Wednesday, March 26, 2008

[Wine Log] Bodegas Montebuena Rioja


Wine: Bodegas Montebuena Rioja
Price: $12
Vintage: 2004

Region: Spain

My artistic eye serves me well on this wine! I still haven't really mastered the skill of picking out more than one or so flavor from smelling or tasting wines, but I nailed the color of this one on the head, looking at it and saying "wow, this is a really rich, almost crystalline ruby color!" JD looks at the bottle's description, and sure enough, the exact words the used were "rich ruby color." Damn I'm good.

As for the nose, I was getting something peppery and something flowery, maybe roses? When tasted the flavors detected were spicy and sweet, though very sharp. Looking at a couple of professional reviews, the "pepper" I smelled is more widely described as "herbs" and the "roses" were "red fruits." I suppose that's fairly close. Oh, actually, I just found this review:

"Dark red. Spicy red berries and cherry on the nose, with hints of cracked pepper and dried rose. Crisp and dry on the palate, with spicy redcurrant and cherry flavors, light tannins and a fresh, energetic finish. An excellent value, and surprisingly elegant for this price point."
- International Wine Cellar (July/Aug 2007), 88 pts
So maybe we were more dead on in our descriptions than I expected! How pleasing!

The other common thread in all of the reviews I'm reading is that this Rioja is excellent for the price, which I can definitely get behind. I very much want to purchase this wine again, it was excellent!

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