The 2015 Marques de Riscal ‘Reserva’ [Rioja] recently hit our area ($15.29 on the shelf at TW) and I wanted to try one to see if it was worth putting a few away. I enjoyed this over three days at 62F, in a variety of stems, and with a slab of trimmed ribeye steaks on the last day. They make a LOT of this wine (2mm cases maybe?) so perhaps lot variation is an issue – my example came from the L3199ME bottling run. In toto: this is a very solid, high quality, ageable reserva that is more modern than I expected. It’s 14.3% abv, with smooth/mild tannin, and low enough acidity to be enjoyed by itself. I can’t really tell if its ruby or garnet in color, but I would lean toward the darker end of whichever one chooses. On the first day the nose is more dill, vanilla, balsalmic; as it evolves those typical markers calm down and it displays more spice, tobacco, sandlewood. Mostly tempranillo according to the tech sheet. My bottle was an A- in quality on my scale, and I’d expect it to keep for a decade or two, and be very drinkable at all points. One concern is that when ageable wine is sold for low prices, by mass marketeers, is that it may not get treated carefully along the way, or that there could be some bottling variation. (one reason to sample a specific bottle from a potential source prior to buying multiples) Although the house, and label, imply a traditional old school Rioja - and this does get years of American oak - the color and richness on release suggest the bodega is using at least some modern techniques. (And they do have some new wave bottlings so they certainly are officially doing that for some of their lineup). I plan on buying and laying down more of this.
Complex wine, simple food: ribeye with kosher salt, asparagus with oil and balsalmic dressing, twice baked potatoes
A friend shared a bottle of this wine when I was in medical school back in 1986. I always remembered it and I found it again about 5 years ago. We get 6-12 bottles every year. Great QPR.
I have not had the wine and cannot comment on it, aside for being on the lookout for it next time I am at our local TW. But those ribeye’s look ridiculously good. Nicely done, Arv!
I haven’t had the Riscal Riserva young, but I have had the 2001 (1x) and the 2004 (2x) in the last several months, both of which are supposed to be strong vintages for Rioja. These wines age extremely well, particularly for the price and I think are incredible QPR at ~$40 for an aged bottle and <$20 young. If you like the 2015, it would be worth trying it alongside an older one. 2001 is a cut above 2004 imo, but harder to find. The 2004 needs to decant (pref 2-3 hours) to shine.
The 2015 Marques de la Concordia ‘Reserva’ [Rioja] is actually pretty similar to the aforementioned, and similarly named MdR of the same vintage. This is a branded blend of Alta and Alavesa vineyards made by one of the older wineries, Rioja Santiago, whose various labels like MdC and Paternina are only intermittently seen in my region, although very old examples sometimes show up at auction. It leads off with seaweed and balsalmic on the nose, with some reductive flint on the palate, which rounds out by day 2. It’s 14.5% abv, but more medium bodied than full. The tech sheets advises that both American and French oak are used here, but perhaps the barrels are well used, as I can’t detect either’s traits. At age 10 it’s smooth in texture, with good acidity aligned with the fruit, and no sediment at all. If one likes traditional Rioja, with some of its distinct unapologetic attributes, this is a good value. The Penin guides, which seem to have a committee tasting system, and a bias toward the Jorge Ordonez richness, will always be a tough environment for this. I don’t have any prior experience with their (all tempranillo) wines other than reading various reviews in Penin guides, which are measured in their endorsements. Perhaps Concordia are the Riojanes version of Napa’s Sterling or something - functional and enjoyable - but not for the collector. Still, I liked this vintage, and the quality was not far behind the Riscal, with less dense fruit. This is a B to B+ wine, on the higher side for someone who likes this style. I would suspect that Marques de la Concordia - more than smaller bodegas - can employ more effort/ability to smooth out vintage differences and deliver a consistent experience. Natural cork, charming embossed bottle, label & website offer an Espana vibe.
