A trip to Spain was in store with this week’s wine, Rioja to be exact. As with several previous weeks, Wine Awesomeness was sending me on a journey to a place I had never been before with a wine varietal I had never tried. Therefore, the research began.
There are four main levels when it comes to Rioja wines. It starts with the Rioja level and then moves upward to Crianza, then Reserva, and finally Gran Reserva. In the case of this wine, a Crianza, I learned that these wine generally age in oak barrels for six months to a year and then in the bottle for another year. Crianzas are the most approachable wines from Rioja and generally provide a great value wine. *
This particular Crianza was a blend of 85% Tempranillo, 10% Grenache, and 5% Mazuelo. While I had previous experience with Tempranillo and Grenache, I had yet to taste Mazuelo, or so I thought. What I discovered is that Mazuelo is another name for the grape Carignan and is generally used only as a grape for blending. *
This wine was from Rioja, Spain and sampled on July 3, 2017. I took in the smell of earth with hints of raspberries and a little herb. There was definitely spiciness hiding just underneath the surface. The first taste was much more fruit-forward than I would have expected from the scents that had come forth. I was listening to “Dancing in the Moonlight” by Toploader. This wine kept things light just like the song. So berry fruity! :p It proved a perfect compliment to my pulled pork dinner.
I gave this wine a rating of 4.0. This wine seemed made for easy drinking. It paired well with food, but was smooth and enjoyable on it’s own. It made me want to try more Crianzas.
Sources:
http://winefolly.com/review/rioja-wine-from-crianza-to-gran-reserva/