Contino 2007 Gran Reserva Rioja
CVNE A number of years ago, I was fortunate enough to have a one-on-one tasting with Maria Larrea, the CVNE winemaker. A wonderfully gracious woman, she took me through her entire portfolio …
CVNE A number of years ago, I was fortunate enough to have a one-on-one tasting with Maria Larrea, the CVNE winemaker. A wonderfully gracious woman, she took me through her entire portfolio …
If I could figure out a way to turn the Wine School into a religious institution (think of it: best communion ever!), Rioja would be one of our holy lands. It’s …
I am thrilled to see a bottle of Cabernet Franc coming out of Argentina. This grape varietal is grown in limited quantities in South America, and it’s mostly used in blends. …
Winemaking in Rioja has a contradictory vein: winemakers tend to use classic techniques and grape varietals to make modern wines. Heras Cordon is a relatively new winery in Rioja Alta, being …
Reserva de la Tierra, a Spanish wine cooperative, has been working with a US importer for several years to craft a bottle of wine for the American market. The result is …
Nieto Senetiner is an ancient winery by New World standards: it was founded over a century ago in the La Rioja region of Argentina. While their early work is lost to …
Chilean wine review A vanguard in the organic wine movement, De Martino has been farming organically since 1997 and has been carbon neutral for the last season. Despite that, the winery …
At first, very quiet, the flavors expand like a peacock. It is increasingly fun and rich. It brings eucalyptus and mocha first, then crushed blackberries with a wave of soft round …
The family behind this bottle has been growing grapes in Catalonia, Spain, for over two centuries. Since 1921, they have been producing the Spanish sparkling wine known as Cava. Like many wineries in …
The Mazzei family has a very long history in Chianti and has considerably expanded their winemaking operations over the past few years, including forays into Sicily and the Tuscan coast. However, …
A review of a brilliant and inexpensive bottle of Rioja. Aroma of tobacco and rose petals, with a bit of damp earth and clove. On the palate, the fresh fruit comes across in high definition; in particular, fresh cherry and red raspberry.
Most folks who came to my table at a recent wine tasting event hadn’t heard of Carmenere, and the majority of them opted for something more familiar. One guy, on the …
Mostly Cabernet Sauvignon, with a bit of Merlot and Cabernet Franc for added finesse. Kirsch and pencil shavings with a touch of brine and wet earth. Wet tobacco and grass on …
International Wine Cellar, notoriously the most difficult of the major wine-review publications, called this bottling “fully mature and delicious.” To that, we would also add “guilt-inducingly affordable” and “dangerously drinkable.”
Muga is a perennial favorite here at the Wine School, and for a good reason: Its wines, from the value-priced white Rioja to the majestic Torre Muga, are, quite simply, delicious. …