This is the second bottle from a Case bought on release to celebrate special moments with my son (his birth year). (The first was opened for his high school graduation.) Decanted for sediment and served. Deep garnet in color. The nose has some stink to it. Personally, I thought it was great but there is a warm barnyard quality to it along with some cherry lozenges and a bit of char. On the palate, this drinks very clean. Light tannins that build with air. Complex layers of forest floor, cherries, slight dried cherries and char. Wonderful texture. Long finish. Went great with some mushroom ravioli in a butter sauce. On release, some complained that this was too modern a take on Rioja and wouldn't age well, but at age 23, it is cruising along and has years left. At this point, it drinks very old world and very much Rioja. It was obvious on release there were some brettanomyces issues so make sure bottles are well stored and this is not for the brett Intolerant. Hope to get to share many more bottle of this with my son and the family.
