Berberana, Reserva, Rioja

Lovely farmy nose and initial fruit but just nothing to back it up. Still healthy but a lot of the fruit interest has now gone.

A bit thin and bitter, from a mediocre year, probably cellaring conditions weren't perfect either. (B-)

Tawny with orange robe. Initial musty smell with something like carrot/vegetal. With time this blew off to reveal traditional rioja profile. More mature in the mouth than expected. It drinks very smoothly with no trace of alcohol. Still a hint of fruit but we are firmly in tertiary flavours here, it shows just as well from a half bottle the following day. It's a lovely example of old Rioja but doesn't have the complexity of a truly great example.