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Roda I - Rioja 'Reserva' 1994 Roda

9/99. Bought in Malaga, July-98 for $28.
A few hours before leaving Barcelona earlier this week we stepped into the best deli there and spent a small fortune on local goodies and French cheese. Tonight we feasted on some of the bounty:
A top grade air-cured ham (jamon), a cabanos-like hard sausage, delicious anchovies (lightly salted and delicate, not resembling the usual conserved stuff), a rustic but tasty stew of beans and meat. These were followed by genuine Gruyere, Epoisse and Reblochon.
What a better wine to a company all this than a good Rioja? I chose one of the bottles I bought last year in Andalusia.
From what I could read on the label this "Roda I" is a relatively rare wine. Only 7500 cases made in 1994 from choice vines averaging more than 50 years! The label says 83% Tempranillo and 17% Garnacha (Grenache).
COLOR: Intense bright ruby color. Hardly any clearing around the rim.
NOSE: Profound nose of semi-ripe red fruits and spices, together with positive wood elements such as licorice and vanilla. Complex, broad-spectrum, commanding and enticing.
TASTE: Immensely concentrated and mouth-filling. Sweet fruit flavors, plenty of winyness, excellent grip, somewhat aggressive acidity, supple but ever-present tannins - everything about this wine is big and expressive. Very tasty of course, but much more than just that.
LENGTH: Medium long and reverberating aftertaste.
TEXTURE & BALANCE: Hefty, highly focused wine. Great structure and backbone. An obviously well crafted wine which still needs some mellowing down. All ingredients are there, and in generous quantities.
OVERALL: Superb-plus! A wonderful wine that is both similar and different than any Rioja I ever had. Will probably attain even higher sphere in a few years.
MARK: 18.5/20.BUY MORE? Yes.


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Yak's Home Page
Introducing Yak
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Wine & Food Adventures

Copyright 1996-2003.
Jacob "Yak" Shaya.