TN: 2010 El Centimo Real 'Lot 532' [Rioja]

2010 El Centimo Real ‘Lot 532’ [Rioja] I wasn’t sure if I should note that this is a crianza or not, since it’s not cited on either the front/back label, but it does have the DOC crianza hologram sticker. My guess is that since this light ruby is a new wave Rioja the producers wanted to avoid crianza connotations - and the price ceiling it might denote. I’d never heard of this producer/wine - it seems to be a new micro negociant with only two wines under their belt, and as far as I can tell, what they have seems to be designed for the export / hospitality market, and is slow selling. I don’t see this bottling available in Spain, which is usually a bad sign, and as a late release 2010, was first written up by WE in Jan 2017, and seems to be still vaguely available 4+ years later. It’s also has limited internet information, again suggesting that its intended for situations where the sellers prefer that consumers can NOT google up its price etc. The $25 to $33 MSRP (depending on who one believes) seems optimistic/aggressive in a world where long established centenary bodegas all present wonderful reservas in the $25-$35 zone.
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Anyways, I picked this up for $20 from WineAccess who tends to have a consistent pipeline of lesser seen Rioja, which I absolutely want to support as a concept, but will stick to Penin approved ones, rather than unreviewed names. This 2010 seems to have been offered in the American Airlines F lounges, suggesting that my impression of Lot 532 being blended for F&B sales is in line, but clearly COVID blew up sales plans. Overall, compared to 2010 Rioja I’ve been drinking in the last few years - I find this on the average side. It shows balsalmic vinegar notes, a medium body, 14% abv, on a tempranillo, garnacha, graciano blend in a 3/1/1 ratio. The wood, acid, and tannin are generally balanced now (nothing really sticks out as positive/negative) and it doesn’t need food to be palatable. I get some overripe plum and tobacco flavors here too. Overall, a likable wine, but way overhyped by the purveyors. The producers seem like good industry people (I love that this is bottled under DIAM5, which I don’t see much in Spanish imports) and I wish them well, but I’ll be circumspect on other purchases. I tried this over a couple of days, with decanting, at 57F, in both Burg and BDX glassware. In my ledger, I’d give it a B. [EDIT: added later, on day #3 the last glass starts to show tired pruney notes. suggest this be consumed sooner rather than later]