Last week’s pick of the week came from Portugal. This week’s pick comes from it’s neighbor, Spain. As we have written about in the past, Spain offers incredible value for its quality of wine and a number of prior picks have come from Spain. There seems to be no stopping Spain and Italy for Wine Wednesday picks.
This week’s pick is the 2010 Campo Viejo Rioja. This wine is a little unusual as it’s a basic Rioja, which means that the wine spends less than one year aging in oak. You more often see Rioja Crianza, which must be aged at least two years with one in oak, or Rioja Reserva, which must be aged at least three years with one year in oak. The 2010 Campo Viejo Rioja is also unusual as it exemplifies a very modern, almost new world style that is made from 100% Tempranillo, which is the main grape variety in Rioja. The wine is aged for four months in American oak and then ages in the bottle. This results in a wine that is very fruit forward with bright red fruit with cherry dominating and hints of black fruit, vanilla and baking spices.
Campo Viejo was founded in 1959 by two local winemakers in Rioja. Since then, Campo Viejo has grown into one of the largest wineries in Rioja, has helped spread the word on Rioja wines around the globe and is known for making quality wines. We are particularly happy that the quality extends to its introductory wine. We enjoyed the Campo Viejo Rioja and happily drank it with a Philly Cheesesteak for an evening of global fusion.
Here is the tasting note for the Campo Viejo Rioja:
Appearance: Clear with a medium plus purple core that’s almost at ruby with a lighter ruby rim.
Aroma: Clean with a medium, developing intensity of cherry, black currant, brambleberry, plum, vanilla, licorice, baking spices, leather and a hint of earth.
Palate: Dry, medium acidity, medium (soft) tannins, medium body, medium plus alcohol, medium intensity of cherry, black currant, brambleberry, plum, blueberry, vanilla, licorice, baking spices, leather and a hint of earth. Medium plus, smooth finish.
Rating: Good to very good wine at a very good price (MSRP of $9.99). Nice ripe fruit without being too hot or jammy, well integrated alcohol, soft, round tannins and good intensity of flavors.
