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 
£??; 12%
Fantastic way to start Christmas 2002… having said this, not that much better than the NV Bollinger. Don’t know how good a year 1988 was, but this (whilst very nice) was a little acidic, so slightly unbalanced. Straw-gold colour. Fine bubbles. Honeyed toasty aromas with a hint of fruitiness. Toasty flavour hints with that slightly high acid bite. Very nice.
Leave A Reply