Federico Paternina Banda Roja Reserva – Journey Through Rioja Wine #5

85% Tempranillo, 10% Garnacha, and 5% Mazuelo from Rioja, Spain.

SRP of $13 and available at that price. Sample received courtesy Rioja Wines for review purposes.

From the bottle:

“This wine has been aged in American White Oak cask for twenty months and followed by eighteen months in the bottle. Ruby red colour with brick coloured highlight the complexity of its aromas. In the mouth is elegant and balance with a velvety texture. It is the perfect combination of Tempranillo (85%), Garnacha (10%) and Mazuelo (5%) grapes.

13.0% Alcohol”

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As we’ve seen over the last few days, Rioja has a lot to offer wine lovers. One of the things I enjoy the most is that when you buy a Rioja wine you know it is good to pop and pour. There are no worries about determining if the wine is ready to drink. In fact, Rioja claims to be the only wine region in the world that does not release their wines until they are ready to drink. This isn’t to say that their wines won’t benefit from some additional bottle age, but you never have to worry about consuming a wine too young. Today’s wine, a 2005, is the oldest of our Rioja sampling.

The 2005 Federico Paternina Banda Roja Rioja Reserva begins with aromas of blackberry, raspberry (and really just a lot of different berries) plus some cedar notes and a little vanilla. The wine tastes nice and smooth with a good rich texture. This is a really nice wine with lots of fruit plus some light tannins. A little spice on the oaky finish offers good counterbalance to all the fruit. Quite nice and perhaps my favorite of the bunch!

See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.