Deep and intense on the nose, plenty of mocha, toasted bread and vanilla with earthy cherry and mulberry. Supple and rich in the mouth, textured by plenty of soft tannins and a cheeky bit of acid on the finish. Plenty of get up and go on the palate, fresh plum and cherry with some mocha and sage. The fruit stands up to the wood well. A highly likable wine that shows a different approach to modern Rioja. 90 Pts.

Anyway, here’s a tidy crianza from the 2005 vintage in Rioja. It leans towards the traditional in style and shows plenty of refinement at 13% alcohol. Its a blend of 82% Tempranillo, 14% Garnarcha and 4% Mazuelo that lives in oak for 12 months.

Mocha anise and cookie dough with some black berry and cherry fruit. Its friendly and well rounded, with some plush, juicy fruit. Plenty of savoury cherry and mulberry with bushy undergrowth. Some earth and anise thrown in for good measure. Solid winter drinking. 89 Pts

light in colour, the nose shows lemon with some white flowers, candied lemon and lime peel and some musky grapefruit. A fairly serious drink, not the kind of thing you can ignore. It’s textured to start, but with a zippy acid backbone on the finish that leaves a tangy finish. Minerally and complete, there is some lemon and nettle too. Perfect for snacking on small fish or something salty. 88 Pts.

A blend of Tempranillo (89%), Graciano (5%) and Mazuelo (6%), this Rerserva follows the usual pattern of aging in the bodega for at least 3 years. In this case, 18 months of that are in french and american oak, the other 18 months is in bottle.

The nose comes over smooth and confident with cherry and plum, with cinnamon, star anise and a bit of cigar box. Its full of beans in the mouth, with velvety and refined tannins. Cherry and blue fruits on the palate with subtle cinnamon and anise. A fairly robust wine that shows plenty of class. It went really well with my lamb racks, it even went well with a slab of fromage de meaux. 90 Pts.

Mid strength red in the glass. A typical old Rioja nose with vanilla, strawberry, subtle cherry, an old leather pencil case full of shavings and a good whack of barnyard/chicken shed. Very smooth and medium boddied in the mouth with loads of wood tannins that soften towards the finish (fruit tannins?). The palate shows earthy cherry and plum, with some cinnamon and minerals. Not a lot here to get me excited, a bit too much oak and ‘terroir’ for my liking. If you’re a hardcore traditional Rioja nut, you’ll probably up this 1-2 points. 86 Pts.

Source: Broadway Liquor Distributors Price: $40 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.bodegascampillo.es

The 2004 Roda Reserva has the highest percentage of Graciano so far. This year’s blend is 81% Tempranillo, 14% Graciano, 5% Garnacha and gets 50% new oak for 16 months. The resulting wine is very classy, with the usual silky Roda tannins and a gorgious nose.

Very open on the nose straight away, very complex with aromas of musky red cherry, tobacco leaf, pencil shavings, plum, anise, and coco with some violets, undergrowth and mocha coffee. Classic Roda in the mouth, abundant silky tannins that lend a great texture, backed up buy some driving acid leaving the sence of perfect balance. The palate needed a bit more air time to show its stuff, it starts off with some red cherry and currents, plum with some earthy minerals, then adds cinnamon, pepper and mocha with time. A fairly long finish that shows off those lovely tannins. I think this may actually be a touch better than the 01, but only time will tell. 94 Pts.

Source: The Spanish Acquisition RRP: $85 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.roda.es

Roda I follows its usual formula for 2004, 100% Tempranillo from 30 year old vines, 50% new oak for 16 months, then 20 months in bottle. This 04 Roda is highly drinkable, so watch out.

Things kick off with a powerful nose of mocha, blackberry, black current and dark cherry liqueur and adds some earthy undergrowth, vanilla and anise as it gets more air. It slips into the mouth, thanks to some very impressive velvety tannins. Its not that complex on the palate at the moment, but Roda I usually needs a couple of years to strut its stuff. What it is showing now is some lush fruit and plenty of potential: black current, dark cherry and stewed mulberry. Some deft wood treatment and bit of sage towards the finish. I’d cellar this for 5 years, then drink over the following 10. 94 Pts.

Source: The Spanish Acquisition Cost: $125 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.roda.es

This is Telmo’s top wine from Rioja and he pulls out all the stops here. He has 10 acres of vines in a number of plot that is located up in north east of Rioja around the village of Lanciego for this wine. The vineyards are managed along Biodynamic lines, with an average vine age of 70 years and very low crop levels (at times under 400 Kg/acre). And while you could describe Telmo’s wines as modern, he uses some old school techniques too. The grapes used here are trodden in big concrete lagres, then fermentation occurs in big, open wooden vats.

One of the criticisms I’ve had about this wine in the past is the amount of high toast french oak is used. The fruit is up to that kind of treatment, and from what I’ve seen of older vintages the wood does integrate after a couple of years in the cellar. It’s not unusual for this level of oak in modern Rioja (or any where else in the world for that matter), but personally I’d like to see it turned down a notch or two. If bags of new oak and young, exceptional fruit blows your skirt up, you’ll love this. Otherwise, give it 2-5 years in the cellar before cracking a bottle.

Deep and dark red in colour, with some purple towards the rim. Plenty of heady wood aromas to start with: chocolate, espresso, vanilla bean and freshly cut wood. Underneath, bright fresh fruit comes through: dark cherry, plum and blue berry. Its very tight and young but shows a lot of promise. Plenty of texture in the mouth and the fruit is well done, restrained and just the right level of intensity and concentration. Dark cherry, plum, cola, mocha coffee, cinnamon and plenty of earthy minerals. The finish is long with a brush of soft fruit tannins. This will come out of the cellar after 5 years looking very smart. 93+ Pts

Source: The Spanish Acquisition RRP: $170 Closure: Conventional Cork

The 03 was a selction of 604 barrels, the 04 is 704. I’m assuming that 2004 was a more widely successful year in Finca Valpierre, as an extra 22,500l of this wine was produced. The 04 is much more open and accessable right now, I think the quality here will out shine the 03, but they are both excellent wines.

The nose shows earthy, musky fruit right from the start: cherry and plum, coco, anise and light cinnamon. There is some nice wood towards in the back stalls. Plenty of rustic appeal in the mouth: lots of light, soft tannins that build texture leaving you with a fuzzy mouth feel that gets cleaned off to give the impression of excellent balance. Cherry and mulberry pie in the mouth, adding some more anise and pepper. Rich, but very savoury. Elegant, but a bit rustic. For the price, I think this seriously over delivers. 93 Pts.

Source: Broadway Liquor Distributors Price: $35 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.bodegasramonbilbao.es

Other Vintages: 2003

And the 05s are a buy for me, I think they are the best set of wines that Telmo has released since I’ve been tasting them. Lanzaga from Rioja is my favourite in 05, which is a change from my usual attraction to M2 de Matallana.

The nose is instantly attractive with earthy cherry and mulberry, sage and thyme, and liquorice. There is some deft wood handling, with touches of vanilla, chocolate and coffee in the background. It slips into the mouth, silky tannins, the perfect level of acid and a big ol’ finish. Tight and young on the palate, but it shows enough to get me excited: cherry cola, a bit of musky plum, chocolate, and liquorice finished off by some hot cinnamon and a mineral note. Very drinkable now, but it will cellar well for at least 10 years. The pick of Telmo’s mid range in 2005. 93+ Pts.

Source: The Spanish Acquisition RRP: $55 Closure: Conventional Cork

Other vintages: 2003, 2004

All this talk of modern V’s traditional Rioja seems logical until you come across a wine like this. The Coleccion Privada is what the Egurens call a Collection wine, that is a wine that shows character and tradition but with modern methods and oak treatment. The result is something that blurs the line between traditional and modern, however I’d have to question the oak treatment a bit here.

A quick google search tells me that the CP is made from two vineyards of 50 year old vines, barrell fermented in a mix of French and American oak and then left to age in the barrel for 18 months.

Very dark in the glass, with royal purple towards the rim. A concentrated nose of dark fruits and wood at this stage: blackberry, dark cherry with espresso, a year’s worth of pencil shavings, sarsparilla and cinamon. Very nice fruit tannins in the mouth, bigish and soft, that lend a bit of ommph and keep up with the acid. Although this is a very young wine, its fairly approachable now. The palate shows juicy black fruits with some mocha, pepper and hot cinamon. The finish is very long. A wine to be banished to the cellar for at least 5 years, preferably 7-10. But it looks like it will live for a very long time. 93 Pts.

Source: Toro/Woods Wines Price: $125 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.eguren.com

Now this is a wine that will divide the modernists from the traditionalist. It’s expensive, highly expressive and extracted, limited production and very much a high expression Rioja wine. It’s from a single 1.7 Ha vineyard of Tempranillo that was planted in 1975 on trellis (which is unusual for Rioja) in the minerally clay high up in Rioja Alta near Laguardia. A lot of selection work is done for this wine, cluster selection in the vineyard then berry selection by hand in the bodega. It’s fermented then in to new French oak for 18 months. It’s presented in a way that makes me think Grand Cru Burgundy. Personally, I think its a great wine that needs to rest for at least 5 years before looking at it. But if you’re more of a traditionalist, you’ll be cursing Parker and his followers.

Very dark for Rioja, royal purple with black/red core. The wood is quite evident at the moment, mocha, a bit of caramel and some vanilla. Thats followed up by some stunning dark fruit: Dark cherry, blackberry and blueberry with some minerals and herbs layered in for extra complexity. Intensely flavoured in the mouth with plenty of soft fruit tannin but with the acid to back it all up. Its very masculine and youthful right now, but I sense that this is wine that will have have an identity crisis in its early teens and move to a more feminine mould. The palate shows dark cherry, black current, and ripe mulberry with plenty of minerals, sarsaparilla and iron type minerals. The finish is huge. If you’re not a traditionalist and get a kick out of all kinds of wine, you’ll love this. But keep your mitts off for at least 5 years, then drink over the following 15. 95+ Pts.

Source: Toro/Woods Wines Price: Around $300 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.eguren.com

This is the high expression from Ramon Bilbao and it looks like they've used every trick in the book to assemble a very high quality wine. Bunch selection in the vineyard, then table sorting in the bodega, temperature controlled fermentation in French oak vats, into new French oak barrels with a bit of bâtonnage thrown in for good measure. Its then bottled after 24 months in barrel. Sounds good? Well the resulting wine certainly is.

It opens up with plenty of wood derived characters: espresso, caramel, pencil shavings and vanilla which sits over some earthy boozed cherry, plum and current fruit. Very smooth and textured in the mouth, there is a lot of wood artefacts here but the fruit stands up to it. Cherry, plum, mocha, cinnamon, liquorice and pepper. Its rich and juicy with some sandy tannins on the finish. A very good wine for the vintage, it will cellar well for at least 10 years. 93 Pts.

Source: Broadway Liquor Distributors Price: $100 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.bodegasramonbilbao.es

Another quick note, time seems to be getting away from me at the moment but I have a load of bottles to write up plus a couple of tastings this week.

So this is the best 604 barrells of Tempranillo from a single vineyard, Finca Valpierre. Bunch selection is used to find the best clusters and then fermented in oak vats. In to French and American oak for 14 months and aged in bottle for another 10 months.

Aromas of Vanilla coffee, chocolate, a touch of pencil shavings with some earthy dark cherry and a bit of prune. Its young at the moment, but opens up a bit with some time in the decanter, showing some coco like tannins and good structure. On the palate there is plenty to like: cola, dark cherry, blackberry, an Irishman's pipe bag, and peper. The fruit is a little baked, but it's balanced and copes with it well. Well done for the vintage, I'll be interested to see the 04. 92 Pts.

Source: Broadway Liquor Distributors Price: $35 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.bodegasramonbilbao.es

I'm always on the lookout for a quality Rioja at a good price, and one seems to have landed in my lap here. Ramon Bilbao are a fairly traditional producer in Rioja, they also have a more modern high expression offering but the focus is on the traditional wines. This one is 100% Tempranillo from Rioja Alta, Haro and surounds to be specific.  Following fermentation it lives in American oak for 14 months and another 8 months in bottle before being released.

Notes of mocha and vanilla on the nose with cherry, mulberry and cola. Open and ready to go from the start. Plenty fluffy tannins provide texture, while there is good balance and a long finish, if a bit drying. A clean palate of cherry and mulberry fruit, a touch of balsamic, minerals and bay leaf. A bargain for drinking this winter, but it could do 5 years in the cellar if you can keep your hands off it. 90 Pts.

Source: Broadway Liquor Distributors Price: $25 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.bodegasramonbilbao.es