I ended up buying this bottle because it won a gold medal at the Golden Glass Wine Competition in San Francisco.   And I’m always in the mood for a nice red from Rioja  :-)   For those of you who are curious, “crianza” means the wine was aged for at least two years, and at least one year was in oak.   Mmm…  I smell ripe cherries, blueberries, nutmeg and some toasty tree bark.   The mouthfeel is juicy/spicy and there’s good acidity on the finish with some smoke lingering.   If you’re patient enough, open the bottle and let it breathe for an hour…   this wine definitely got better the longer it was open!   Since it definitely has acidity on the back end, I’d recommend pairing this with food – I think it would be excellent with chicken and yellow rice.

$9.99/bottle

Triple