No wine snobs here, just enthusiastic drinkers of all wines
Made with grapes from 60+ year old vines this wine is matured in American oak for 30 months and a further 36 months minimum in the bottle. I was looking forward to this wine as I really enjoyed the Crianza. Unfortunately it didn't work for me. It is a medium intense purple colour verging towards … Continue reading Ramon Bilbao Gran Reserva 2011
According to their website the 2010 Gran Reserva 904 was one of their best vintages this century, which makes me wonder why they were serving us the 2009. They also have another 2005 Gran Reserva 890 that was 23€ for just a taster glass. We didn't try that one as it was above our price … Continue reading Rioja Alta Gran Reserva 904, 2009
So I broke my own method of trying the Gran Reserva wine in each Bodega we visited, because the very helpful guy at this Bodega made this wine sound fantastic. It is their flagship wine. It is made from grapes on the oldest vines (over 50 years) and from the best vineyards. It is only … Continue reading Gomez Cruzado Honorable 2015
The second red wine offering from Bodegas Muga. For some reason I thought at the time that this was a Gran Reserva, but it turns out that it isn't. Once again the lady serving us whipped the bottle away before I could photgraph it and then disappeared. However their website lists the Torre Muga as … Continue reading Torre Muga
The first of two Gran Reserva wines from the Bodegas Muga. I'm not actually sure what vintage this wine was, because the lady whipped away the bottle so quickly I didn't have time to look at it never mind photograph it. I had to borrow the photo from the Bodega's website, which currently lists the … Continue reading Prado Enea Gran Reserva
The second top end offering from CVNE this time from the Imperial Bodega based in Rioja Alta. These grapes are grown nearer the mountains and in a dryer year which producs higher acidity which preserves the wine better during maturation. As a Gran Reserva the best grapes are selected from the harvest to make a … Continue reading Imperial Gran Reserva 2011
This is the Gran Reserva offering from the Contino brand of the CVNE Winery. The Contino vineyards are based in Altavesa at a lower level than their other premium range, Imperial, and 2012 was a wetter year. According to the helpful man at CVNE this means warmer weather so less acidity and tannins. More fruit and … Continue reading Contino Gran Reserva 2012
Another brand of wines from the CVNE stable. They have two ranges, Contino and Imperial, aimed at the higher end of the market and only a small number of wine bottles are made. These wines are made with their best grapes harvested from single premier vineyards. The Contino Bodega is based in the Alavesa region … Continue reading Contino Reserva 2014
Viña real is one of a number of Bodegas under the Campañia Vinicola de Norte de España Group more usually known as CVNE. This particular bodega is based in the Alavesa part of Rioja and the mid range wines it produces are apparently aimed at the younger marker. There are six wines produced under the … Continue reading Viña Real Blanco 2017
The final wine of the Eat Out Madrid Wine Tasting and the most expensive if the evening at 87€. This wine has very strong reviews from various wine experts though strictly speaking we should have been trying the 2014 or 2015. This is a 100% Tempranillo wine aged for 18 months in barrels of new … Continue reading La Nieta Crianza 2016
The Honest Wine Drinker 