Wednesday, February 16, 2011

The wine in spain falls mainly in my glass (1 of 2)


The other day, I drank a glass of Rioja at a local restaurant for $10 a glass. Later, when perusing my favorite wine store, I was surprised to see the same wine sold for $14.99 a bottle. I am not sure really if it was a pleasant surprise; in fact, I was a little annoyed at my “by the glass” fleecing (even though I remember enjoying the wine tremendously.) However, it tasted like it had been open for at least a day at the restaurant, and I felt it warranted a fair and balanced “by the bottle” review. So, here it is.

 2006 Sierra Cantabria Rioja Crianza

Rioja is made from only one grape, Tempranillo. It is made to be very age worthy, and is available in many different levels. This wine is a Crianza, meaning it has been aged for at least two years in oak. It shows a dusty smoky nose. I noticed a nice acid and good power also. It was a little tight right off, but it showed hints of greatness. I was impressed by the well-integrated oak and dark raspberry notes. This wine was wonderfully complex and showed a long evolving finish. With the benefit of about an hour in a decanter the oak started to smooth out and the wine started giving up more flavors.  I loved the brightness of the acid at the finish, and found it cleansing to the palate. I give this wine 4 out of 5 arrows, and would highly recommend it to anyone. This is definitely well priced at $14.99 and absolutely what I would call a “steal”, but save yourself a couple bucks and always buy it by the bottle.

Cheers,
E

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