This is wonderfully complex, dark cherry in colour with balsamic aromas, hints of ripe fruit and spices. It's fresh and light with soft, rounded tannins and a long finish with some reminders of toasted oak. These Reservas are predominantly made from grapes from Tempranillo vines over 15 years old. The Graciano and Mazuelo grape varieties (10% of the blend) add crispness and a lively colour. The wine spends around two years in American oak and one year or more rounding off in the bottle. This produces the classic Rioja: fresh, fine, elegant and, if you can keep the corkscrew away from it, perfect for laying down.
A classic Tempranillo from a classic wine maker based in the village of Briones in the Rioja Alta - recently described as 'the undiscovered jewel of Rioja'.
Undiscovered it may be, but not for long if this hugely enjoyable wine is anything to go by. Soft and velvety with a long after taste, the great age of the vines that produce this aromatic Tempranillo give the wine real depth. You'll taste red fruits, cinnamon and, yes, even an edge of leather. Treat yourself to a bottle the next time you really want to enjoy a roast dinner.
Type: Red Region: Rioja
£15.49 per bottle 6 bottles £88.26 SAVE £4.68 12 bottles £167.28 SAVE £18.60
No surprises here - this is, as you would expect from one of the best winemakers in the area, very, very good. Pesquera is a man with a reputation for producing top class products from his 200 hectare estate on a south facing slope above the river Duero. After 18 months in oak, the wine shows strong aromas, rich in mature fruits and smoked wood. The taste is full and round with lots of red berries and a very long finish. This Crianza is a superb wine that lives up to Pesquera's cult-like status.
Type: Red Region: Ribera del Duero
£20.99 per bottle 6 bottles £119.64 SAVE £6.30 12 bottles £226.68 SAVE £25.20
