Rioja

This is a blend 60% Garnacha Tinta,and 40% Viura from Rioja, Spain.  Light but intense pink/orange in color, clear and bright.  The nose is lovely with cherries, strawberries, minerals and slight citrus.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, this has nice balance with good fruit.  Cherries, slight black cherries, strawberries and also some minerality.  Good finish.  This is very food friendly and should work well with most foods and it drinks well on its own.  A nice pairing with Sauteed vegetables over rice.  Drink over the next year or two.  Nice value.

This is a very nice Rosé wine from Rioja in Spain.  It is a blend of 60% Tempranillo, 30% Viura and 10% Garnacha.  It is a pale salmon pink in color, clear and bright.  The nose is nice with slight cherries and strawberries and a touch of lemon citrus.  Light to medium bodied.  Nice texture.  Good acidity.  On the palate, the strawberries and watermelons come thru.  Long finish.  This is nice on its own and will work well with most foods.  It made a nice choice for Pizza Night.  Drink over the next year or two.

This is a blend of Tempranillo with 15% Garnacha, Graciano and Mazuelo from Spain.  Purple in color with some ruby hues, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with black cherries, spice, slight balsamic and slight cherries.  Medium to full bodied.  Good acidity.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, flavors of  black cherries, cherries, spice and anise.  Good finish.  This is drinking well now and will still improve a bit.  Better with food but  nice on its own.  Hold for a few years and drink for ten after that.  A nice choice with fried chicken.  

Great showing for this wine.  This is 97% Tempranillo and 3% Graciano.  This was tight on opening but with air gets a dusty nose followed by black cherries.  This has firm tannins and is full bodied.  Great texture.  On the palate, black cherries with a bit of anise.  Nice finish.  This s drinking well now and should for another ten to fifteen years.  It would probably better with some food, it worked well with cheeses and olives.

This is a blend of 87% Tempranillo, 6% Graciano, 5% Mazuelo, and 2% Garnacha aged in American oak for 24 years.  Ruby in color, some purple swirls, mostly clear and bright.  The nose is classic with sandalwood and cherries.  Very nice semi-plush texture.  Medium bodied. ood acidity.  On the palate, black cherries, cherries and a hint of anise on the finish.  This drinks well on its own but is even better with food.  This would be a nice wine with a hearty stew.  Drink over the next ten years.  

This is 100% Tempranillo from Rioja, Spain.  It is very traditional in style.  It opened quickly before shutting down and was just starting to reopen when my glass was empty.  Purple in color with ruby swirls, mostly clear and bright.  The nose has cherries, spice, slight vanilla and slighter anise.  Medium bodied.  Medium tannins.  The cherries and anise come thru to the palate with a slight balsamic note.  Good balance.  Nice finish.  Nice on its own but better with some food.  A nice match for meatloaf with a tomato based sauce.  Drink over the next five to eight years.