Wine Review - 2008 Bodegas Antaño Rioja Crianza: Totally Great Rioja For A Great Price
This wine was picked up on a work related trip to our neighbouring province of New Brunswick. We have not seen this wine listed locally but at a regular price of $14 it was too good to pass up.
We have a soft spot for Spanish wine, and even more of a soft spot for reasonably price Spanish wine. This one was checking off a lot of boxes before we even opened it.
The nose was very typically Rioja with lots of big ripe fruit and vanilla with earthy tones from time spent in oak. The stand out that really hit us was raw dark cocoa with maybe a cedar note. This was a real pleasure to smell.
This is a super dark wine...midnight dark. It is supposedly a blend of Tempranillo, Garnacha, Graciano, and Mazuelo of some arrangement but whatever it is, it makes for a dark wine. There look to be some floaters in the glass but we are not sure if that is just bottle debris or crystals or if the wine is just unfiltered either way you can't see through it. You can't even shine a light through it, we tried.
The flavours are surprisingly familiar as Rioja and are great. The wine is not perfectly balanced or round but it does a pretty darn good job and has an abnormally high level of complexity for a wine at this price point. Black cherries and soft tannins are the stars of the show, but we also get an anise taste pretty much exactly like the All-Sorts Licorice candies. The ones with the sprinkles to be precise. It is amazingly delicious and again $14. We are pretty jazzed about that price. Quality-Price-Ratio is in full effect here. Love it.....Viva España!
We have a soft spot for Spanish wine, and even more of a soft spot for reasonably price Spanish wine. This one was checking off a lot of boxes before we even opened it.
The nose was very typically Rioja with lots of big ripe fruit and vanilla with earthy tones from time spent in oak. The stand out that really hit us was raw dark cocoa with maybe a cedar note. This was a real pleasure to smell.
This is a super dark wine...midnight dark. It is supposedly a blend of Tempranillo, Garnacha, Graciano, and Mazuelo of some arrangement but whatever it is, it makes for a dark wine. There look to be some floaters in the glass but we are not sure if that is just bottle debris or crystals or if the wine is just unfiltered either way you can't see through it. You can't even shine a light through it, we tried.
The flavours are surprisingly familiar as Rioja and are great. The wine is not perfectly balanced or round but it does a pretty darn good job and has an abnormally high level of complexity for a wine at this price point. Black cherries and soft tannins are the stars of the show, but we also get an anise taste pretty much exactly like the All-Sorts Licorice candies. The ones with the sprinkles to be precise. It is amazingly delicious and again $14. We are pretty jazzed about that price. Quality-Price-Ratio is in full effect here. Love it.....Viva España!
| Tasting Notes: | Score: | |
| Sight (0-5) | Midnight black wine with a lack of transparency. | 4.25 |
| Smell (0-5) | Big ripe fruit with dark cocoa and oaky vanilla notes. | 4.25 |
| Taste (0-10) | Black cherries with soft tannins and licorice notes. | 8.75 |
| Total: | 17.25 / 20 (86.25%) |
This one is a stand out for us at $14. We really enjoyed the wine and though it is not the absolute best Rioja we have ever had our score definitely reflect a much higher than average wine at an extremely reasonable price. This is a buy recommendation for sure, now to just get it listed locally. This wine is for those folks who have a discerning palate and for those just looking to try a good wine for not a lot of money.
Keep on tasting!
Chris & Shannon
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