Sorry about the picture quality, but this was taken in the subdued lighting of a West Palm Beach bar. (I took the first pic with the flash on which rendered the label unreadable.)

This is the Cune Rioja Imperial Gran Reserva, 2004.

I'll begin by saying that I am a big fan of a good Rioja. At their best, they are supple, elegant and nuanced with perfectly balanced components of flavors. I remember drinking my first bottle of good Rioja back in the mid-80s at Tio Pepe's in Washington, DC and was struck by how well the wine enhanced the flavor of the Spanish fare that we had for dinner.

Since then, I've had many Riojas and my experience with them has paralleled that of drinking the Italian Brunellos. That being, any given wine is either fabulous, borderline pedestrian or it just sucks. This dichotomy is especially irksome with the Brunellos because you're not gonna find a good one on the cheap and the "subpar" ones cost the same. I really think the growing region needs to be renamed, "Pig-in-a-Poke."

Back to the featured wine.

I took this bottle to dinner after having called ahead to make sure the restaurant was OK with me bringing outside wine into the joint. "Sure," they said, "corkage is $15."

Another digression before getting to the review: I cannot remember the last time I was actually charged corkage as long as I offered the server/sommelier a glass of the wine being poured- even if they declined the offer. I'm gonna call that the "leo doc wine tip of the month."

The bar server declined my offer of a glass, but told me that the bartender was serious about his vino and, in short order, he showed up with corkscrew in hand. He looked at the label, nodded his approval, cut the foil and effortlessly decorked the bottle. He poured a tasting portion into my glass, then paused for me to sample it. "Let's do this together," I said while gesturing that he pour his. And so we did.

The nose was floral, complex and sweet- but not pungent like some of the older-style Riojas that were left in the cask too long before bottling. He and I were in agreement about the quality of the nose.

He made a standard pour after the initial tasting. When I looked through the wine onto the napkin, even the flexor creases of my fingers were visible. While I expect that with Beaujolais (even the good ones), this was worrisome with this wine. The initial flavor of the wine was certainly enhanced by its aroma, but smell is only gonna help it momentarily and this wine needed some help. I found it to be unidimensional and unimaginative. It was not robust, or even supple. The fruit was short-lived and there were sharp distinctions in what should have been smooth transitions between the tasting components. To be fair, it softened a bit after about an hour- but in a way that a smart-mouthed hooker does when she realizes you're gonna part with some fun tix in exchange for services.

At $125 a bottle:

Taste: 7.5/10

Value:

WE:

Incidentally, a fair valued wine is on my scale. Iow, it's worth what you're paying for it.

I posted the Rioja review in an effort to keep you from doing so.

Serious consumer advice ITT.

I'd love to see some small stakes wine reviews. Frankly I'm just not ready to part with a fun ticket for a bottle of wine just yet.

I understand and will accommodate your request. I do, however, need to know what stakes we're talkin' about here. I mean you can find the BlackTongue in your locale, but are you looking for something less than $35?

There's an Argentinian that I've got on deck for less than $20, so I reckon I'll do that one next.

And one last thing: If I tell you that a wine is a value, buy it 'cause I'm guessing less than 5% of what I review is gonna get that kind of value rating.

15 to 25 would be a sweet spot. Everyday wine and all that.

Yeah 10-25 is wine I would consider outside of special occasions.

Drinking a good wine is a special occasion.

Just did the Mollydooker shake for the 2012 Boxer.

Report back in 30-40 minutes after the nitrogen ring has dissipated.

If you read this in time, save a swallow of the first glass you poured and see if you can tell the difference between the shaken and unshaken.

Incidentally, I'm drinking the '08 tonight.

Read it in time. Saving some from the first glass for later report.

Definite difference between the first pour and the post-shake-and-settled pour. The first pour was a stronger, more astringent taste while the post-shake flavor was really mellowed out and smoother. Some interesting flavor changes as well.

You nailed it. First pour is a bit more harsh and rougher around the edge. Air softens the wine and it becomes more pliable on the palate, more drinkable and even more subtly complex.

I think you're learning wine faster than you learned LHE… and that's pretty frigging impressive.

I've been lucky to have great teachers in both categories, which always helps speed up the learning curve. I appreciate the kind words, but the truth is I still pretty much suck at both .

I'm gonna suggest a group wine-drink on either Wednesday or Thursday predicated on tomorow's suggestion. Assuming you can find the wine, I trust you'll join us.

Let's do this.

Every time I'm not sure whether I want to open a bottle of wine (which is generally a 2-3 day drinking commitment), I read this thread and the answer becomes clear.

It sounds like I need to organize a lunch this week -- either Wed. or Thurs. sounds about right.

Will the wine be good with steak on Thursday night? I'm thawing out a couple of hand raised T bone steaks from my uncle's farm. Heading over to my buddy's house, and he's a big wine fan. Could be a good dinner. Looking forward to your wine selection.

Slunds fun, count me in as very likely. If it happens to be on this list (http://www.talkingstickresort.com/up...4-1310-139.pdf) then I may be able to have a bottle brought to poker room if a few other players want to taste as well.

Very impressive list, Jon. In addition to the RunRig (I haven't had the '07), they also have the Shafer Hillside Select (Bin 1166), which, if you'll recall, we had at the last Scottsdale dinner and, iirc, it was the consensus favorite.

If you get a chance, ask about the listing that follows the RunRig: namely, the Penfold's Grange Shiraz and it's Bin #991. See if they'll let you snap a pic of the label and send it to me.

To answer your question, I didn't see today's selection on the list.

Jon-

Here's a link to the Penfold's Grange that I'm referring to. As you can see, Total Wine is offering the newly released '08 for $750/bottle, so CAZ's $840 a bottle for the '04 likely represents one of the best "bargains" on their list. (This assumes, of course, that CAZ's listing is the same Grange I'm talking about.)

Here's the "under $20 special" for this week. Hopefully, it will be widely available and our on-line tasting on Thursday will be a success.





It's an Argentinean Cabernet. The winery also makes a pretty swell Malbec that's drinking well now.

Will try and find it, it looks like they carry it at cotsco for $8-9 a bottle, hopefully this includes the local one.

That's a much better price than I'm getting in these parts. Would suggest that you get the sister bottle of the Malbec if it's available.

Love this thread. Keep them coming Leo.