This is the entry level ‘traditional’ wine from Faustino, 95% Tempranillo with 5% Mazuelo that makes a home in American oak for 10 months.

Sour cherry and strawberries on the nose, a touch of coconut and wild herbs. Gutsy and fresh in the mouth with some subtle tannins and good acid from front to back. More of the same on the palate, it’s well structured and firm, but easy to drink and enjoyable. I’m surprised at how good this is, highly enjoyable, plenty of savour fruit and a long finish. It would do well in the cellar for a couple of years too. 88+ Pts.

Source: Broadway Liquor Distributors Price: $20 Closure: Cork

Web: www.bodegasfaustino.es

The thing I like about this wine is that it really tastes like they have put in the best parts of a white wine and the best parts of a rose. It does have 30% viura, so there is a fair bit of white wine in there. The book is Tom Clancy’s Red Storm Rising, I’m told that it is essential reading so I picked up a second hand copy. Good book so far, but it really shows how much things have and haven’t changed much since the mid 80s.

Notes of toffee apple, something a little herbal, strawberry and lemon peel. It’s very tight and white wine like in the palate with minerally acid and a very long finish. There is quite a bit of acid here and if I wasn’t drinking it in bed, a nice chicken or rich fish dish would have been in order. The palate show fresh and just ripe apples, strawberry and lemon. It’s clean and refreshing, it stands out and reminds you that you are drinking good wine with every sip. 90 Pts.

Source: Toro/Woods Wines Price: $23 Closure: Conventional Cork

Other Vintages: 2006

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

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.

This is their entry level wine and its made from mostly tempranillo with 10% shiraz. It’s fermented in stainless steel, then into a mix of 75% french oak and 25% american oak for 14 months. Only 20% of that is new oak.

A rustic nose of dark cherry, plum, unfired clay, a touch of wood smoke, thyme and coco. Super smooth in the mouth, some subtle acid and some grainy tannins that build and soften as the wine get some air. On the palate there is plenty of dark cherry, plum, dark chocolate and some spicy oak. A bit of red cherry pops in from time to time to keep things interesting. A long finish with some grippy tannins and sage. A really interesting wine, a bit pricey perhaps, but quality all the way. 92+ Pts.

Source: Boccaccio Cellars RRP: $70 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.bodegasmauro.com

Very dark in the glass, with a purple rim. The nose is off and going from the start: gamey dark cherry, blackberry, sarsaparilla, a shake of black pepper with some rose and violet high notes. In the mouth the tannins slowly build into big, soft things followed up by some minerally acid. A bit tight in the mouth, but showing show meaty, juby dark cherry with some sars, espresso coffee, and sage. A good long finish with a herbal note wraps it all up. It has all the stuffing to go well in the cellar for 3-4 years then drink well over the following 10. 94+ Pts.

Source: The Spanish Acquisition Cost: $130 Closure: Conventional Cork

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

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

Given the heat, this was a choice pick over the weekend. I believe this is the first wine from Cigales that I've reviewed. This DO sits just north of Ribera del Douro and is traditionally the land of the Rosado, with some reds and whites also being made. This is 70% tempranillo , 10% verdejo and 20% garnacha and shows more depth than many rose wines in both colour and flavour intensity. I'd prefer this with food, but its fine on its own too.

Dark pink/light red in colour, the tint is quite dark for a rose. The nose has sweet notes of Strawberry and fennel bulb, but the palate show ripe, savoury strawberry and raspberry. The palate adds some wintergreen herbs and a rocky/stoney note. A bit of grip in the mouth and a short finish. One for the BBQ, would be refreshing with some BBQ'd poultry. 88 Pts.

I have no idea why some wineries want to have gaudy flash websites, complete with a sound track direct from some bad 80s movie. These guys have a horrible one. But they seem to have the wine making sorted, this is a wine that will go well in the cellar over the next couple of years. Its their entry level red made from mostly tempranillo with 5% each of garnacha, mazeulo and graciano, then aged in robles Americano for 14 months. They make a whopping 820,000 bottles and 29,000 magnums of the stuff. And why not, it's a solid drink.

Oh and if you haven't checked it out, the guys at Catavino were off in Rioja last week (lucky bastards!), so they've had a few guest posters in. Adrian Murcia from Blame it on Rioja has written a great post on an American view of Rioja, its certainly worth a click.

A deep red in colour, moving to purple toward the rim. A fine nose of liquored up dark cherries and plums, dark chocolate and earth wrapped up in some fairly good oak. Heavily influence by old school rioja, with a bit more fruit. Tight at the moment, but its a middle weight in the mouth with plenty of backbone with good mouthfeel and fine, silky tannins. On the palate its fairly much a mirror of the nose, but its all ripe cherry rather than plum, and adds some cinnamon for added interest . Give this a good decant, or even better, a couple of years in the cellar. 88+ Pts.

Source: Boccaccio Cellars Price: $28 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.bodegasbreton.com

This wine is made from mostly Tempranillo with a dollop of Syrah then aged in oak for just 3 months.  I quite like the Tempranillo/Syrah blend, it certainly adds something to this wine.

Aromas of cherry jam and mulberry with earth, smoke and pepper.  Smooth and inviting in the mouth, nice warm tannins and good balance. Cherry bursts onto the palate, followed up by some plums and pepper and spice.  Excellent for the BBQs that seem to be popping up everywhere at the moment.  86 Pts.

Source: The Spanish Acquisition Price: $20 Closure: Synthetic Cork

Web: www.bodegasfontana.com

This wine is made from mostly Tempranillo with 10% Merlot.  Unfortunately, this bottle suffered quite badly from the smell of late night circle work that doesn't blow off.  It has a nice deep purple colour in the glass and under the burnt rubber it has some red fruit and plum on the nose.  Actually quite nice in the mouth, nice soft tannins and some red fruit with liquorice and spice.  This bottle is not quite right, I'll grab another at some point.  79 Pts.

Source: Toro/Woods wines Price: $22 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.marquesdevelilla.com

Anyway on to the important stuff.  The 2001 vintage of this wine was a big hit, a kind of return to form for Marques de Riscal.  The 2003 is in the Marques de Riscal style, but not up to the 01 at this stage in the game.  I like it, it doesn't grab me at the moment.

Deep red in the glass, with a very good Rioja nose of varnishy mulberry and cherry, undergrowth and a touch of caramel and chocolate.  Quite young at the moment and showing a little bit too much acid at the moment.  There are some dusty tannins as well.  Tart blackberry and cherry on the palate with some sage leaves and pepper.  I have a feeling this will get better over the next couple of years, but for now it just doesn't have interest on the palate.  89+ Pts.

Source:  Toro/Woods Wines Price: Around $45  Closure: Conventional Cork 

Web:  www.marquesderiscal.com

The wine is made from Tempranillo, Garnacha, and Viura and is aged in old oak barrels for 4 years.  It is a very interesting experiment to open a bottle of this with a a couple of wine lovers and compare notes after a glass or so.  From what I've experienced, no two notes are remotely similar except for the colour!

Light tangerine in colour with a very complex nose of ripe tangerine and lemon with vanilla, nutty old wood, a bit of cherry, earth and clove.  The texture is to die for, light, think, oily and dry all at the same time, quite amazing actually.  Mouth watering acid with subtle lime, lemon and tangerine fruit, which are nice, but the attraction is the minerals.  Huge finish.  This is certainly in a world of its own, I'll rate it 91 Pts

Source: Toro/Woods Wines Price: $50 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.lopezdeheredia.com

The vital stats: 85% Tempranillo and 15% Mazuelo from Rioja Alvesa and Rioja Baja.  25 months in mix of French and American oak.

Deep red, moving to ruby at the edge of the glass.  A very correct Rioja nose: Dark cherry, a hint of mulberry and strawberry, slight vanilla, coco powder, old tobacco and earthy undergrowth.  Really pleasing in the mouth, medium bodied, balanced,  and textured and silky with good acid/tannins balance.  More dark cherry and mulberry on the palate with cola, undergrowth and a sprinkle of pepper and spice.  Unbelievable value, and a great introduction to Rioja Reserva without breaking the bank.  91 Pts.

Source: Boccaccio Cellars Price: $28 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.martinezbujanda.com