Dark ruby with wine clear edges. Effusive briar and mind come pouting off a churning sweet oak and old-world-funk base. Ripe and decadent, its cherry-frosting sweetness draws you in and the layers of earth and oak tell you there’s something more. I’ve smelled 200-dollar Napa Cabs less decadent than this and am frankly quite impressed, as the majority of Crianza I have consumed in the past couple decades have been heavy on BAD oak and funk, and light on true ripeness. This thing is all pure berry and fruit on 11 with not a trace of flabbiness. While considerably oaky, it manages a sumptuousness and gravitas far more elegant than I have experienced. Banana and floral reign supreme alongside dense wet earth and alcohol and I haven’t even tasted it yet.
In the mouth, fruit concentrated and dark roams freely with acid desperately attempting to chase it out of every nook and cranny. I honestly expected a 2011 Crianza to be oxidized but this thing is on FIRE. Brilliant burn and crisp tannin wash all that decadent fruit away in a buzz of structure. Mouth-drying tannins vye with the fruit far into the finish. This is a REALLY fun wine. This is a wine–if I owned a restaurant–I could and would glass ALL DAY LONG. An absolute PERFECT crowd-pleasing wine–one to match with food but one also the ripeness-addicts in California can make a meal out of.
2011 ONTANON Rioja Crianza Tempranillo/Garnacha 90/10 Spain 13.0
Stephen McConnell 