Winemaker Notes
Intense garnet in color. On the nose, ripe, liqueur-like red fruit stands out, alongside creamy notes, toffee, vanilla, cinnamon and cocoa. Great harmony between the fruit and toasted notes on the palate. Smooth tannins and a good persistent finish of red fruit and licorice.
Drink with smoked, red and grilled meats, spicy dishes and cured cheeses.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Spiced cherries and dark plums on the nose with touches of chocolate and porcini mushrooms. Medium- to full-bodied with structured, fine-grained tannins and a long, spicy finish.
Hailed as the star red variety in Spain’s most celebrated wine region, Tempranillo from Rioja, or simply labeled, “Rioja,” produces elegant wines with complex notes of red and black fruit, crushed rock, leather, toast and tobacco, whose best examples are fully capable of decades of improvement in the cellar.
Rioja wines are typically a blend of fruit from its three sub-regions: Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Oriental, although specific sub-region (zonas), village (municipios) and vineyard (viñedo singular) wines can now be labeled. Rioja Alta and Alavesa, at the highest elevations, are considered to be the source of the brightest, most elegant fruit, while grapes from the warmer and drier, Rioja Oriental, produce wines with deep color, great body and richness.