10/21/2011 - rcmcb wrote: 91 Points
Very good for the weekday Rioja fix. Pomegranate and earth. I do not see this lasting another ten years, but it will be in a good place for the next three or so.
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10/19/2011 - M.Batard wrote: 91 Points
From the wine list, Hotel Villa Real "Cafe 57", Madrid. Remarakable that they'd keep this around, yet price it so reasonably (e30). Dusty red verging on brick. Nose of blackberry, cherry, and ...? Tannins still in evidence, so would have been better with food, or with another five years. Long finish.
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10/19/2011 - pinothoarder wrote: 90 Points
Bottle label (in Spanish)
"Throughout our history, vina Solamet Ardanza three vintages have earned special qualifications, 1964, 1973, and 2001. Rain, sun, cold and heat are alternated in the best way possible to make a wine vineyard only Ardanza 2001"
This one needs a lot of air time if you are going to drink now, so plan accordingly.
Decanted 3 hours and consumed over a 7 hour evening. A little shut down, even after 3 hours in an open decant. Started to slowly ramp up to a light/medium intensity in the 5-7 hour window; where it showed upfront notes of mint with a little bit of fried cinnamon doughnut in the background. This wine was paired with charcoal-grilled steak and roasted garlic and was FANTASTIC!!
This has great bones to age at least 10 more years. It really needs more bottle time to integrate its parts. Will wait until 2016 to try again. 90 pts now, but will likely see higher scores over the next few years when it starts to come out of its shell.
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10/17/2011 - alr6767 wrote: 90 Points
A nice, mature Rioja in an old world vein. Delightful on its own or with food.
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10/17/2011 - gazinho wrote:
La Rioja Alta, a family-run firm founded in 1890, has, through the years, built up a huge vineyard of more than 300 hectares. the bodega is perhaps the best producer of the 'very traditional' style of Rioja, that is a wine of medium structure given long cask ageing and frequent racking producing a wine with evolved brick red colour at the rim, an intense bouquet of leather and tobacco and soft tannins. What sets La Rioja Alta apart from other traditionalists is that their wines also retain plenty of sweetness, vigour and flavour on the palate. They keep barrels for about seven years, so the average age is 3.5 years. Their wines are then given considerable bottle ageing before sale, and so are ready for drinking when released. Viña Ardanza is aged three years in barrels with six rackings. The 2001 is exceptional and one of the bodega's best vintages in the wine's 70-year history, hence the "reserva especial" (only the third time this special designation has been used). This is exceptionally fine, fragrant and silky with long sweet flavour, this has been carefully aged in oak and bottle to reach its enormous potential. Now to 2018.
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10/17/2011 - NickM wrote: 88 Points
I must admit that I am not as enthusiastic about this wine than others are. I find it a bit volatile, almost as if it over-aged. Maybe I had a bad batch.
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10/16/2011 - Javitxu wrote:
- Crimsom color and aromas of raspberry and has flavours of raspberry and oak with a medium finish.
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10/15/2011 - wabi47 wrote: 90 Points
in granada with beef and venison; medium body; cranberry, red currant, earth, wood, and spice; good length; just opening up over an hour
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10/12/2011 - Anthony Lombardi wrote:
Transparent ruby red. Unmistakable spicy American oak all over the nose, some red fruit pokes through, but if AmOak is distracting to you, this is not one to sniff. Beautiful medium bodied palate. Tart cherry, allspice and tobacco leaf. Medium acidity, transitions to darker more brooding fruit on the back of the palate. The finish goes on and on. Once the oak integrates on the nose, this will be really special juice.
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10/10/2011 - dshpilberg wrote: 93 Points
Awesome and delicate
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10/8/2011 - Alexroy wrote: 90 Points
Big nose, red, dark fruits, beautiful deep flavours of forest fruits, peaty, great length. Very attractive wine.
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10/2/2011 - kfinsrud wrote: 89 Points
Decanted 2 hours.
App: clear, brick red. Light color.
Aroma: cranberries and an earthy tone.
Very light and smooth mouthfeeling. Available tannins and medium length. Very balanced fruit and acidity. The oak was not present at this time, probably well integrated.
I was impressed by this one and wonderful with lamb. Will improve with some cellartime.
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9/28/2011 - cooberp wrote: 90 Points
Somewhat bricked, lighter body. Prominent chocolate/banana oak but seems to have been picked on the earlier side. Brandyish nose, nicely acidic, balanced, warm, maybe a touch of cranberry. Very nice intermediate style and good QPR.
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9/26/2011 - Bisty Likes this wine: 90 Points
Needs to be decanted a while to start showing its potential. Probably needs another 5 years.
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9/16/2011 - campingfleurie wrote: 91 Points
Part 2 of my realisations this month about how wines breathe! Double-decanted, and first tasted at 10 mins. Subdued aroma of pale beef (lightly boiled beef), with a little pale-brown cherry and light earth. Initial texture is light-silk to powdered-earth - silk and silt! A gentle glycerine character - sweetness via syruph - but it's a lively syruph, and only a texturally flat, controlled one - we're not talking dramatic or blowsy Grenache-style. Rather coiled up acidity takes over. That spreads out in the finish, leaving a relatively searing impression! There's just a little roll of tannin. Overall the textural aspect of the finish is good - the mouth is faintly dried all-around (not just roof-mouth or gums), which speaks to me of balance and of coming into maturity. The mouth is satisfied all around. In the finish (20+ seconds in) the flavour deepens from pale, wet earth to a distinctly peaty character. That's good. At this stage the flavours and aromas are understated; which I do see as a valuable and natural characteristic of ageing; but I'd expect them to open out by meal time. Conversely, the acidity is strong, and I'd hope for that to calm. At meal time, 2.5 hours later, the wine had gained mahogany in the nose, and some strawberry and metal on the palate. The finish was a little looser than I was hoping for; containing rather limp cherry and rotting wood. This made me wonder whether it had had slightly too much air. It was much enjoyed, but I had some doubts. 89 pts then. A sample the next night showed a powerful, open, dramatic wine, with strong peaty, oily and musky flavours. There was flair and vertical scale in the mouth; and the whole was driven by still-potent acidity. Blood-orange and mineral inflections in the nose. It was better, and rather difficult to resist. 91-93 at that stage. I can confidently say that, to many tastes, there’re 10+ more years of accessibility here. The combination of this much acidity with (what was eventually revealed as) this much ripe-vintage concentration is exceptionally rare. I was lucky enough to drink a vertical of Lopez de Heredia Gran Reservas the other weekend, and this wine doesn’t fundamentally have the refinement, scale, or completeness of those (it’s closest to a Bosconia, if either.) However, this experience creates a craving to drink another bottle soon via a long-decant. The goal would be an experience in hard-core/macho, rustic grandeur (a hall of the mountain kings mouth sensation), completed with/by some really dark, burnt (not necessarily meaty) foodstuffs. Conclusion: high-acid, concentrated red wines breathe very slowly, so need long decanting even after reasonable ageing. I also sense that they have access to a compelling spectrum of flavours which can’t be reached by modern/low-acid wines. I hope that more growers start to see this light and take this direction! In order for drinkers not to find the flavours weedy, the grower would need to explain the ‘air per age’ regimen on the label.
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9/10/2011 - stiang wrote: 91 Points
Meget bra vin! Elegant, pen frukt. Drikker bra nå, men blir enda bedre.
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9/2/2011 - barcud wrote: 90 Points
following the duff bottle I opened another, thats better. Bright and deep, nose of fruit and spice, mellow oak. Wonderful entrance of cherries and fruit, tannins softened after an hour. Do decant at least anh our ahead. I finished the bottle the following night and the palate improved.
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9/2/2011 - barcud wrote: flawed
following grape-apes notes, I opened my first bottle of six. Bright and good extract, only aroma on the nose was lots of oak, echoed on the palate, thin and asringent..?duff bottle
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8/29/2011 - dekay wrote: 87 Points
Dark red with bricking on the rim. A nice puff of mature, ripe fruit on open rapidly devolves into a sustained light raisin, sour cherry and earth aroma. Medium-bodied with thin, sour fruit, lively acidity and not much tannin to speak of. Did not improve with air or time; actually was the most fresh and enjoyable immediately after opening. I would pop-n-pour this one and have with mildly rich food that would contrast with the sour fruit and acidity.
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8/29/2011 - maderay wrote: 84 Points
G+. Plums. Decanted for 1 hour but still needed more time.
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8/29/2011 - Grape_ape wrote:
tasted thin and a little tired to me, and was completely oxidized the next day.. off bottle maybe?
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8/27/2011 - PDavisMarble wrote: 90 Points
Pigeon's blood red. Fruity nose -- elegant wine. Red fruits and plum. I don't know Riojas but this was delicious.
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8/25/2011 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 89 Points
A private dinner (Restaurant Per Se ***, NYC): Half bottle. Perfect temperature, has aged beautifully, fruit and leather, elegant softness, fine.
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8/24/2011 - DoubleMagnum wrote: 93 Points
Los años son evidentes en el color granate bordelés. Nectar complejo en nariz y en boca. Taninos maduros y apaciguados por el tiempo, acidez pronunciada, fruta viva. Notas entrelazadas de tabaco, madera y guinda. Final claro, limpio, cosquilloso. Impresionante esfuerzo de La Rioja Alta.
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8/16/2011 - sarlyb wrote: 88 Points
needs at least 60min of air before this uber-bold rioja is approachable...and then it's just lovely!
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8/13/2011 - Charlie Pendejo wrote: 91 Points
Potent and lovely, but still a bit young and tannic. This will kick some ass in 3-5 years.
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8/11/2011 - Vinomark wrote: 91 Points
A Spanish tempranillo winner! Beautiful balance, depth. Sings of tar, tobacco, roses, anise on the finish and solid length all in harmony with mild hints of oak but only enhances. Keep your hands off for a few more years...gorgeous now but so much promise. Well crafted wine!
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7/31/2011 - RCBAROLO wrote: 95 Points
Decanted for an hour and it opened up nicely. Rich opulent nose and finish. Had with a flank steak
Outstanding. Parker was right 94-95 points. Great wine
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7/31/2011 - mfriedman12 wrote: 85 Points
Can't figure out the hype on this. Parker gave it a 94. It's a very average Rioja. Soft and a bit thin. Perhaps this needs more time
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7/22/2011 - igaf Likes this wine:
Quick taste. Med+ deep with a hint of age at the rim. Leather and dark berries on the nose, not too developed yet. Decent acidity, nicely balanced, fruity with some complexity and spice. Spicy sweetish cherry in the long aftertaste. A very good "young" Reserva.
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7/16/2011 - VTCellarDweller Likes this wine: 92 Points
At Ibiza in New Haven last night to accompany duck breast with cherry sauce. Pop-n-pour. Bright medium deep ruby color. Huge bouquet of ripe cherries, vanilla, and coconut that just kept coming at you. Very solid in the mouth with the structure for long term aging.
Sour cherry, oak, and exotic spices went on for a very long time easing into a clean crisp finish. It kept opening through the meal and I would suggest 3 hours minimum in the decanter for current consumption.
This will need another 4-5 years at the least for the prominent American oak to integrate and should last at least 15 more. It is an excellent value.
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7/15/2011 - Winevestor wrote: 92 Points
Early in its development. This is going to keep developing for at least another 10 years. A pretty classic Rioja, although much smoother at this age than I'd expect. Great flavors of dark cherry and earth. Wood is pretty chewy at the moment, and with decanting (and even better the second day) smoothed into the wine. Great QPR.
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7/13/2011 - RCBAROLO wrote:
Went straight to glass, wonderful garnet color. The bouquet needed more time to open up the earthy old style Rioja tones but the taste was immediately exceptional. Rich and opulent with lush fruit, earth and oak and vanilla tones. I had a NY strip overlooking my pond and it was amazing getter better in the glass. I will decant for at least a half hour next time swirl my ass off! This wine is amazing and will get better. My score is 95 points
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7/9/2011 - RJurman wrote: 90 Points
Pleasantly surprised. Medium bodied and more of a classic style which I love. Tobacco and black pepper really stand out with the sour cherry. This wine is drinking well right now. Decant an hour an enjoy! For $25, it's a great buy.
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7/8/2011 - WetRock wrote:
Decanted about 3 hours prior to consumption. The oak showed a big, obtrusive sort of way. Big notes of coconut and pickles on the nose. Plenty of fruit with low extraction but nice density. Lots of acid. The oak stole the show that night. Took the half bottle home and forgot about it for an extra day.
Two days later the oak has relaxed leaving a strong spice presence, something like bay leaf and tobacco. Lean feeling palate with light tannin. Much more pleasant now though it still seems to say it needs time. Leave this alone for a few more years at least. Terrific potential. Their 01 Gran Reserva must be off the charts.
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6/19/2011 - cpsmith33 wrote: 90 Points
very nice sub $30 rioja.cherry and spice...medium body. would definitely have again.
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6/17/2011 - up4wine wrote: 91 Points
Wonderful bottle of Tempranillo. I had a hard time saving some for the next day. Bright fruit with a nose that can put you in a trance. Detected a hint of pepper on the palate that was a bit surprising, but welcome none the less. Classic style with long finish and enough acid to match with bold meal.
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6/17/2011 - honest bob wrote: 90 Points
A lovely surprise, a wonderfully fresh old-style Rioja with no musty oak. Mouth-watering balsamic-cherry-spice scent, bright red cherry entry and a delicious, acid-dominated, slender palate. Medium-long finish with tickling juicy acid. Very moreish. 90P
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6/15/2011 - dougsmith wrote: 93 Points
Medium/deep ruby color. Fantastic nose with black cherry skin, tobacco leaf and complex spices that go on and on. I could smell this one all night. Medium bodied on the palate with racy acidity that carries the flavors beautifully. Supple, ripe tannins. I'm sure this has a long life ahead of it but it's so good already. 93+ pts. Tip: give it an hour or so in the decanter and serve this at around room temp. Too cold and the flavors die.
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6/13/2011 - SkyCellar Likes this wine: 91 Points
The second bottle was a totally different experience. Excellent.
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6/11/2011 - rayq wrote:
Brick red colour.
Classic Rioja nose.
Some old wood and sweet fruit note.
Tobacco. Some lift.
Nice entry but with some vigour.
To be critical, A touch 'watery' though and not very full.
A burgundian 'thin' mouthfeel becomes more noticable.
A lovely sweet finish.
On day two there is a wafer biscuit aroma with a hint of caramel.
Less old wood aroma and more coconut and vanilla.
The acidic sour note is still present and too obvious for my liking.
A tart finish has replaced the sweet note I found yesterday.
Hopefully with time this will loose some of the sourness and acid.
Good not great at the moment. (87-89)
But this may well turn out to be excellent in another decade.
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6/9/2011 - Hazeo wrote: 92 Points
Lovely tempranillo on the cusp of early maturity. Pretty nose of earthy roses and transitions smoothly in to a smooth medium bodied wine. Juicy red fruit with a savory edge, mixed with hints of spice, tea and earth.
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6/6/2011 - awinestory wrote: 88 Points
color, garnet ..
nose: intense brandied cherries
palate: dry, acid med+ tannin med+ and like a cherry lozange in texture/concentration, body med alc 13.5 finish med+, long with cherry flavors ...
Style: Brandied cherry on the nose and palate, very smooth tannins and acid just short of med+. Good with lamb, salmon, very long smooth focused cherry.
Note: very close to a burgundy! in blind tasting, perhaps the only way to tell apart is that burgundy would have much more acid, sharper and more defined acid. Also, this was very "cherry lozange" as in a smooth, full, rich, concentrated flavor which hints of sun and altitutde, not cold grey burgundy weather.
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5/31/2011 - SkyCellar wrote: 88 Points
Disappointing. I thought the Alberdi, its younger cousin, was much better. Perhaps it was just a bad bottle.
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5/24/2011 - ctjared wrote:
After just a bit of air this sings.
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5/16/2011 - klino wrote: 88 Points
From a 0,375 ml bottle. Nowhere near the 94 Parker-points!! Just an ordinary rioja with an initial overwhelming nose of american oak reminding of a typical, cheap old-schoola rioja. With time, the oak integrated and the fruit emerged, though a bit muted. Cinnamon, leather, strawberries. Good balanced taste - strawberries and liquorice.
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5/14/2011 - mtaczak wrote: 89 Points
for the first few hours it's mostly leather with some dill. nice firm, lightly drying tannins. this really does cry out for a food accompaniment. next morning the leather's gone and dill is definitely predominant, with the tannins having receded. 89-90
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5/12/2011 - flyinburrito wrote: 89 Points
Deep, dark, rich and chocolaty. A mix of dark fruits with secondary notes of leather, dill and herbs inherent from the American oak and bottle age. Mature and ready to go.
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5/9/2011 - dshpilberg wrote: 90 Points
Nice wine with dinner
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5/6/2011 - heidoanddave Likes this wine: 92 Points
Dark, cooked fruit flavor and distinct aroma. The wine evolved over the two days it was open. Balanced fruit flavor with a long finish. We think this wine should age well and will put a couple of bottles away.
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5/1/2011 - mcases wrote: 89 Points
Good solid rioja. But nothing more,
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4/30/2011 - Ngschoen wrote: 93 Points
Loved this wine
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4/25/2011 - Pebben wrote: 87 Points
See earlier note.
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4/24/2011 - Pebben wrote: 87 Points
Decanted for two hours before tasting. Ruby with slightly brick coloured edges. Raspberries, strawberry liqueur, cedar and leather on the nose and palate. Fairly light bodied with lots of acidity. Decent length, although nothing spectacular. This was by all means a nice wine (and a lot better with food than on its own), but I must admit that I’m a bit disappointed given all the fabulous reviews and high scores. Readers should however bear in mind that I have very little experience with Rioja, so it’s difficult for me to set this particular effort into context.
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4/24/2011 - kenito799 wrote: 95 Points
This is a blockbuster classic Rioja that brings all the subtleties of the medium bodied, vanilla, herbal, smoky cherry, with a forceful power that is marvelous. Wonderful now but can drink it for decades to come, it will be a delicious journey to see how this ages. I need cases of this wine.
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4/21/2011 - Eivindhes wrote: 85 Points
Tradisjonell spansk til Lam
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4/20/2011 - Paul D wrote: 87 Points
At Elche Restaurant, Barcelona, €32 off the list. No formal note. A notable contrast to the frequently tasted 2000, with darker, almost blackcurrant fruit, notable vanilla oak and only the beginnings of some cigar box development. Good intensity and length but not as elegant, fresh or, at least at this stage as drinkable as the previous vintage. Certainly made in a more modern style too.
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4/17/2011 - mdefreitas wrote: 95 Points
This was the real deal and one of the best wines I've drank in a while. This has old-style complexity with strong, assertive, perfectly ripened fruit -- but not over ripe or candied. Extrememly fragrant. Forest floor, wood spice (but not "woody"), dried flowers, sandalwood, minerals and plummy fruits. Mouthfilling, long and memorable. Fine, refined, almost invisible tannins. This has the legs to age.
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4/16/2011 - Cashious wrote: 92 Points
A multilayered, ever changing nose. Earth, pepper, dark fruits, plum. Is that white chocolate? Delicious fruit, balanced acid, soft tannins. Well structured. Long, smooth finish. Oh, so good. Drank this bottle over 8 hours and it was good to the last drop.
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4/10/2011 - MRichman wrote:
Smooth, silky, round fruit. Orange peel, dark plummy sweet fruit, vanilla. Mature and drinking well. Not a lot of structure, but plenty of acid. Bright but with a dark fruit base. An interesting mix of dense low fruit and pretty high toned acid.
B
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1/26/2011 - nicholasharbour Likes this wine: 88 Points
Dead Grape Society - Spanish Rojo (Luxembourg): Great medium garnet color. Aromatic nose showing some age but still retaining a youthful appeal. Cherries, oak, black licorice. On the wine explodes on the palate. Big flavors, red berries, leathers, some forest/woodyness, pepper and spice. But remained smooth through the mid palate and finish. Come through with complexity and an impact.
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1/9/2011 - jan erik wrote: 89 Points
Typical Rioja from a good year. Almost brick colored already and ready to drink. I dont think was massively consentratet but compared to Tondonia Reserva from last week its superior.
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1/4/2011 - Periko wrote: 88 Points
Medium ruby color, brown rim. Nose of wet forrest floor, ripe fruit, pepper, dried flowers. Smooth entry and mid palate, fruity, leather and medium bodied for a long fruity and chocolate taste-like finish. Old style, good but did not thrill me. Needs food.
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12/25/2010 - azahoner wrote: 88 Points
High concentration for this Rioja. Nose is complex and beautifully layered. Mouth is earthy with just a medium finish. Half way modern Rioja.
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12/25/2010 - wurzel68 wrote: 92 Points
Schnüffelwein - Tabak, rote Beeren, Rauch, Gewürze (Zimt & Vanille), Leder und Lakritz, Erde und Pilz; am Gaumen mit feinem, fast süßlichem Tannin, sehr langem Abgang; aristokratisch streng und trotzdem angenehm weich...
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10/26/2010 - Yiannis wrote: 94 Points
Drank at Los Caracoles restaurant, Barcelona, from 375 ml bottle. Fairly dark ruby-garnet. Fantastic nose, expressive and complex with dried red fruits, berry liqueur, hints of leather, herbs, coffee, forrest floor and sweet tobacco. Mid-full bodied, perfectly textured with silky tanins, bright fruit, hints of tertiary flavors and high acidity. Long finish. At its peak. Great experience. Unbelievable value. Fantastic wine.
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10/19/2010 - AN wrote: 93 Points
This was the most amazing Rioja ever drunk. It had a very nice garnet rim and overall dark garnet core. The nose had so much going on - starting from dried fruit, forest, wet leaves, smoke, tobacco, mushrooms, a beautiful set of forest aromas, combined with a taste full of pronounced spice, minerals and dried fruit. It is to be comibed with food if to be enjoyed. Very long length and supple sweet tannins. Oak has integrated well. Should be drunk over the next 3 years. Cheers!
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7/13/2010 - dougsmith wrote: 91 Points
Five Nights in Rioja, July 2010; 7/8/2010-7/13/2010 (Rioja, Spain): Medium to deep ruby color. Nose of cereal grain, red and black fruits and spice. More aggressive tannins than the Arana, but also a wine with real character. 91+
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6/19/2010 - dougsmith wrote: 92 Points
Deep ruby color. Very complex, alluring nose of mountain herbs, flowers and grasses, spicebox and dried black cherry. Medium bodied on the palate with racy acidity and great presence. This was one to savor for a long time. Went very well with food.
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4/16/2010 - microbox wrote: 91 Points
from 375mL, opened and poured after 30min. garnet with some orange on the rim. seductive nose with black cherry, spices (piment, cloves, vanilla), late summer meadow, coffee, chocolate-caramel, some phenolic notes. medium body, with some Port notes, very well balanced with gentle tannins and a good acid profile, wonderful finish with 18 Caudalie. appealing, traditionally made Rioja.
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