Wine Review - 2009 Montebuena Rioja: That's A Spicy Rioja....And A Keeper

When we bought this wine at $17 locally we had no idea it had a bit of a wine reviewer pedigree. According to the internet, this wine was rated 90 points by James Suckling and the Wine Advocate. So, we tried it without knowing what to expect. This wine is made of 100% Tempranillo and smells like a cigar box packed with chili powder and dried cranberries.

It is a dark, almost black, wine and is very thick in the glass. Swirling the wine makes it look like there is a sheet of wine around the edge for a good two or three seconds before it slides back into the glass. Very cool.  Once we got to the bottom of the decanter the amount of crystals and debris was surprising.

The wine really took a long time to open up as expected for the age of the wine. A Rioja can age though they say drinking best in 2013 and 2014. It tastes like it could age for a long while. The structure in the wine is very evident with the tannins being very bold and the overall flavour profile being wood and very dark stonefruit (see black cherry or plums). The tannins dry out the sides of your mouth and wine almost disappears but then the comes back with a vengeance.  

	Tasting Notes:	Score:
Sight (0-5)	Dark wine with a thick swirl in the glass.  Lots of debris.  Cool looking wine.	4.75
Smell (0-5)	Tobacco and spice with lots of dried cranberries.  Smells bold and woody.	4.0
Taste (0-10)	Super complex wine with strong tannins and stonefruit.  Starts and stops on the palate but it is extended and dry, dry, dry. Whoa.	8.75
	Total:	17.5 / 20  (87.5%)

This wine tastes really good now but we bet it will taste even better in 2015. Maybe we buy one and hang onto it. At $17 it is totally a good investment. So, that is our recommendation buy and hold.

Keep on drinking!

Chris & Shannon