Made with 95% Tempranillo with a splash of Cabernet Sauvignon, 5%.
Aromas of blackberry, smoke, tobacco that follow through in the taste with cherry, blackcurrant, oak undertones and tannins that are super smooth but firm. This review may be short but there’s not much more to say, this is a very good red wine.
Ar £17 a bottle its great value for what you get.
Arzuaga Navarro, Arzuaga Crianza 2017, Ribera del Duero, Spain
So what’s the wine like after 10 years sitting in the bottle just doing it’s thing. Made with Tempranillo this is a vibrant dark looking wine. On the nose theres expressive black fruits, lots of blackberry, spice and oak under notes. Taste wise it’s dry, with excellent soft tannins. Complex flavours of blackberry, plum, cherry, vanilla, black pepper, and a hint of earthiness.
It’s a great wine, although at £25 a bottle it should be punching above the standard Tempranillo’s out there. Is it worth it? Yep.
Hacienda Zorita, Abascal Tempranillo, Ribera del Duero, Spain
Spain produces a lot of wine and some regions get better attention than others. Rioja is probably the most well known, mainly for cheap, red easy drinking wine. Ribera del Duero wines are a little less known but very accessible and affordable with many well under £10 a bottle. A decent one can age for 7+ years. This is a decent one. Deep purple in colour and high in alcohol seem fairly standard for a red wine from a hot region. On the aroma and flavour front theres lots going on, black cherry, vanilla, tobacco which are quite intense on the nose. Undertones of licorice, and sweet spice with hints of smokeyness come through on the taste. The balance and structure are very good with tannins that are softer than you may expect and sweetness that’s welcome.
This for me was an easy drinking wine but a wine that I wanted to savour, not guzzle. Excellent.
Lambuena, Crianza, Ribera del Duero 2015, Spain