What do you think will be a Spanish wine El Classico?  For me, I guess that will be Rioja v Ribera Del Duero.  Both regions predominantly uses the same grape variety (Tempranillo) and make great wines.  Up until early March 2013, Ribera Del Duero had the edge given my very bad experience with Rioja.  A few years back, a few colleagues and I were given a Jeroboam of Rioja Grand Riserva 1999 and it was kept under ‘perfect’ storage underneath the desk of one of my colleagues (next to his smelly shoes for added curing…).  Safe to stay, my first experience of Rioja (all 3 litres of it) was an off bottle and it managed to put me off Rioja (ignore the pun :-P).

Well, BBR decided to do something about that and invited me to a Rioja producer’s tasting in the China Club earlier in March.  The Rioja producer in town was Carlos Lopez de Lacalle whose family owns Artadi wines, the producer of one of the best Rioja wines.

The wines were paired with chinese cuisine and I must admit, the pairing worked very well.

Carlos was an excellent host as you could tell the passion he had when discussing about his wines.  He made a very good comment that the Rioja region makes very good wines but unfortunately the Rioja names that we normally associate with are the mass produced, thin ‘plonk’.  Carlos admitted that Rioja producers need to do more to educate the wine drinking community of quality Rioja and I am was slowly starting to understand what he meant as his wines were beautiful.  The only constructive criticism I can think of is PLEASE UPDATE YOUR WEBSITE (it looks a bit too fresh!) http://www.artadi.com

I thoroughly enjoyed the night (admittedly a bit too much) and thank you Joyce for the invite.

It was a great experience and it has definitely dispelled my previous bad experience of Rioja.  I guess my  current El Classico score is Rioja 1: Ribera Del Duero 1.  Maybe, next time I should badger my friends to organise a Vega Sicilia v Artadi El Classico! (If you know any friends who have these wines, please let me know 😀 )

Tasted Mar 2013
Nose: good violet perfume and black fruits, hint of coconut from the oak
Taste: good silk smooth, slightly acidic and rustic, good balance with lots of fruit
Finish: 20+ second finish

A very nice fruity wine but I believe given a few more years this wine will be a superstar!

Tasted Mar 2013
Nose: violets and blueberry, hint of cassis, good perfume n hint of mint
Taste: tannic dryness, hint of vegetal flavours, medium bodied,
Finish: 25 second finish
The most tannic of the lot tasted that night.  Definitely needs time.

Nose: hint of leather, less perfumy and less red fruits than 2004.  Is this the evolution from good storage?
Taste: lighter in style, hint or red fruits, v good balance and smooth silky style
Finish: a 20 second elegant finish

A very elegant wine with a nice smooth texture.

Nose: very perfumed, cassis, black fruits,
Taste: Medium full bodied, acidic but good balance, good concentration.  A lot more dense than Pagos Viejos
Finish: 30 second finish

The El Pison series is definitely a level up from Pagos Viejos (although I think the 2004 Viejos is giving these wines a run for their money)

Nose: good red fruit, hint of vanilla,
Taste: less fruity than 2002, red fruits, slight acidity and medium bodied
Finish: 30 second finish

Good wine.

Nose: leather, hint of earthiness, red fruits, velvety nose, mocha
Taste: great balance, red fruits, smooth, silky texture, great acidity.  Medium bodied.
Finish: 40 second finish
Carlos’ comment for this wine was simple: ‘Its El Pison 1995, what more should I say’.  A very very good wine. Glad I was able to saviour (a bit too much of) it at the tasting as I later found out it currently costs GBP280 a bottle!