90% Tempranillo, 5% Mazuelo, 5% Graciano from Rioja, Spain.
SRP of $18 and available for around $16. Sample received courtesy Rioja Wine for review purposes.
From the bottle:
"This fine Reserva is aged for 18 months in small French and American oak barrels. Wines made from Tempranillo (with a blend of Mazuelo and Graciano) grown in this region offer intense aromas, inky color and a complex finish on the palate.Today we come to the last wine in our Journey Through Rioja series. And today's wine is indicative of a lot of wines in this region in the prominent use of oak aging. To be sure, oak aging is used all over the world but it seems especially pronounced in Spain and France. The use of oak imparts a number of different flavors to wine, as the wine pulls flavors out of the wood as it ages. The type of oak also makes a difference, the two main styles being French or American. (It's actually not so much where the oak is from, but how the oak is prepared that determine whether it is considered French or American; in fact, American oak can be imported into France and deemed "French" if the barrels are crafted in the French method.) The bottom line is that French oak imparts much more of the flavors from the wood and sap than American. Those flavors include things like chocolate, caramel, and vanilla among others. And today's wine is, quite simply, a vanilla monster.
14.0% Alcohol"
The 2006 Bodegas Beronia Reserva begins with aromas of blackberry and cola along with lots of vanilla and caramel notes. The wine tastes smooth with flavors of blackberry, oak, vanilla, and licorice. The Beronia has a really nice texture and ends with a good amount of oak but the vanilla and a little caramel is what really shines through on the smooth finish. Very nice.
See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
Taste Rating: 8 Cost Rating: 5
Overall Rating: 7.3
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