La Rioja Alta is a strong winery that has been in continuous production of this bottling since 1890.
John Piccone (shown with his hand up, pointing towards his native Brooklyn at the end of Dave Morgan's tasting) brought this bottle, and introduced the group to a good value in the premium Rioja category.
This was the sixth wine in the tasting, the first five were Priorats -- and the Tempranillo really stood out after drinking Grenache/Bordeaux-varietal blends. Tempranillo is a genetic cousin of Pinot Noir; our own Cal-Davis' enology department has been a leader in tracing these "bloodlines" of noble (and not-so-noble) grape varietals.
If I was tasting this blind I would have guessed that it was a Premier Cru Burgundy, probably from Nuits St. Georges... The age showed (unlike the 10-year old Priorat's which tasted young), but the wine was not falling apart -- mature red cherry and black raspberry flavors mixed with oak, smoke, and a hint of caramel on the medium finish...
$45; 91 points
Bottom Line: A good value wine that is on par with similarly aged Burgundy (for about half the price). Notice in the middle of the picture in the post below, John is meticulously taking notes...
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