This was an embarrassingly simple call. A wine from an excellent vintage, with bottle age, and a score (Spectator 93) that we could sell for under $20? The only hard part was waiting the few weeks it took for the main shipment to arrive from Espana. The bodega, established in 1997, is located in the Rioja Baja and belongs to the owners of Sherry icon Emilio Lustau. The warmer climate of the Baja ensures a rich, generous, fruit-driven style that is quite appealing right out of the bottle and expands with a little air. Elegant, balanced, with plenty of engaging, dusty plum fruit, this was enormously popular at a tasting we did about two months back and sold out that day. It’s 85% Tempranillo, 10% Garnacha and 5% Graciano and sees 18 months in oak. It is one of the most complete deals, thanks in particular to the bottle age, that we have seen this year. Delicious wine, user friendly, good price, it’s darned near perfect. It wouldn’t surprise us a bit to see this Rioja show up on Spectator’s Top 100 at year end.
Thomas Matthews writes in Wine Spectator: "Powerful yet racy, this youthful red boasts a beam of black cherry and boysenberry fruit, with plenty of licorice, mineral and toast notes. Fresh, harmonious and graceful, in the modern style. Drink now through 2020. 5,500 cases made."
