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A trip to Rioja before Christmas confirmed my passion for the wine in spades. The region is beautiful, in a spaghetti western sort of way. The wide, open valleys of grey and beige were brightened up, at that time of year, with golden, autumnal vines, criss-crossing the landscape. The food was fantastic, probably the best I’ve had in the world, right from astonishingly tasty peasant fare, up to serious haute cuisine. More importantly for me, though, the wine ticked so many of my boxes.
I’ll be covering white Rioja next week, which is another of my favourites. The reds are made, predominantly, from Tempranillo. Traditionally, Rioja comes in a range of styles, depending on their age and time in oak. There are now also atypical and exceptional wines, which are beautiful and a little more expensive. However, if you want a typical Rioja Reserva, you’re going to spend just under a tenner in a supermarket.
While the distinctive flavour of Rioja certainly comes from the acidity of the grape, enhanced by the high altitude vineyards, it is the aroma of American oak that sings to the lover of this wine. It is a warm, sweet, vanilla scent, which I could imagine imitating by painting butter on a newly sawn piece of seasoned wood and then warming it gently, blended with the smell of a morello cherry crumble.
Our favourite wine was Marques de la Concordia Reserva 2002, which is £9.99 from Tesco and reduced to £7.99 in Majestic until 5th Feb. However, it’s £4.99 at the moment in my branch, as it was for a short period before Christmas. They also make a straight Tempranillo, which is a great little wine. I visited the producer’s stand at a wine show recently and the wines stood out above all other wines in the room. This wine was highly perfumed, like newly cut wood with sweet vanilla. The taste was definitely oaky, but was smooth with a savoury, almost cheesy finish. A lovely, lovely wine.
PS - Be careful, Tesco are also stocking the 2001 which is dreary.
Second best was Bodegas Palacio Reserva 2001, which is £9.99 at Morrisons. It had a caramelised and oaky smell and a typical taste, which lasted well. Cune Reserva 2001, which is also £9.99, from Waitrose, smelt floral and oaky, with a hint of coffee. It tasted just slightly sweeter than others and was nicely fruity.
Marks & Spencer’s Marques de Romeral Reserva 2000, at £8.49, was headily reminiscent of morello cherries and nicely farmyardy. It had a good grip of tannin, which was crying out for meat. Marques de Caceres Reserva 2000 was the most expensive at £13.49 or £11.49 from Majestic. Betty thought it smelt of custard powder and someone picked up pine needles. It had quite a rough, rustic texture, which we loved.
Tesco Finest, Vina Mara Reserva 2002 is only £7.98, which is very fair. It smelt medicinal, with a hint of cherry – perhaps a bathroom cabinet with some Tunes in it? It tasted nicely oaky and also had a nice rustic texture. Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference had a whiff of sulphur on the nose and tasted rather thin. Castillo San Lorenzo from Tesco smelt cheaply of cherry Tunes and was light and dry.