Wine & Spirits - Winter 2023 - 74

Reds from Rioja
Cantabria. It's an ambitious wine, powerfully
extracted, grounded by oak tannins. Out of
that potent extract, it begins to reveal gamey
scents and rich cherry depths, needing time
to express its dimensions. § Jorge Ordóñez
Selections, Dedham, MA
91 | Rulei
$50
2019 Rioja Viña El Moral Garnacha ^ A tannic
young garnacha, ripened to the flavor of
firm, juicy blackberries, this is sumptuous in
its texture, dense and round. For morcilla
with white beans. § Solera Imports, Miami, FL
90 | Alvia
$30
2016 Rioja Ducado De Hoja Gran Reserva ^
There's plenty of black fruit under the buzzy
acidity in this wine, keeping it bright and
mineral-edged. Notes of cedar and leather
smooth the finish. For roast leg of lamb. §
D'Vine Distributors, Doral, FL
90 | Baron de Ley
$22
2019 Rioja Reserva ^ Youthfully green in its
stemmy tannins, this wine's red fruit wins out
in the end, presenting those tannins with delicacy
and lace over the raspberry and strawberry
flavors. It feels refreshing, for lunch
with a salad of duck confit. § Carolina Wine
Brands USA, New York, New York
90 | Ramón Bilbao
90 | Isaac Fernández
Selección
$80
2016 Rioja Mirto ^ The red fruit of this wine is
pure and rich, honed by a radish-like acidity.
It's a clean, full-bodied, modern style of Rioja
for a steak. § Zamora Company, Miami, FL
$19
2020 Rioja Acentor (BEST BUY) ^ There's substantial
weight and depth of fruit in this wine,
needing plenty of time in a decanter to show
itself. A blend of tempranillo (85 percent)
with graciano and maturana, this is all blackcherry
skin and asphalt at first, taking on a
refreshing petrichor tone as it opens with air. §
Grapes of Spain, Lorton, VA
90 | R. López de Heredia $42
2012 Rioja Viña Bosconia Reserva ^ Herbal,
cool, smoky and black in its mature fruit, this
is an informal Rioja that will happily take on
steak frites. The wine goes floral in the end,
spicy and brisk. § Think Global Wines, Santa
Barbara , CA
90 | Muga
$40
2019 Rioja Muga Reserva Unfiltered ^
Thimbleberries and sugar plums define this
wine's sweet fruit while the wood takes it into
the cinnamon scent of Red Hots. Lean and
warm. § Jorge Ordóñez Selections, Dedham, MA
74
WINE & SPIR IT S
90 | Ontañón
$26
2020 Rioja Natura ^ If you're looking for a
traditional Rioja, look elsewhere. This one
presents its natural credentials with a lot of
sulfury funk-though there are no added sulfites.
The fruit has a baked-cherry richness,
darkening to a blackberry clafouti sweetness,
embraced by a delicate web of tannins. § Park
St. Imports, Jeffersonville, NY
90 | Queirón
$55
2011 Rioja Reserva Queirón de Gabriel ^
Showing its age in mature tannins, suave
and soft, this wine's black fruit doesn't have
a lot of detail. A little Bretty up front, it finishes
brisk and clean, ready for grilled tuna
with padrón peppers. § Park St. Imports, Jeffersonville,
NY
90 | Rioja Vega
$85
2016 Rioja Venta Jalón Reserva Especial ^
Graciano's ferric meatiness plays a major
role in this wine's tannins, softened by tempranillo
into layers of red and black fruit.
Warm wood notes come forward in the end.
An earthy red for a bowl of braised tripe. § Ecovalley,
Salisbury, NC
90 | Rulei
$20
2011 Rioja Viña Barracallo (BEST BUY) ^ A
50-50 blend of tempranillo-spicy and cabernet-herbal,
this is supple and gracious. It
has some weight and curves to its full body,
but it all holds together. For a braise. § Solera
Imports, Miami, FL
90 | Señorío de la Eralta
$25
2019 Rioja Crianza ^ Scents of anise and
sweet notes of oak layer in this soft, redfruited
Rioja. It has an herbal quality, like
rose hips, and enough substance to take on
lamb stew. § Tri-Vin, New Rochelle, NY
90 | Sierra Cantabria
$24
2019 Rioja Crianza ^ Dense with tannins, this
heavyset Rioja is hard to see through, though
it becomes less opaque with a day of air. The
tannins are earthy and meaty, the fruit dark
and curranty. Decant it for a grilled T-bone. §
Jorge Ordóñez Selections, Dedham, MA
90 | Tobía
$55
2015 Rioja Oscar Tobía Gran Reserva ^ Ripeness
drives this wine: Its blueberry fruit carries
some perceptible heat, but the wine is
still lithe. Cocoa and red-currant flavors contrast,
and it's the red currant that lasts. § TriVin
Imports, New Rochelle, NY
90 | Familia Valdelana
$20
2020 Rioja Agnus de Autor Crianza Tempranillo
(BEST BUY) ^ Woodsy with mushroom
notes and black-cherry fruit, this earthy wine
has a yeasty scent of bread dough, but otherwise,
it's a clean and dynamic Rioja. § Murphy
Distributors, Wilton, CT
90 | Villota
$25
2020 Rioja Alavesa Selvanevada Tinto ^
Minimalist Rioja, this is tart in its red fruit,
high-toned in its acidity, lean and a little
grouchy in its youth. It feels fresh and has
some stamina, a wine to hold for a year or
two. § Jorge Ordóñez Selections, Dedham, MA
88 | Criadores de Rioja
$14
2021 Rioja Anciano Garnacha (BEST BUY) ^
Earthy from beginning to end, this has a
touch of cherry candy up front before refreshing
acidity kicks it up, lasting on black- and
red-currant flavor. This is well constructed
for a garnacha, and a great buy. § Well Oiled
Wine, Washington, DC
88 | García Carrión
$9
2018 Rioja Antaño Crianza (BEST BUY) ^ This
strawberry-simple, tapas-bar red approaches
the intersection of game and oak, then turns
toward raspberry-seed tannins that last. Lean
and gentle, it offers a lot of intriguing character
for $9. § CIV USA, Doral, FL
88 | Rosario Vera
$18
2020 Rioja Tempranillo (BEST BUY) ^ A scent
of freesia and a candied edge to the fruit
give this wine a pretty feel, simple, purple
and easy to pour through a lot of it. There's
a gentle tannic abrasion in the finish that will
meld with grilled chicken livers. § Opici Wines
& Spirits, Glen Rock, NJ
86 | Bilbaínas
$16
2018 Rioja Reserva Viña Pomal (BEST BUY) ^
Meaty and soft, this wine's tannins are so
gentle as to be barely there. A simple, redfruited
Rioja, soft and ready for a cookout. §
Raventós Codorniu NA, Cambridge, MA
86 | López de Haro
85 | García Carrión
$13
2020 Rioja Crianza (BEST BUY) ^ Bearing
woodsy cherry flavors with a simple tart end,
this would be a great buy for a poetry reading.
§ Vintae USA, Napa, CA
$9
2021 Rioja Pata Negra Vendimia Seleccionada
Tempranillo (BEST BUY) ^ Simple
cranberry and sweeter cherry flavors carry
through this peppery red. The tannins need
something braised. § CIV USA, Doral, FL l
W INTER 2023
Wine & Spirits - Winter 2023

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