Rioja Alta
Marqués de Murrieta: Rioja aristocracy built around Castillo Ygay
There are many Rioja bodegas with the vaunted title Marqués in their name – Riscal, Cacéres, Concordia inter alia. In the UK, those of …
CVNE: Combining volume and classical quality
CVNE, the Compania Vinicola del Norte de España, is popularly known as Cune (‘koo-nay’) in Spain – so much so that they adopted Cune …
Ramón Bilbao: modern Rioja with altitude
Ruth and I first visited Ramón Bilbao just as tourists in 2014, when visiting Haro the first time. In 2018, by random allocation, we …
Rioja: Spain’s classic region is changing
Rioja, the most famous wine region in Spain. Home to Tempranillo and the American oak barrel. One of only 2 regions, with Priorat, carrying …
Muga: seamlessly blending classical and modern in Rioja
The first time we visited Haro, we were not able to book into Bodegas Muga. Therefore, the first thing we did before the 2018 …
164. Compania Vinicola del Norte de Espana, Imperial Gran Reserva Rioja Alta, 1990
…which had a similar colour profile, but the bouquet was a softer, better blended, more toasty, coffee-like oak and spice profile. Residual red fruit …
7. Bodegas Beronia, Rioja Reserva, Rioja Alta, 1994
1994 – v. good year – wine has some smokiness on the nose, with light vanilla oakiness, and some blackcurrant. Some liquorice on the …