Roda Reserva 2004

Roda may make some pretty amazing wines, but they also spend a lot of time and money on R&D, specifially on Tempranillo clones. After studying 532 clones for 5 years, the guys in white coats have anounced their prefered clone and called it Roda 107. Not the most inspiring name, but thats scientific types for you. Sounds kind of like a radio station.

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

Sierra Cantabria Coleccion Privada 2005

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

González Lara Fuente del Conde Rosado 2006

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.

Bodegas Breton ‘Lorinon’ Crianza 2004

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

Misterio de Fontana 2006

Do the DO of Ulces is located smack in the middle of Spain, about an hours drive east of Madrid.  Its one of the smallest and newest in Spain.  There are only 8 registered producers at the moment, I think this is the only wine from the region being imported into Australia. 

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

Grandes Bodegas Marques de Velilla 2006

Here is a cheapy from Ribera del Douro.  I'm fairly sure that this wine has had a bit of carbonic maceration treatment (and has a bit of an ethyl mercaptan issue).  Its a fairly popular method for Joven wines, it brings out the softer, fruitier aspects of the wine.  But it can also has a downside in that it can also produce rather annoying burnt rubber and nutty smells, plus the wines don't really age that well. 

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

Marques de Riscal Reserva 2003

If you are very observant you will notice that the thumbnail for this post is much better than normal.  That's mostly due to the iimage plug-in breaking with the upgrade to 2.3.  I did this one in Photoshop, I think I will keep it that way in the future.

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

R. López de Heredia Viña Tondonia Rosado 1997

Now its not every day that you drink a ten year old rose.  Many would ask why you would want to.  You may be aware that some of the great wines of Rioja spend a lot of time in oak, some times more than 10 years.  However most people would assume that this is only really for red wines, but both white and rosados get the big oak treatment too.  The purpose here is not add huge oak flavours, rather to produce a wine with great texture and flavour that is more tertiary than primary.  It is not a style that everyone will like, However it is said to be the wine of Spanish royalty.

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

Conde de Valdemar Reserva 2001

I really liked the 2000 vintage of this wine, and the 2001 is a more than worthy follow on.  How these guys get such quality at such a low price is beyond me.  Quality fruit from a top vintage, extended aging in quality barrels and more time in bottle often leads to much higher prices, this wine retails under US$10 in places in the US.

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

Sierra Cantabria Consecha dos Anos 2004

Sierra Cantabria is the Eguren families more traditional bodega in Rioja. rather than build one super winemaking facilities for all of their wine making projects, these guys like to have separate facilities for each of their projects. 

This wine shows how good the 04 vintage was in Rioja, its a fairly inexpensive wine that shows all the character of a good, young Rioja wine.  Its a blend of Tempranillo and Graciano that is aged in a mix of French and American oak for six months and released two years after vintage.

Deep red, with purple fringe.  The nose offers up a great array of aromas: mocha, mulberry, walnutty oak, earth, vanilla  and currents.  In the mouth the tannins are fine and dusty, smooth and supple texture and fine balance.   Really great fruit characters of mulberry and  cherry with some cola, spice and undergrowth.  This is fairly classic rioja with a touch of modern craftsmanship.  90 Pts.

Source: Toro/Woods Wines Price: Around $25 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.eguren.com