Wine & Spirits - December 2017 - 71

YEAR'S BEST RIOJA
Our blind panels tasted 343 new-release Rioja wines over the past 12 months. Joshua
Greene, our critic for Rioja wines, rated 35 as exceptional (90+) and 22 as Best Buys.
Find a complete list of wines tasted and all reviews at wineandspiritsmagazine.com.

225071

90 | Prunotto

$45

2013 Barbaresco (Best Buy) ^ Prunotto's
classico bottling is fresh and floral scented
in 2013, its flavors of red cherry and strawberry lifted by mouthwatering acidity. It's a
match for veal Bolognese. § Ste. Michelle Wine
Estates, Woodinville, WA

225072

90 | Prunotto

$71

2011 Barbaresco Bric Turot ^ The warm vintage ripened the fruit for this wine into flavors of soft strawberry and baked cherry.
Notes of roasted mushrooms balance the
sweetness while the mildness of the tannins
makes it accessible now, to pair with pasta
dishes. § Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, Woodinville, WA
225911

90 | Francesco Versio

$51

2013 Barbaresco (Best Buy) ^ Thirty-twoyear-old Francesco Versio, a rising star in Barbaresco, worked at Bruno Giacosa for seven
years before moving on to Luigi Oddero in
February 2017. This is the debut bottling of
his personal project, the fruit pulled from
his own vines- two small plots totaling less
than two acres in Neive-and vinified in a
friend's cellar. The wine exhibits Neive's muscular tannins and bold plum and cherry fruit
flavors, picking up notes of fennel, white pepper and mint that brighten the finish. § Artisanal Cellars, NY
225114

89 | Montalbera

$39

2014 Barbaresco Lintuito (Best Buy) ^ This
Monferrato-based producer specializes in
ruché; only recently has it expanded its holdings to include nearly ten acres in Barbaresco.
This 2014 offers flavors of red cherry and
herbs darkened by some oak-driven notes of
charred meat and sweet spice that need time
to integrate. § Soilair Selection, NY n

225084

W HITE
225166

96 | R. López de Heredia

$56

2004 Rioja Reserva Viña Tondonia ^ A great
vintage of this classic wine, this reveals its
sunny beauty over the course of days. Open
the bottle and you might taste tart lemon,
juicy almond and touches of oxidation,
bringing to mind wood oils. Those flavors
integrate with air so that the wine saturates
the palate with freshness, the scent turned
heady, toward croissants and almond blossoms, the flavors savory, salty and bright.
This family-run winery farms prime Rioja
Alta sites along the Ebro River, aging this
estate-grown wine in cool riverside tunnels
in their cellar in Haro. Tondonia Reserva
spends six years in old barrels, racked twice
a year, then continues aging in bottle prior
to release. Over that time, the wine seems to
gain resilience, though you will not get the
full benefit of this white unless you give it
plenty of air. Leave it in a decanter and it
gives off the energy of the cool sun at harvest, a delicious memory of an ideal autumn
day in 2004. § Think Global, Santa Barbara, CA
224132

92 | Marqués de Murrieta

$30

2012 Rioja Capellania ^ Capellania grows
on a plateau at the top of Finca Ygay, where
this block of viura vines was planted in 1945.
Fermented in stainless steel and aged in new
French oak barriques, Capellania is a distinctive wine, recognizable for its mix of earthy
power and silken, nectarine flavors. There's
pale citrusy acidity that holds the wine's
richness and extends the flavors through a
tight, expressive finish. Built to age, or to
decant with roast fish. § Maisons Marques &
Domaines USA, Oakland, CA
224333

91 | Muga

$17

2016 Rioja (Best Buy) ^ A simple, pretty Rioja
with fresh lemon and tart cider-apple scents,
this wine's citrusy brightness carries the flavor high above its oak tannins. Fermentation
in new French oak has softened the edges
and cushioned the fruit, but doesn't get in
the way of the flavor. A zesty white for clams
roasted with garlic. § Fine Estates from Spain,
Dedham, MA

90 | Contino

$52

88 | Luis Cañas

$15

2016 Rioja Blanco ^ This wine's pale lemon
flavors take on a silken texture through aging
in large-format French oak. It's warm, spicy
and round, a clean white to pour with gambas
al ajillo. § Europvin USA, Van Nuys, CA
224297
2016 Rioja Blanco (Best Buy) ^ This wine's
clean, lemony fruit has some deeper tones,
like gold raspberries. The oak feels integrated, smoothing and guiding the wine's
creamy texture along a firm line. § Kysela Père
et Fils, Winchester, VA

RED

225085

94 | Contino

$95

93 | Marqués de
la Concordia

$18

2010 Rioja Gran Reserva ^ Contino is
CVNE's estate in Rioja Alavesa, 153 acres on
terraces along a meander in the Ebro River,
in Laserna, near Laguardia. Jesús Madrazo,
in charge of this property from 1999 until
earlier this year, grew one of the great wines
of the 2010 vintage, generous in its Alavesa
richness, precise in its complexity. It tastes
healthy, with a classical Rioja presence that
fills its bright, fennel-scented black cherry
flavors with stature and grace. Those flavors
have direction and drive, while the tannins
yield a hint of the acorn flavor of Iberico ham,
with which it would go so well. § Europvin USA,
Van Nuys, CA
224368
2011 Rioja Reserva Viña Alarde (Best Buy) ^
Spot-on Rioja from two estate vineyards in
Rioja Alta, this is a hunger-inducing red with
mouthwatering freshness, a silken feel to the
tannins and delicate scents of earthy cherries
that last for minutes. Herbal, gamey scents
come up as the wine takes on air, a little
balsamic, with notes of fresh mushrooms,
tomato leaf and rosemary. Light in weight
and persistent in its flavors, this is affordable,
delicious juice. § The Haciendas Co., NY
225638

WINE & SPIRITS

DECEMBER 2017

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - December 2017