Rioja

Video Spanish Wine Review: Value Rioja

May 16, 2013

Spanish wine: Obalo Joven 2011 from Rioja

Some thoughts on value Rioja…love the video format…short and sweet! The Spanish wine today was the Obalo Joven 2011. Other great value Rioja recommendations here and here… Spanish wine review: Value Rioja from Mary O’Connor on Vimeo.

Spanish Wine Review: La Montesa 2009

April 30, 2013

La Montesa 2009: Spanish wine from the Rioja region

It’s been a while since I’ve had a mellow, perfectly drinkable Rioja and this La Montesa fit the bill nicely. Rioja is still the king of Spanish wine but there are so many faces and styles to the region that it can be really confusing to find a nice bottle at a good price. The traditional Rioja styles remain popular amongst wine geeks but the good ones cost a pretty penny. The bold, modern style comes at all price points, but they are not always as mellow and ready to drink…something to cherish in Rioja. There are lots somewhere in between, embracing both tradition and the modern…the hybrid is maybe the most user-friendly style. La Montesa, from one of the modern masters of Spanish wine, Alvaro Palacios, is one of these and makes for good drinking at a great price in the 2009 vintage.

LAN Crianza: Bright and Fruity Rioja at a Good Price

October 5, 2012

The retail mark ups on Spanish wines here in the US are so puzzling, some are so reasonable and others outrageous. Walking around a Total Wine store here in Florida yesterday, I was happy to see an old favorite at a very decent 13$ price point.

Wine rating: Predicador 2006/2007

March 25, 2009

I have been meaning to try this Rioja wine for some time and in the last week I have tried it in two vintages. Both were impressive, but the 2007 could use a little more time in bottle to achieve a better balance. Predicador is the inexpensive wine that Benjamin Romeo brought onto the market [...]

Wine rating: Roda Reserva 2004

March 5, 2009

Roda Reserva 2004 from Rioja is the wine I have consumed most over the past year. I love to change the wines I put in my tastings constantly….otherwise I get bored! The Roda, however, has been the exception…it is the consistently the favorite wine in my line-ups of eight wines from all over Spain. The [...]

Spanish Wine Exports Performing Well in Crisis Market

March 3, 2009

A couple of really interesting articles at Market Watch and at Decanter in the last week really gave some insights into how Spanish wine is performing in the current crisis market. According to Market Watch, Spanish imports are performing better than average in the US wine market, and particularly when you compare their numbers to [...]

Spain’s Top Five Wines or The Parkerization of Spain

February 3, 2009

When I arrived in Spain over 6 years ago, Robert Parker and his team were just starting to pay attention to the wines in a big way. Since then I have seen awareness of him take off in the wine sector…frequently these days, winery professionals talk about the ratings they’ve received from the Wine Advocate. [...]

Wine Rating: Cantos de Valpiedra 2005

January 22, 2009

It’s often a challenge to find a great wine from Rioja at a great price. One of my favourite producers is Finca Valpiedra, a winery that has only ever offered a single reserva wine. Finca Valpiedra is a great reserva that is a hybrid between modern and traditional styles, a style that can appeal to [...]

Rioja Vino de Autor in Two Vintages: San Vicente 2003 and 2004

March 4, 2008

Rioja Vino de Autor in Two Vintages: San Vicente 2003 and 2004 Vintage Variation in Spain is not as extreme as it is in more northern climates, but it obviously still has a very real impact. I was fortunate to try one of my favourite Vinos de Autor in two very different vintages. San Vicente [...]

Rioja Wine Styles Part 3: The Gran Reserva vs a Super-Reserva

March 1, 2008

The Gran Reserva is almost exclusively a classic style in Rioja….most of these wines have over 30 months in oak, many as much as 48 months! National wine law in Spain has changed…the minimum oak aging for a gran reserva is 18 months, though the total time before release remains 5 years. But many of [...]

← Previous Entries