If you go to Rioja, do visit these 2 Rioja wineries, Bodegas Vinicola Real, really great traditional way of making the wines and Bodegas Baigorri a total modern style of making way of Rioja without following the rules. Both are also excellent tourist locations. Look forward to your sharing.
I'm excited for the Rioja series- one of my favorite regions. Such great stuff! The topic of oak, esp American oak, is an interesting one. This is one of the few Old World regions where I think of pretty big American oak flavors are considered traditional- and then you have modernist producers dialing the oak up, and other modern producers dialing the oak down. An interesting producer I tried recently is Goyo Garcia from Ribera (not Rioja, but nearby) who makes Tempranillo with zero oak, which is unusual. Anyway, keep up the great work!
noahcap: interesting now the term neutral oak is used...isn't that the same as saying the oak barrel no longer has any flavor to impart? So I guess they are actually producing neutral oak barrels when you can probably produce it very naturally by just using the oak barrels over and over again Cheers!
It will be great to see how you get on here. I'm a big fan of Rioja at all price points and my wine of the year so far is a Remirez de Ganuza gran reserva 2012 a couple of months ago
I love this approach! I'm a novice so it's great to see a very experienced connoisseur like you share your journey of exploring wines that you don't know very well yet.
SE013: thanks! I am hoping 1/ it will give novices the confidence to explore just like me; 2/ that people understand you just don't come up with all this knowledge at once...your views evolve as you have more experience with wines of the region. Please like, subscribe and keep watching. Cheers!
LOVE Riojas...thanks for making these and look forward to more Rioja videos. My favorites are Rioja Alta 904, Vina Arana, and Vina Ardanza. Hope you try them!
La Rioja Alta comes up often in wine forums as a top QPR wine. Have you tried their ardanza or 904? Would love to see a review from you some day. Cheers!
Have you tried the Marques de Murrieta Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva? I recently discovered a big chain discount liquor store in my area accidentally received a case of the Ygay 2009 vintage from their distribution warehouse which should've gone to their premium subsidiary wine stores. However they've been told to sell it at a heavy discount instead of sending it back. It's been advertised for equivalent of US$80 per bottle. Still in original wrapping. Is it worth me purchasing a bottle? I noticed 2010 vintage was ranked No1 by Wine Spectator. This is 2009 vintage. Apparently been sitting on the shelves for 12 months as their customers are mostly cheap beer and cask wine drinkers, missing a few front teeth and very unsophisticated types. Any thoughts?
@@TrophyWineHunter Thanks for your advice. As I've never tried Spanish wines before I was thinking whether I should allocate my budget towards adding more Bordeaux to my collection in the same price range. But I guess I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth? I'll ask whether the store has the original timber box too when I head back to the shop.
@@terryl7749 I would go with your budget but I can't see any downside picking up 2-3 at that price. Drink one and even if you dislike Spanish wines, with a box, it is a great gift for someone! Cheers!
@@TrophyWineHunter Great advice! Also it's a good introduction to Rioja for me. Just as my very first Bordeaux purchase was a half bottle of 1990 Haut Brion! which got me into wines. Let's hope this gives me the same 'wow!' experience. Any thoughts on Rioja wines ability to cellar? This is already 15 years old. Ready to drink now? How long will it endure? I prefer not to buy wines for immediate drinking. I like to have the option of at least 10 year drinking window. But I'm zero experience with Spanish wines.
@@terryl7749 that is why I suggest 2-3 bottles. I would drink 1 right away and if fine, just drink. I had Ygay back to the 20s so if it is stored correctly, no problem I am thinking about it again and if lots of bottles buy 1 and try first to see if you enjoy although I have tried that strategy before and when I go back, it is all gone
