Bodegas Almaraz Rioja Marques de Garoa Gran Reserva

Sometimes you swing by a neighborhood Spanish place for lunch and get an unexpectedly excellent glass of wine. The bright sour cherry acidity announces itself loud, and the tannins that balance juiciness and firmness. Time in glass gives an insane complexity to the nose – big-time leather, loads of hinoki wood notes (if you know you know), cedar, plum, raspberry, a touch of coconut, warm baking spice, prune, new car smell, garrigue, a bit of menthol, and lavender.