Sierra Cantabria Rioja
Like last week's wine pick of the week, the Sierra Cantabria Rioja 2006 and its selection here is also a product of our present economic malaise. Again, wineries and their regional and local distributors sometimes take actions that aren't clearly rational to the wine consumer. In this case, a spiffy Rioja that would normally retail for $14 - $17 is being kicked out the door for $ 10.99. Maybe there's an over supply in the distributor's warehouse or maybe it's the tail end of their supply; who knows? In any event, nothing moves cases of wine, and appeals to the thrifty consumer in me, than when these kind of price reductions show up at the local wine stores.
This bottling is a true Rioja, a red wine made from tempranillo grapes, one of Spain's top varietals. Now you may have had Riojas in the past that made you wince and take note, and I mean, not in good way. Old school Riojas were made with hard fruit flavors and harsh tannins, meant to age nearly forever. "Gnarly" would be one of the more charitable descriptions to describe those wines.
However, the Sierra Cantabria Rioja 2006 is very much new school in that is supple and easy to drink. Darkly colored, the aromas are of plum, candied violet and raspberry. It's very generous with its flavors of plum, raspberry, red cherry and wood smoke (from barrel aging). To be honest, it's not a complex wine but right now it's in a sweet spot that's a wonderfully tasty amalgam of fruit flavors, spice box, and silky mouth feel. As it slip slides away on the finish, a bit of vanilla and licorice adds to flavor package. In other words, this smooth operator is definitely not your father's Rioja. No further aging is needed; it's good to go right now. If you're firing up the summer grill, this is a can't miss wine with ribs, tri-tip, steak and hamburgers.
Last time I looked, both Cellar Rat and Riverside Red-X, had this wine in stock.
See the previous wine of the week: Guenoc Victorian Claret 2006.
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