Recommendation: A GREAT Rioja at a bargain price.
Winery/Producer: Conde de Hervias; Torremontalbo, Spain.
Grape Variety: Tempranillo.
Geographic Region, Appellation: Cosecha, Rioja, Spain
Vintage: 2012
Price: $13.50 with a 10% mixed case discount.
Purchased From: The Caviste Wine Shop; Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Paired With: Braised shredded beef, sweet potato corn bread and garden salad
Tasting:
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He said: Opened 30-minutes before drinking. Clear, dark purple color with a lighter rim. Strong damp wood, dark cherry and wet musty aromas. SMOOTH, medium body and lots of pleasant acidity; cherry and tart cranberry taste with hints of pepper and anise that continues through the lingering dusty finish that really comes alive at the end. WOW a robust Rioja with fine grain tannins, packed with flavors and a dry finish that’s full of juicy fruit that goes on forever. A GREAT Rioja at a bargain price.
She said: Deep dark purple color, slightly opaque with many thin, irregular spaced, quickly moving legs. Rich musky aroma followed by a juicy, dry, medium bodied mouth-feel with tannins that starts slowly and fully develop in the long finish. The wine went well with both the meat and salad and made a relatively humdrum dinner an exciting experience. Drinking this wine points up the fact that Spanish wines are undervalued and you get very good wine for the purchase price. It is a bargain wine at $13.50 and I recommend it and would buy it again in a flash.
Alcohol: 14%
UPC Code: 6 64841 01023 1
Imported by: De Maison Selecions; Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Photo from De Maison Selections.