If served from the original bottle, should be easy to tell if Bosconia vs Tondonia.
It was. Just stuck at work for right now.
Can confirm it was the Bosconia. I, in investigating my cellar, found I also have a bela RDD tempranillo that is waiting for me to open it.
1 Like
I so badly wish these wines could be found in the U.S..
In direct response to the now-old original post: Auction. It is (for now) still quite easy to find fantastic deals on lightly-to-moderately aged Rioja at auction. At this point, I assume the 62 responses ahead of mine have all the important producers covered.
I never had the riserva but I love1994 Remelluri. I think I have one bottle left. I bought and drank the 1995, 1996 and 1999 but they never rose to the heights of the 1994.
I recall enjoying Remirez de Ganuza from the 90’s but don’t know how they are doing today.
1 Like
When it comes to RLdH Reservas, Tondonia is the better-known bottle, but I’ve always loved the finesse and slightly more acid-driven style of Bosconia.
But both the wines are great. So is the still-so-affordable entry-level bottling Cubillo, at least for the price.
2 Likes
Mazuelo ≠ Mourvèdre
2 Likes
Mazuelo is the Spanish name for carignan.
Mourvedre >> Carignan
Mathemathically, this is known as Tempier’s Last Theorem.
Works only in a very limited location; Bandol.
Outside Bandol, it’s nothing but lottery. For example I’d go with a Catalan Cariñena or a Mazuelo from Rioja over a Jumilla Monastrell any day, every single time.
Things can get pretty ripe in Jumilla
The theorem may be true for generic Carignan. The trouble begins when someone mentions Cims de Porrera.
Cims was a project of Josep Lluís Pérez, who was basically the champion of Carignan in the region. The grape was planted to produce volume wines and then the region was more or less abandoned until Pérez and his friends showed up in the 1990s. They didn’t trust the local Cariñena so they brought in Tempranillo and Cab and Syrah, but eventually they learned that Cariñena can be a lot more than jug wine if the grapes were treated. At the time the thinking was also that you needed very old vines to make good wine from Cariñena, but that’s not necessarily true.
Today there’s pretty good stuff being made from Cariñena and Monastrell in many places around the world. Best Cariñena I ever tasted was from a guy in the south of France where they were grubbing up the grape. I can’t remember him but I asked him what the ex cellar price would be. When he told me I remarked that I would have to put it on the shelf for over $150. A wine nobody had ever heard of from an unheralded region. He shrugged. It was the perfect Gallic shrug. This was about 10 years ago so I have no idea what ever became of him or his wine. Apparently he didn’t get the notice that you’re supposed to think Burgundy was the greatest wine region and he decided to price his wine at what he thought it was worth.
But as far as Rioja, since most people don’t know the wines, they fall back on LdH. It’s an interesting wine region precisely because it’s undergoing change. And let’s not forget that the “traditional” wines have only been “traditional” since the 1970s, as is the case with most wine regions in Europe.
1 Like
i just tasted at Remurez de Ganuza today and it was amazing. sent a case back home it was so good.
3 Likes
Very solid producer. Heard the winery visit is a good experience.
it was fun. not as flashy as Imperial with their really cool “Penicillin wall" of ancient wines, or Marquis de Riscal (first time to really see a mass production facility) but it was really interesting to hear the story of the original winemaker, to see their smaller facilities, and have them explain how they do things differently. I also appreciated them being receptive to my request to taste both the red and white gran reserva, which we ended up buying a bunch of in the end. My favorite tour on this trip.
2 Likes
While my taste runs to the ultra traditional side of Rioja winemakers, I’ve had a smattering from the 90s and early 2000s that I enjoyed and found to be impressive. Pretty much along the lines of my other preferred non-traditional producer in Remelluri.
Yes, the white can be great. We just tasted the 2021 from a 3L at the Decanter event in NYC a couple of weeks ago. While obviously too young, especially for that format, it had a nice density and waxiness that will be great in time.
1 Like