Wine Review - 2010 Vina Bujanda Rioja Crianza: Power Packed Value Rioja

Courtesy mynslc.com

This was recommended to us by a great staffer at our local NSLC in Dartmouth.  We were told it was a richly delicious Rioja and at $17 was one of the best value wines on the shelf.  Well, he was right on all counts.

This is an exceptional version of Rioja based on Tempranillo as the foundation.  It is dark and brooding in the glass with a garnet tones and is really thick (potentially from all the time spent in oak - with Crianza it is at least 12 months).  Where other versions of Tempranillo are lighter and thinner, this one is really neither of those two things.

The nose is bold and spicy and wonderful.  It is totally a full sensation of coffee, chocolate covered cherries, and wood that shows the benefits of Rioja and oak.  There is also a balance of savory and sweet on the nose which is lovely and rounds out the tasting experience.

The best way to describe the flavours on the wine are soft tannins with a supple mouthfeel that let's the blackberry and pepper notes shine through.  The wine does have a tart finish but it really there is a touch of residual sugar at the start which is really nice.  The balance and complexity of the flavours make this wine taste like it is $30 which is what we love.  Any time we can get a high QPR we like it and this one definitely has a high QPR.

	Tasting Notes:	Score:
Sight (0-5)	Dark garnet wine with a bit more body in the glass	4.25
Smell (0-5)	Solid nose of coffee, chocolate covered cherries, and oak. A balance of savory and sweet. Very nice	4.5
Taste (0-10)	Supple mouthfeel that has soft tannins and a tart finish. Blackberries and pepper dominate	9.0
	Total:	17.75 / 20 (88.75%)

This is $17 and a drinker.  It doesn't need food but some tapas would be great with this.  You basically need to come up with an entirely new wine market for us not to fall back on Spanish wines.  This one is great and you should buy it, buy a lot of it.

Keep on tasting!

Chris & Shannon