The yin and yang of Chateauneuf… these were some fun wines to drink through and they demonstrate the variety of the region.  The ‘06 Les Safres drank the best out of the gate with plenty of sweet, perfumed Grenache fruit, soft texture and nice length.  It held up well over 3 days but is an upfront, lush, drink me now (not that I don’t think it will last) wine that was in stark contrast to the  ‘06 Cuvée du Quet.  The first night a friend commented that the Quet was like an Amarone with its heady alcohol and ripeness… and I couldn’t disagree much…  Over the course of the next 2 days however, this smoothed out and really strutted.  Pure, precise and structured, I originally questioned if this had the back end stuffing to live up to its firm personality but I liked this more and more with time and after drinking through the full bottle, I’m pretty confident that it will age well.

2006 Le Clos du Caillou Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Safres (France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape)
Mainly grenache from the sandy soils of the Les Bédines vineyard, the 2006 Le Clos du Caillou Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Safres sports a deep red, semi opaque color along with sweet aromatics of wild herbs, kirsch and assorted red fruits, licorice and Asian spices. I like the sweetness and there’s nice complexity as well. The palate is medium to full bodied with a silky, full texture, impressive balance and a medium length finish.  This soft, downright gulpable wine should drink well over the next 10 to 12 years. (91 pts.)

2006 Mas de Boislauzon Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée du Quet (France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape)
Deep, dark and structured, the 2006 Mas de Boislauzon Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée du Quet is roughly 65% Grenache and 35% Mourvedre from the estate’s oldest (80+ years) vines. On the nose this shows ripe and slightly heady notes of black cherries, scorched earth, roasted herbs, meat and licorice aromas. This leans more towards the darker fruits and is medium to full bodied on the palate with a firm, structured personality.  Beautiful balance, notable purity of fruit and  solid tannin and acid carry into the long long finish. I’d give this a couple years in the cellar and then drink over the following 12 to 15. (92 pts.)

Here’s a handful of new releases that won’t break the bank.  Most come in at under 15 bucks and all are solid, enjoyable wines.

2007 Vignerons de Tavel Lirac Terre des Lauzeraies Côtes du Rhône (France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône)
Showing a stony, mineral driver personality, the 2007 Vignerons de Tavel Lirac Terre des Lauzeraies Côtes du Rhône possesses rich, licorice infused black cherry fruit mixed with crushed stone and mineral notes.  The fruit really shines with air and this shows nice purity and depth.  Medium to full body on the palate, this mouth filling wine has nice acidity, concentrated fruit and a long, enjoyable finish. (89 pts.)

2007 Andrieux Andre & Fils Côtes du Rhône Cuvée Marie (France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône)
A perfect summer white wine, the 2007 Andrieux Andre & Fils Côtes du Rhône Cuvée Marie offers pretty, floral and citrus aromatics paired with a medium bodied, gulpable palate. (85 pts.)

2007 Andre Andrieux & Fils Côtes du Rhône Villages Cuvée Jules (France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône)
The easy going 2007 Andre Andrieux & Fils Côtes du Rhône Villages Cuvée Jules possesses nice notes of black cherry and strawberry fruit, minerals and subtle earthy notes. Medium bodied and well made, this straight forward wine should drink well over the next 3 to 4 years. (87 pts.)

2007 Domaine de Couron Côtes du Rhône Villages (France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône Villages)
From limestone soils the 2007 Domaine de Couron Côtes du Rhône Villages is a Syrah, Mourvedre and Grenache blend that offers up pretty, bright aromatics of peppery red fruits, spice, wild herbs, smoke and minerals. Medium to full bodied on the palate with fresh acidity, a rich, full texture and a long finish. Drink this superb Côtes du Rhône over the next 7 to 10 years. (88 pts.)

2007 Domaine de Couron Vin de Pays des Côteaux de l’Ardèche Marselan (France, Rhône, Ardèche, Vin de Pays des Côteaux de l’Ardèche)
Prodcued from a grape variety (Marselan) made by crossing Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache, the 2007 Domaine de Couron Vin de Pays des Côteaux de l’Ardèche Marselan offers up ripe, dark notes of black fruits, tobacco, herbs and earthy notes, medium to full body, a soft, easy texture and a short to medium length finish.  (86 pts.)

I won’t lie, I’m a sucker for Janasse’s Chaupin bottling and every time I open one, I have to pace myself to ensure I’ll have some left to sample over the next day… I have to assume that there are worse vices to have…

This bottle of ‘98 started out more evolved than previous ones and seemed to lack some substance in the mid palate.  Even so, it was good enough to warrant my wife sneaking it into a showing of Star Trek (thrilled to watch this sweet show she was not…)  and drinking out of plastic cups… not bad with pop corn…  However, it wasn’t until the next day that the wine completely fleshed out, showing fantastic aromatics paired with a silky, integrated palate.  I love the wine and it’s smack dab in the middle of its drinking window.

The ‘06 was a different story and was singing from the get go.  Perfumed, rich and balanced, this is grenache in all its glory and it went perfectly with a grilled leg of lamb.    While seemingly modern at the first whiff, this showed nothing but pure, clean fruit after about 10 minutes in the glass and continued to impress over the evening and following day.

1998 Domaine de la Janasse Châteauneuf du Pape Cuvée Chaupin (France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape)
Showing a slightly more evolved profile than previous bottles, the 1998 Domaine de la Janasse Châteauneuf du Pape Cuvée Chaupin possesses perfumed aromatics of roasted herbs, meat, licorice, earth and dark, mature fruit. The palate is medium to full bodied, rich, textured and very long. Balanced & pure, this improved in the glass and is a gorgeous Chateauneuf that’s drinking at point.  If you’re sitting on a large stash of these, now would be a good time to start cracking bottles.  (94 pts.)

2006 Domaine de la Janasse Châteauneuf du Pape Cuvée Chaupin (France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape)
A 100% old vine Grenache wine from the cool climate Chapoin vineyard located in the northern part of the region, the 2006 Domaine de la Janasse Châteauneuf du Pape Cuvée Chaupin offers up gorgeous aromatics of cassis and raspberry fruit mixed with minerals, flowers, licorice and subtle roasted meat notes.  Ripe and dark, this has stunning purity paired with fantastic delineation and depth.  It’s medium to full bodied on the palate with pure, clean fruit that carries into a long finish.  This is a balanced, textured beauty that needs an hour of air time to really shine and will drink well for the next 15 to 20 years. (94 pts.)

I sucked this bottle down over 3 days and came away impressed…  While it was structured and pretty dense upon opening, it fleshed out with air, softening up in the mouth while keeping its beautiful, grenache based aromatics.  It’s quite the contrast to their ‘06 Vieille Vignes (tasted here) and while it doesn’t display the sheer intensity nor structure of the pricier wine, it’s a solid buy at the current prices (~50 bucks) and I’d be happy to have a case in the cellar.

2006 Domaine de Marcoux Châteauneuf-du-Pape (France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape)
The stunning 2006 Domaine de Marcoux Châteauneuf-du-Pape is down right decadent for the vintage and offers up rich, earthy aromas of kirsch, raspberries, licorice, minerals and garrigue to go along with a structured, medium to full bodied palate. Concentrated and tannic on the finish, this has plenty of texture, pure, rich fruit and impressive balance. Give it a year or two in the cellar and then drink over the following 15. (92 pts.)

Owning 20+ acres of some of the finest vineyards in Côte-Rôtie, René Rostaing is, by all accounts, among the top tier producers in the northern Rhone.   Considered by his US importer (The Rare Wine Company) as an enlightened traditionalist, René employs roto-fermenters along with a minimal 20% to 30% new wood on his Côte-Rôties.  Destemming depends on the wine with the Cuvée Classique being 100% destemmed while his top cuvee, the Côte-Rôtie La Landonne, seeing only 50% destemming.

In the late 1990s, René and his wife purchased the small estate, Domaine Puech Chaud, near Nîmes. This domaine possesses a cool micro climate along with limestone soils and he produces both a red and white blend from this estate.

The new Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes Les Lézardes releases come from several parcels of old vines just outside of Côte-Rôtie.

While tasting through these wines, René’s stated aversion for large scaled, oak driven wines is very apparent and all of his wines rely on balance, nuance and overall harmony as opposed to pure power. They all have a strong, acidic core that, upon first opening, can be slightly unfriendly but these wines flesh out beautifully with air. While certainly enjoyable now, the balance, fruit quality and solid  structure suggests that the top wines have a long life ahead of them.

2005 Rene Rostaing Coteaux du Languedoc Puech Chaud Blanc (France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Coteaux du Languedoc)
Showing pretty floral, tropical and peach aromatics,the 2005 Rene Rostaing Coteaux du Languedoc Puech Chaud is medium bodied with clean, ripe fruit, a smooth texture and a crisp finish. (88 pts.)

2007 Rene Rostaing Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes Blanc Les Lezardes(France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes)
Big, rich and intense, the 2007 Rene Rostaing Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes Blanc Les Lezardes is packed with ripe melon and guava fruit notes mixed with crushed stone and spice nuances. The palate is medium to full bodied with a rich, fat texture and a medium length finish.(89 pts.)

2007 Rene Rostaing Coteaux du Languedoc Puech Noble (France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Coteaux du Languedoc)
A blend of 90% syrah and 10% Mourvedre, the 2007 Rene Rostaing Coteaux du Languedoc Puech Noble possesses great aromatics of black cherry and raw meat mixed with copious slate and mineral notes. The palate is medium bodied with a classy, elegant texture, impressive balance and a long, clean finish. Pure, clean and delicious, I’d drink this over the next 8 to 10 years. (90 pts.)

2006 Rene Rostaing Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes Les Lézardes (France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes)
100% Syrah from a very steep slope that is just outside Côte-Rôtie, the 2006 Rene Rostaing Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes Les Lézardes has smokey raspberry and cherry notes intermixed with vanilla, leather and subtle barnyard. The palate has good fruit but falls off on the mid-palate. It makes up for it with a long, impressive finish that shows fine grained tannins. (88 pts.)

2006 Rene Rostaing Côte-Rôtie (France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie)
The 2006 Rene Rostaing Côte-Rôtie possesses spicy and perfumed aromatics of raspberries, spiced meat, minerals and subtle barnyard. In the mouth, this has a medium bodied, elegant character to go along with ripe, sweet fruit, a silky texture and a long finish. Beautifully balanced and supple, this should drink well over the next 10 years. (90 pts.)

2006 Rene Rostaing Côte-Rôtie Côte Blonde (France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie)
The 2006 Rene Rostaing Côte-Rôtie Côte Blonde is more feminine and supple than the ‘06 La Landonne and offers up pretty, complex aromas of sweet raspberries and red fruits mixed with wild herbs, game, minerals and smoke that lead into a rich, medium bodied palate. Soft and fruity with a vibrant core of sweet fruit and acidity, this firms up on the long finish, showing beautiful cut, precision and purity. This silky, beautifully balanced and harmonious Syrah was still going strong three days after opening and if anything, continued to flesh out and gain richness with air. (93 pts.)

2005 Rene Rostaing Côte-Rôtie La Landonne (France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie)
Big and intense, the 2005 Rene Rostaing Côte-Rôtie La Landonne is bigger and more concentrated then either the ‘06 Côte Blonde or ‘06 La Landonne and offers up gorgeous notes of smoked meat, violets, pepper and copious amounts of mineral and iron to go along with its medium to full bodied palate. Concentrated and rich, this has vibrant acidity, beautiful purity and a long, finish where the quality of the wine really shows. I’d let these rest for 5 or 6 years and then drink them over the following 20 years.
(94+ pts.)

2006 Rene Rostaing Côte-Rôtie La Landonne (France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie)
Deep, dark  red in color, the 2006 Rene Rostaing Côte-Rôtie La Landonne shows a perfumed, masculine and gamey nose of pepper meat, smoke and black raspberries intermixed with copious amounts of earth, iron and mineral aromas.  The palate is medium to full bodied with dark, meaty fruit, beautiful precision  and lively acidity that carries into the long finish.  Balanced, clean and long, this doesn’t show the level of harmony or integration of the Côte Blonde but has more structure and depth.  I’d hold for a couple years and then drink over the next 15+.  (93+ pts.)

New Tasting Note Search Feature:

To help with the number of database misses on tasting notes, I’ve implemented a drop down menu on the tasting notes search forms (both on the tasting notes page and the search at the top of each page.)  Simply type a portion of the domaine name and then select from the drop down list.  Currently, the dynamic menu only looks over the wine name and not the vintage so if searching for a specific vintage, I recommend searching on the domaine name and then selecting the desired vintage from the results page.  Searching by vintage still works as it has in the past.

I’ll be working to allow the menu to work with vintages in the near future.  In the mean time, let me know how the new menu is working or if there are any issues.  If you have suggestions on ways to improve the site, or if you’d like a review on a specific wine, please let me know via jeb@TheRhoneReport.com and I’ll do my best to accommodate.

Thanks for reading!

- Jeb

1986 Domaine les Goubert Gigondas Cuvée Florence (France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Gigondas)
A noticable step up from the previous bottle, the 1986 Domaine les Goubert Gigondas Cuvée Florence offers up ripe and perfumed aromatics of macerated cherries, cedar, cigar and spice box. The palate is medium bodied with sweet fruit that still has plenty of substance and richness, a smooth texture and a long finish. (92 pts.)

Kudos to Flickinger Wines for replacing the previous corked bottle, no questions asked.  They’re a top notch operation.

2006 Domaine de Marcoux Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes (France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape)
A heady, blockbuster of a wine from 50 to 100 year old vines, the 2006 Domaine de Marcoux Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes possesses perfumed and intense aromatics of kirsch, cassis, liquefied stems, flowers and licorice.  This leads into a  full bodied palate that displays seriously ripe, lush and glycerol infused fruit, beautiful balance, a savory texture and solid structure that comes out on the long finish.  A stunning example of old vine grenache that should drink beautifully over the next 20 years!  (95 pts.)

Jorge Ordoñez

I had the lucky privilege of attending a recent tasting of the wines of renowned Spanish Importer, Jorge Ordoñez.  While I had originally planed to run in and just taste anything that had Grenache or Mourvedre (it is The Rhone Report for crying out loud…), the quality of the wines was simply too good to pass up… Rhone be damned, these wines are fantastic and I decided to do a full write up.

The wines were tasted non-blind, pours were excellent and I was able to taste through most wines more than once.

Bodegas Ateca

A joint venture between Jorge Ordoñez and the Gil family of Jumilla, this bodegas consistently produces outstanding wines that deliver upfront, rich fruit paired with nice underlying structure. The 2007 Atteca Old Vines shows copious amounts of sweet, spicy black cherry, smoke and earth aromas paired with a medium to full bodied palate. While this is a big fruited wine, there’s nice acidity, impressive balance and a clean, nice finish. The 2006 Atteca Armas Old Vines was a noticeable step up with fantastic aromas and a drop dead gorgeous palate. Strawberries, raspberries and vanilla aromas jump from the glass and lead into a medium to full bodied wine that displays forward, lush fruit, plenty of depth and a textured, long finish. Impressive.

2007 Bodegas Ateca / Zabrin Calatayud Atteca Old Vines (Spain, Aragón, Calatayud) - (90 pts.)
2006 Bodegas Ateca / Zabrin Garnacha Calatayud Atteca Armas Old Vines (Spain, Aragón, Calatayud) - (93 pts.)

Bodegas Nekeas

Why doesn’t this domaine get more notoriety? From their Rose to Cabernet to Chard, they consistently produce beautiful, balanced and rich wines that sell for a song… and yet you hear very little about them. For this report, I only tasted their 2007 Grenache El Chaparral Old Vine and it surpassed their very good 2006 release with clean black cherry, raspberries, flowers and serious mineral aromas intermixed with subtle asphalt and tar notes. Medium to full bodied, this is very clean, balanced and rich and shows fine grained tannins on the finish.

2007 Bodegas Nekeas Vega Sindoa Grenache El Chaparral Old Vine (Spain, Navarra) - (90 pts.)

Alto Moncayo

Consisting of 62 hectares of southwesterly facing old vine Garnacha, this estate’s current releases deliver. The 2006 Alto Moncayo is big, intense and rich with oak, vanilla and spice notes supporting stunning, high quality blackberry and raspberry fruit. In the mouth, it’s full bodied, lush, soft and open with a fantastic, rich, seamless texture that carries into a long finish. Impressive! The 2006 Aquilon displays a more restrained, structured and firm personality with clean, crisp aromas of black cherry, smokey oak, vanilla, candle wax and resin. The palate is full bodied, beautifully balanced, pure, precise and long. Simply a stunning wine!

2006 Bodegas Alto Moncayo Campo de Borja (Spain, Aragón, Campo de Borja) - (93 pts.)
2006 Bodegas Alto Moncayo Campo de Borja Aquilon (Spain, Aragón, Campo de Borja) - (96 pts.)

Sierra Cantabria

This estate was founded by Guillermo Eguren (in the family since 1870) and has some of the best terrain in Rioja. The 2005 Crianza offers bright aromas of dark berries, underbrush and dusty spice along with a medium body, sweet fruit and a light texture. The 2003 Reserva wasn’t showing much and might have been subtly corked. Muted aromatics gave way to a medium bodied, unexciting palate. Much better, the 2001 Gran Reserva showed sweet cherry, spiced meat, underbrush and floral notes. Just perfumed and nuanced on the nose, the palate is medium to full bodied, balanced and clean with solid structure and sweet fruit. The big, intense 2006 Colección Privada showed a richer, more fruit driven character with gorgeous strawberry, spice, earth and floral notes sitting on top of classy, well done oak. Medium to full bodied with fantastic richness and texture, this walks the line between fruit driven and old world structure and precision. The single vineyard 2005 Amancio started out closed and tightly wound but after considerable coaxing and swirling, started to open up. Possessing straight up, pure notes of black berry fruit mixed with meat, smoke and spice aromas, this has beautiful, high class oak and vanilla nuances adding richness and depth. The palate fleshes out with air and is medium to full bodied with fantastic fruit, great precision and plenty of fine grained tannins on the long finish. A very classy wine that should be cellared for 5 years and then should drink well for 20. The flagship 2006 El Bosque (from the El Bosque vineyard) was the most impressive wine in the Sierra Cantabria lineup and showed pure, deep aromatics of wild raspberries and blackberry, oak, spice, earth and underbrush. On the palate, this has a rich, full texture that expands in the mouth with tight fruit, solid structure and a long finish. Like the Amancio, this is an age worthy wine that has a long life ahead of it.

2005 Bodegas Sierra Cantabria Rioja Crianza (Spain, La Rioja, Rioja) - (90 pts.)
2003 Bodegas Sierra Cantabria Rioja Reserva (Spain, La Rioja, Rioja) - (NR)
2001 Bodegas Sierra Cantabria Rioja Gran Reserva (Spain, La Rioja, Rioja) - (92 pts.)
2006 Bodegas Sierra Cantabria Rioja Colección Privada (Spain, La Rioja, Rioja) - (93 pts.)
2005 Bodegas Sierra Cantabria Rioja Amancio(Spain, La Rioja, Rioja) - (93+ pts.)
2006 Bodegas Sierra Cantabria Rioja El Bosque (Spain, La Rioja, Rioja) - (95 pts.)

San Vicente

This estate is run by the Eguren family (of Sierra Cantabria, Paganos and Protocolo among others) and the wine maker is Marcos Eguren. The Eguren family has started creating individual domaines tied to single vineyards as opposed to trucking the grapes to a central winery. The 2005 Señorío de San Vicente Tempranillo Rioja San Vicente comes from the San Vicente vineyard (planted with high density, 100% Tempranille Peludo Clone) and sees 20 months in a combination of French and American barrels. A full, rich wine, there’s plenty of smokey earth, raw meat and dark fruit paired with striking minerality. This leads into a full bodied, fantastically rich palate that is balanced, structured and long. While this has upfront fruit that makes it delicious now, it should age well given its structure, balance and depth of fruit.

2005 Señorío de San Vicente Tempranillo Rioja San Vicente (Spain, La Rioja, Rioja) - (92+ pts.)

Vinedos de Paganos

Along the same lines as the San Vicente, this modern styled estate lies in Rioja Alaversa and the wines come from the El Puntido (61.74 acres) vineyard. Planted in 1975, this vineyard has franc-clay and calcareous clay composition and is planted with high density Tempranillo. The 2006 La Nieta is a stunning wine that possesses bright and perfumed aromatics of raspberries, flowers, spice and leather paired with smoke and subtle vanilla notes. The palate is awesome with rich, lush and textured fruit sitting on top of solid underlying structure. This improves in the glass and is a beauty of a wine!

2006 Viñedos de Páganos Rioja La Nieta (Spain, La Rioja, Rioja) - (93 pts.)

Finca Allende

This estate’s entry level offering is the Finca Allende Rioja and the 2004 is an upfront, fruit driven wine with bright, candied strawberry and assorted dark fruit notes mixed with underbrush and spice. Medium bodied and while ripe, shows nice acidity and purity on the long, moderately tannic finish. The 2005 Finca Allende Rioja Calvario is noticeable step up and has big, rich notes of spicy fruit (raspberries/strawberries) mixed with resin, graphite and vanilla. Very clean and balanced on the palate, this has a smooth, beautiful texture and a long finish. Both of these wines pale next to the huge 2005 Finca Allende Rioja Aurus. Killer aromatics of blackberry, cassis, sweet oak, vanilla and smoke come leaping out of the glass and the palate is perfect. Full bodied, balanced and with an unbelievable texture, this beauty expands in the mouth and saturates the palate with fruit and tannin. Incredibly long and rich, I’ve no idea how long this will age (I’d guess a long time) but I’d drink em over the next 20+ years.

2004 Finca Allende Rioja (Spain, La Rioja, Rioja) - (91 pts.)
2005 Finca Allende Rioja Calvario (Spain, La Rioja, Rioja) - (94 pts.)
2005 Finca Allende Rioja Aurus (Spain, La Rioja, Rioja) - (98 pts.)

Remirez de Ganuza

After tasting the wines, I was prepared to write how traditional this producer was and fully expected the estate to have been founded in some ancient date… imagine my surprise reading that, actually, the estate was founded in 1989… Located in Samaniego in the Rioja Alavesa region, the vineyard is 90% Tempranillo, 8% Graciano and 2% Garnacha with an average vine age of 60 years and the oldest clocking in at close to 90. The vineyard owner is Fernando Remirez de Ganuze and his philosophy of “Exceptional quality can only be achieved through a strict selection of grapes” has all grapes being hand picked and then passing through three checkpoints. The third check point has the bunches being cut into two parts, the shoulders and the feet. The shoulders are considered the top quality and the feet are not used in the Reserva or better wines. The 2003 Fernando Remírez de Ganuza Rioja Fincas de Ganuza is billed as a second wine but it sure impressed me. Spicy, rich, sweet and long, this had plenty of depth in a more upfront style. In contrast, the gorgeous 2004 Fernando Remírez de Ganuza Rioja was backwards, dense and amazingly structured and concentrated. Exhibiting fantastic dark fruit, resin, smoke and earth aromas, this is perfectly balanced, tannic and long.

2003 Fernando Remírez de Ganuza Rioja Fincas de Ganuza (Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alavesa, Rioja) - (91 pts.)
2004 Fernando Remírez de Ganuza Rioja (Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alavesa, Rioja) - (96 pts.)

Bodegas Muga

Located on the foot of the Montes Obarenses (Rioja Alta), this estate has a variety of micro climates from which to fashion a number of different styles of wine. And they do an outstanding job as all of their wines, from their base rose to top top Reserves, are excellent! The base 2005 Bodegas Muga Rioja Reserva was dark and rich but also a little wild and funky. The 2004 Bodegas Muga Rioja Reserva Selección Especial was full bodied and very rich with a fantastic texture. From magnum, the traditional 2001 Bodegas Muga Rioja Reserva Prado Enea was rocking. I tasted this multiple times over the afternoon and it continued to open up with fantastic, complex aromatics. Saddle leather, blackberry, black cherry, sweet spice and dusty earth come jumping from the glass and the palate is structured, pure and precise. Long and rich, this has a long life ahead of it! Shifting gears, the 2005 Bodegas Muga Rioja Torre Muga is a ripe, full throttle wine with blackberry, cassis, toasted spice and smokey oak aromas, full body, stunning richness and a structured, long finish. Showing lots of oak at the moment, this needs some cellar time. The 2005 Bodegas Muga Rioja Aro was even fuller and richer than the Muga Torre and had blockbuster aromatics (dark fruit, spice, earth, saddle leather, meat and who knows what else), full body, stunning balance and precision and a tannic, structured, very long finish.

2005 Bodegas Muga Rioja Reserva (Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja) - (91 pts.)
2004 Bodegas Muga Rioja Reserva Selección Especial (Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja) - (94 pts.)
2001 Bodegas Muga Rioja Reserva Prado Enea (Spain, La Rioja, Rioja) -  (96 pts.)
2005 Bodegas Muga Rioja Torre Muga (Reserva) (Spain, La Rioja, Rioja) - (95+ pts)
2005 Bodegas Muga Rioja Aro (Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja) - (97 pts.)

Emilio Moro

Making wine since he was 14 years old, Emilio Moro grew up in the heart of the Pesquera region and his family has been making wine for three generations. At this tasting, the 2005 Bodegas Emilio Moro Ribera del Duero showed a slightly funky profile with lots of obvious oak, toasted nut and rich dark fruit. The palate was impressive though with rich fruit, solid structure and tannic long finish. The 2006 Bodegas Emilio Moro Ribera del Duero Cepa 21 is from a new project of the Moro family and possesses fantastic, high quality fruit. On the nose this has blackberry and cassis fruit paired with subtle graphite and oak notes and on the palate, there’s stunning texture, beautiful balance and gobs of ripe tannin.

2005 Bodegas Emilio Moro Ribera del Duero (Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero) -(90 pts.)
2006 Bodegas Emilio Moro Ribera del Duero Cepa 21 (Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero) - (93 pts.)

Atalaya

Located in the southwest of Spain, between Jumilla and La Mancha, this bodegas is at an altitude of 2400 feet and sees dry, warm days paired with very cool nights. The indigenous variety of the region is Garnacha Tintorera and the estate consist of 26 Ha with vine ages ranging from 15 to 85 years. The 2007 Bodegas Atalaya Almansa is mostly Garnacha with a small percentage of Monastrell. Fermented in stainless steel, this sees 8 months in french oak and possesses young, jammy notes of raspberries, sweet spice, earth, vanilla and minerals. In the mouth, this is medium bodied, smooth and easy drinking but picks up some solid back end structure on the finish. Delicious now, this should drink well over the next couple of years.

2007 Bodegas Atalaya Almansa (Spain, Castilla-La Mancha, Almansa) - (89 pts.)

Can Blau

Can Blau is a relatively new operation that’s located in the village of El Masroig. They’ve purchased 60 acres of vineyards that have an average vine age of 35 years. The 2007 Cellers Can Blau Montsant had down right funky and stinky notes that gave way to raw meat, smokey earth, minerals and both black and blue fruits. Medium to full bodied in the mouth, this has a rich, mouth filling texture and a nice finish. The 2006 Cellers Can Blau Montsant Mas de Can Blau showed slightly volatile notes with blueberry and blackberry fruit mixed with spicy notes. Much better on the palate, there’s sweet, rich fruit, a lush texture and a long finish.

2007 Cellers Can Blau Montsant (Spain, Catalunya, Tarragona, Montsant) - (90 pts.)
2006 Cellers Can Blau Montsant Mas de Can Blau (Spain, Catalunya, Tarragona, Montsant) - (90 pts.)

El Nido

El Nido is a joint venture between the Gil family (Finca Luzon, Juan Gil) and the Australia winemaker, Chris Ringland. The 2006 Bodegas El Nido Jumilla Clio is a blend of 30% Cabernet Sauvignon from 29 year old vines and 70% Monastrell from 64 year old vines and sees 26 months in new French and American oak barrels. Offering up a decidedly ripe, decadent bouquet of blackberry, cassis, coffee, oak and smoke, this is a slutty, full bore wine with full body, huge texture, sweet fruit and a long finish. The only nit would be that it’s slightly soft on the palate and lacks a little edge. I’m not complaining though and loved it. In complete contrast to the forward, lush and sexy Clio, the 2006 Bodegas El Nido Jumilla El Nido is tight and slightly backwards with deep dark fruit, tar, smoke, spice and high class and very well done, sweet oak aromas. Showing fantastic richness and depth, this is full bodied, impeccably balanced, structured and long. An absolutely gorgeous bottle of wine!

2006 Bodegas El Nido Jumilla Clio (Spain, Murcia, Jumilla) - (95 pts.)
2006 Bodegas El Nido Jumilla El Nido (Spain, Murcia, Jumilla) - (98 pts.)

L’Atelier
Boulder, CO
http://www.latelierboulder.com/

We celebrated a friend’s 35th birthday at L’Atelier in Boulder, CO recently and had a fantastic evening with great friends.  This restaurant lures you in with half priced wine on Tuesdays but then secures all the prime bottles with a nifty little star by them on the wine list, exempting them from the sweet deal…  Never the less, we looked long and hard (not really… it’s a nice list)  and came up with a rich, sweet 2003 Pierre Morey Auxey-Duresses.  Tropical, ripe and with a hefty dose of oak, this fleshed out in the glass and is really a pretty good drink that should please both new world chard lovers as well as straight up, white burg folk.   The bottle was sucked down over appies and a starter while we decided on a second bottle.  The  2004 Château Pavie Macquin spent about 3 seconds in a decanter before being poured around the table and was fantastic.  Cassis, blackberry, earth and graphite literally jump from the glass and the purity and class to the fruit is certainly noteworthy.  In the mouth, it was medium to full bodied, textured, balanced and long.  I’m a fan and while this improved in the glass, it’s a gorgeous drink right now and if you have any, don’t be afraid to crack a bottle and give it a try.  We wrapped up the evening sampling though a slew of 10 and 20 year tawnys and devouring a (couple… eer, 3) very well done molten chocolate cake(s).  Life was good and one good thing about getting older is that you get to celebrate it with your friends!

Food:

Foie Terrine
lobster ravioli with beurre blanc
duck and duck
warm verona cake

Wines: