Wine of the Week - Campo Viejo - Rioja Tempranillo - 2013

Wine of the Week

Rioja Tempranillo - CAMPO VIEJO - 2013 - Rioja, Spain

Today I'm bringing you a nice value buy from Spain that can even be found in PEI. I promised my mother-in-law to do a wine she could find there so we could compare notes! This wine is made with 100% Tempranillo grapes from Spain's most famous wine region Rioja; which is centered around the town of Logrono.

Rioja lies in the northern part of Spain along the Ebro river. Red dominates the region with 75% of the production; with some nice roses and whites making up the rest. The wines are usually dominated by Tempranillo with Garnacha, Mazuelo, and Graciano also being allowed to be blended in. The wines can be light and fresh as well as big and complex that may have been matured for years before it's released, and can continue to age for decades.

There are 4 categories of aging for Rioja wines; the ages for red wines are:

Joven -                 Bottled the year following the vintage and released.
Crianza -               Total ageing = 2 years; with min 1 year in oak cask
Reserva -              Total ageing = 3 years; with min 1 year in oak cask
Gran Reserva * -  Total ageing = 5 years; with min 2 years in oak cask
                              *These wines are only made in exceptional years.

This Rioja Tempranillo is Campo Viejo's entry level Rioja wine and this one spent only 4 months in American oak. This makes it lighter and fruitier than it's bigger oakier brother, their Reserva. That one will still have some nice ripe fruit and well balanced oak. Their Gran Reserva will give you complex notes of ripe dark fruits like blue and blackberries with smokey charred wood and a spicy nutty tobacco flavour with dark mocha goodness...., (smack), (smack), (smack), oh jeez drooling on the keyboard again.

Anyways back to this wine, it is vibrant with a medium ruby colour. On the nose  there's red fruits like cherries and cranberries; with some clove and leather in there as well. On the palate it is dry, high acidity, with medium tannin and medium body. On the palate we have red fruits again with vanilla, sweet spice, and maybe a hint of that old stale back-of-the-cupboard powdered cocoa you haven't used in years, or something like that.

If you are looking for a new red to try, or want to explore the different styles and ages of Rioja wines. Start with this one at $14.95 for good value. It is a good entry point to entice the palate, but do trust me they can get a lot more interesting. If you want to treat yourself look for a Gran Reserva wine; entry level usually starts at $35+.