Wednesday 18 February 2015

Pasta & Chicken & Rioja

To go along garlic, sun dried tomatoes and herb filled chicken breasts, I opened this Rioja. It behaved very nicely with the food and one can only hope that it will evolve as the 1964 has done!

2001 Gran Reserva 904, La Rioja Alta
A fine, spicy, open nose with notes of sweet/sour red cherries, warm red apples, star anise, soft leather and a fine, creamy vanilla scent. Medium deep and flavourful. Some perfumed notes emerges with air. Very good.
The nose is nice enough but it is the taste that really get my thumbs up. It is more slender and chiselled than the nose leads you to believe. Fine red fruit flavours with notes of dried strawberries, hard cherry candy, leather and some cigarette ashes. A long, structured, tight finish. Ends dry and enticing, drawing you back for another sip. Very, very good.
91p   (tasted 2015/02)

2 comments:

  1. Last week I had the 2001 Gran Reserva San Faustino I......Decanter gave 97/100
    I gave 92 the most
    I was very surprise about the style.....I was expecting very traditional....instead it was in between
    Very good wine....but not much to say

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    1. I also have the 01 Faustino - will get to that soon!

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