Recommendation: An excellent Rioja Reserva.
Winery/Producer: Aspaldi, Spain.
Grape Variety: Tempranillo.
Geographic Region, Appellation: Rioja, Spain
Vintage: 2006
Price: $19.99
Purchased From: Total Wine; Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Pared With: Baked potato stuffed with ham, fried onions and broccoli with sour cream and cheese.
Tasting:
He said: Clear, dark ruby color, slight purple rim. Strong red fruit, spice and leather aroma. Very concentrated smooth, dry, fruit taste and a long very dry fruity finish. This is a REALLY SMOOTH Rioja. Full body, dry and low on acidity. This makes me only want to drink the reserve Rioja’s. Simply put, the intense dry taste is OUTSTANDING. Although it’s $20. it get a two thumbs up recommendation from me.
She said: When you have left overs it is tempting to down step your wine, but sometimes that is not the best thing to do and this is a good example. When Ray asked about the dinner I was tempted to add a suggestion for a cheap wine but am glad that I didn’t and he chose this reserve Rioja. Personally, I favor Rijoas in general so perhaps Ray was buttering me up when he chose this reserve for my humble dinner. If he did, it worked and I’m feeling very warm and cozy with this very excellent wine. I even guessed the price exactly on the nose which adds to my contentment. What makes it so good you might ask? In a word, smoothness. I love Riojas because they are full of flavor, robust and with substantial body. This one, like many other reserves, has the robustness, the body, the flavor, the dryness, tannins but without any harshness. I have not tasted enough reserve Riojas to know if this one is better than other reserves, but I can honestly say that it is an outstanding wine and look forward to more. A bonus was that it was as good with the dinner as it was as a sipping wine.
Comments:
Alcohol: 13.5%
Bar code: 8413165084402