“The wines of Rioja Alta are refined wines, with a great tannic structure and a persistent finish.” – Wine Spectator
Miguel Merino – Reserva 2017 El Barrio Luxembourg
A pleasant place, an excellent meal, and then comes the choice of wine: one of my friends picks a Spanish one, which delights me.
A Rioja — more precisely, a Rioja Alta.
The Miguel Merino estate was founded in 1994 and is located in the village of Briones. The vineyard covers around 25 hectares and is planted mainly with Tempranillo, with a few plots of Graciano and Viura for the white wines.
Miguel Merino’s red wines are crafted with care and aged in French and American oak barrels for periods of up to 24 months.
Let’s taste this wine!
The nose is woody and spicy, on aromas of tobacco. It doesn’t reveal itself easily and I struggle to make out anything else. I’m expecting powerful tannins.
This 2017 is out of the ordinary, disconcerting — I lose my palate over it, I can’t break this wine down, and I have to admit I’m lost. It’s a strong wine that will, I think, leave you as it left me: particularly frustrated, lost in its complexity.
Miguel Merino has won! He’s won the bet of making a wine that’s good, powerful, and that will teach you a fine lesson in humility.
At under 30 euros, you’ll need to give it a fine plate of meat to do justice to that balance. A wonderful discovery!
“Ribera del Duero is a complex and sophisticated wine, a wine that demands particular attention and rewards those who take it seriously.” – Stephen Tanzer
The Cruz de Alba 2019 is a red wine produced in the Ribera del Duero wine region of Spain. This region is renowned for producing some of Spain’s finest reds, thanks to its unique terroir and favourable climate.
The Cruz de Alba 2019 is produced from Tempranillo grapes, the most widely grown variety in the region. It was aged for 12 months in French and American oak barrels, which gave it woody, spicy notes.
On to the tasting:
On the nose, beyond the red fruit, you can pick out vanilla and spice.
The robe is dark, and it announces its colours: on the palate you won’t be disappointed — this 2019 is full-bodied with a touch of acidity, but balanced. You’ll note a quick passage through the length; clearly that isn’t this wine’s strong point.
This wine was chosen by one of my friends during a meal. Even though the wine was enjoyed by everyone around the table, notably for its respectful tannins, it’s the meal among friends that will stay in my memory. Then again, would I have remembered the wine without my friends? That’s less certain.
It’s really the place and the good company that made this wine mark our memories of that get-together. It accompanied us effectively and left us with a pleasant memory. Not a false note alongside our meat-based dishes.
At around €15 a bottle, it will go with a good meal but also work as a tasting wine. Don’t keep it too long — it isn’t necessary; it’s already very pleasant.
Vino Orgánico:
We noticed that this wine carries “biodynamic wines” on its label. These wines are similar to organic wines, but they’re produced according to stricter, more holistic principles. Biodynamic wine producers take the vine’s whole ecosystem into account — the soil, the surrounding plants and the animals — in order to produce a wine in harmony with its environment.
It’s possible that the Cruz de Alba 2019 is a biodynamic wine but, despite my research, I haven’t found information on its production method, so it’s hard to confirm with certainty.
In 1895, the Lord of Rioja received a distinction that would, for the time, resonate around the world: the diploma of honour at the Bordeaux exhibition. It became the first non-French wine to win this award. That distinction proudly adorns the present-day label.
Marqués de Riscal is a famous wine producer located in Rioja, a renowned wine region in Spain.
One of their most emblematic creations is the Marqués de Riscal Reserva, often regarded as a classic Spanish wine of great quality. This wine is known for its complex taste, its aromas of red fruit and its ageing in oak barrels.
Marqués de Riscal is also famous for its impressive modern architecture. In 2006, the Hotel Marqués de Riscal, designed by architect Frank Gehry, is a work of art in its own right and has become a sought-after destination for lovers of wine and architecture.
The Marqués de Riscal bottle is often recognisable thanks to the characteristic golden wire that surrounds it. This golden wire is in fact a metal-wire cage, also known as a “mesh”. Its purpose is mainly decorative, but it also has a practical function.
Decorative aspect: the golden wire adds a touch of elegance and prestige to the bottle’s presentation. It has become a signature of the Marqués de Riscal brand and is associated with the quality of their wines.
Practical function: the metal-wire mesh also helps keep the cork in place. It prevents the cork from shifting or deteriorating over time, which helps preserve the wine’s quality by preventing any intrusion of air.
Let’s taste this 2018 “Reserva” together: a robe of a bright, uniform red.
On the nose it’s spicy, on leathery notes. We already know it’s going to surprise us.
After dazzling the table with its aroma, its taste — with strongly pronounced tannins — wraps around your mouth perfectly. After a few moments, just when you think the brew has given all it has, a second wave of aromas appears, bringing red fruits to the fore. A discreet touch of acidity comes to close the show, then slowly fades, offering a balanced and persistent length. A delight…….
At under 20 euros, it’s an extraordinary wine that will grace any cellar and can stay there for several more years.
