When it comes to Spanish wines (and Australian wines), I frequently find myself at odds with the scores and reviews in the Wine Advocate.  That is one of the reasons I write this web site, since I know that many of the rest of you find that your palates do not align with those of the one or two professional critics who dictate the marketplace these days.  Having said all that, this wine is one where I am in complete sync with the nice praise given to it by the Wine Advocate.  They reviewed it back in 2001.  I tried this wine for the first time in 2007.  The wine  exhibits darker color than most decade old Riojas, and it gives off a smokey, asphalt, cedar like bouquet, but follows this up with a huge fruit laden, palate drenching delight.  Raspberry, blackberry, and slighlty tangy wild cherry round out the palate, and the tannins have faded nicely into the background.

If you like Rioja, try this one.  It is not exactly traditional, but does a nice balancing act between the new and the old worlds of Spanish wine making.

4 stars.  Retail 50 dollars.  Can be found at the on-line auctions for about half that if you are patient. 

 

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