I saw some TNs on the 08 so grabbed some of these from empire wine for around $20/btl. What a a great wine. A little more ready to drink than the 05 Tondonia I opened recently, with great fruit, very little wood, and nice acidity. Very balanced, delicious wine that went really well with my Flannery ribeye.
Thanks for the early impression Michael, certainly will be grabbing a few in the near future. I think I saw you post on the 08 from my thread earlier, how would you say they compare?
I think the 09 is actually more ready to drink now than the 08. They’re both great.
Thanks for the note Michael - haven’t had the 2009 yet. I’ve always been a bit hit or miss on Cubillo, finding it a bit more simply fruited and “basic” than comparable entry level offerings from Muga, Ygay and LRA Ardanza (although Ardanza prices no longer in sync with Cubillo). But $20 is a good price and I’d definitely aim to a few for mid-week drinkers.
My wife and I had this wine on Tuesday night with dinner at the Harvest Vine. I think the Wine over achieved a lot. I find that Tondonias need some time in the bottle to develop where as this wine seemed so complex right out of the glass. PnP.
I think the fair comparison from La Rioja Alta would be the Alberdi. I suppose it depends on one’s oak preference, the Alberdi showing more new American oak.
2009 R. López de Heredia Rioja Crianza Viña Cubillo - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja (10/23/2018)
Deep red. Dark fruit and antique desk drawer. Hints of pepper and earth, slightly ripe with herb and cigar box. Quite complex. Dry black cherry and old wood flavours and a dry herbal finish.
My first Cubillo after many Tondonia and I definitely love this as much. (92 pts.)
This is often a fantastic value at steakhouses too. I had it at joe’s in Chicago last year and it was $50-60 a btl.
I had this at the winery last week and loved it. For $20, unbeatable value.
IMO the Tondonia is always better. The Cubillo taste too much of fruit!!!
On day 3, we noticed a few vegetal notes which were very interesting. The wine is drinking better after being open a few days.
Agree with everything said on this thread. The 09 Cubillo is open and beautiful today.
Claus, while I’d usually agree, the 09 vintage has other complexity than just the fruit, IMO.
Anyone had the 2010 Cubillo? Coming out here in a week and I’m thinking of stocking up.
I just tried the 2010. It still seems painfully young and the oak is a tad obvious. Still, I found it fresh and lively on the palate. For the price both this and the Tondonia really are no brainers!
I’ve always wanted to like the Cubillo bottling but it never seems to deliver enough to warrant future purchases. Maybe in some vintages it over performs but the pedigree doesn’t seem to follow for me on this bottling.
I have thought that sometimes in the past, but the 2009 has been very good. Well worth the price, though of course not up to the better bottlings.