Klein Constantia: stellar whites, sweet and dry 
Marqués de Riscal: Gehry hotel outshining solid Rioja and Rueda 
La Rioja Alta: benchmark classical Riojas especially top flight Gran Reservas 
Marqués de Murrieta: Rioja aristocracy built around Castillo Ygay 
CVNE: Combining volume and classical quality 
Contino: Château-style Rioja and Graciano pioneers 
55 FRF; 13.5%
Black pepper – a lot. Quite gum-dry, suggesting relatively high tannin levels. Should age OK for a year-or-two. Another fine Belleruche from Chapoutier. Black fruit flavour for this dark-ish wine, but not jammy. Hint of burned sugar on the aroma, I think, on the back-end of the peppery aroma. I’d love to get hold of a 1998…
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