Winemaker Notes
Bouquet: Complex and elegant aromas of ripe fruit, dominated by scents typical of the Tempranillo grape, but with balsamic tones and touches of oak.
Taste: Full-bodied, rich, spicy, intense, flavorful, concentrated, very complex, and extraordinarily lively. Warm and powerful, with notes of pepper and cloves. Thanks to its excellent structure and great tannic strength, it has a very long and persistent finish.
Excellent with all kinds of meat, it particularly highlights finer dishes made with big game, such as venison. It also pairs exquisitely with any dish made with strong cheeses or with very aromatic sauces.
Professional Ratings
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.