The 2008 Crianza is a traditional blend of Rioja grape varieties and is aged for 18 months in American oak. It has a leather-tinged, mulberry and black plum bouquet that is missing a little tension. The palate is rounded and chewy on the entry with ripe tannins and tarry red berry fruit that leads to a rather saturnine, grippy finish. This is decent commercial Rioja for immediate consumption. Drink now.
Straight after my marathon tasting at Finca Allende, I headed towards the much larger winery of Bodegas Martinez Lacuesta just outside Haro. This traditional bodega was founded in 1895 by Felix Martinez Lacuesta and subsequently outgrew its original facilities. In 2009 they completed construction of their own impressive, tailor-made winery that became operative the following year. Tasting through their portfolio, I found the Crianza and Reserva wines a little conservative for my liking: competent and commercially sound, yet needing greater expression of personality and place. But they do come with a wallet-friendly price tag. More interesting are their special releases that are imbued with more elegance and complexity.
Importer: various US importers including Serendipity Wines (Texas), www.serendipitywines.com; Dionysis Imports, Lorton, VA; tel. (703) 550-2250; Arborway Imports, Lexington, MA; tel. (781) 863-1753; and Spain Wine Collection, Congers, NY, www.spainwinecollection.com
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