Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Tasting Note: 2003 Marqués de Riscal Reserva

The 1999 vintage of Marqués de Riscal Reserva was one of my early introductions to Spanish wines and I’ve liked it enough to follow the vintages.

The 2003 version is high in alcohol at 14%, a result of the scorching summer that year in Europe. This is mainly Tempranillo based with a ruby red color. It has strong cherry, licorice and cedar aromas mixed in with cinnamon and other spices. Very interesting nose. Smooth texture and nicely balanced with a long finish. Very nice and another solid B.

This was also the first bottle of wine I’ve purchased at the Trader Joe’s Wine Shop on East 14th St. They have it for $13 which is a nice price for a wine I’ve seen sell for as much as $20.

1 comment:

RougeAndBlanc said...

I have tasted both 2003 and 2001 vintages of this wine and I like the 2001 vintage a lot. Beacon Wines sells the magnum for $30 which is a bargain.