Bottle in good condition. Ullage of 2.5 cm. Cork completely soaked, but minimal seepage. Medium to light brick-ish colour, some sediment. Red fruit, red cherry, dill, leather, tobacco, earth, coffee, spices, light chocolate, and ethereal notes, with good, slightly pronounced acidity, fully resolved tannin, and very good length. Classic mature Rioja profile, yet not quite as smooth as one would expect from a 30+ year-old Rioja. On day two, the wine is even more mature, the red fruit is more on the dried side, and joined by mushroom and earth, with a smoother texture. Not quite on the same level as the 1985. Still, it would be interesting to try this again in five years from now. Drink up over the next eight to ten years.
Blind. As per the Prado Enea alongside, from distressed restaurant stock and possibly not pristine storage. Looks and feels 25 years older than it turns out to be. Starts similarly to the PE, but then fills more and takes on quite a chewy beefy element. A little more power but less finesse perhaps, and the silkiness becomes more velvety with air. ****
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Tapas and Dinner bottles in Rioja and San Sebastian; 2/28/2019-3/2/2019: Showing well. Pale mid garnet, spice, warm leather and a good line. Fresh and quite bright acidity. Fruit there, but without the depth or plushness to round things out fully. Very similar to a bottle 30 months ago. ****
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very soft cork soaked 2/3 of the way through. This seemed to need a little time in the decanter to open up then has a classic mature Rioja nose, leather, tobacco, mature cherry fruit, lovely.
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Rioja Night (Chicago, IL): Different animal from the 890 and 904, with more animale, raw flavors and spice notes. Still very alive however, and a great bargain.
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1/22/2024 - PSPatrick wrote: 91 Points
Bottle in good condition. Ullage of 2.5 cm. Cork completely soaked, but minimal seepage. Medium to light brick-ish colour, some sediment. Red fruit, red cherry, dill, leather, tobacco, earth, coffee, spices, light chocolate, and ethereal notes, with good, slightly pronounced acidity, fully resolved tannin, and very good length. Classic mature Rioja profile, yet not quite as smooth as one would expect from a 30+ year-old Rioja. On day two, the wine is even more mature, the red fruit is more on the dried side, and joined by mushroom and earth, with a smoother texture. Not quite on the same level as the 1985. Still, it would be interesting to try this again in five years from now. Drink up over the next eight to ten years.
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9/25/2021 - SimonG wrote: 91 Points
Blind. As per the Prado Enea alongside, from distressed restaurant stock and possibly not pristine storage. Looks and feels 25 years older than it turns out to be. Starts similarly to the PE, but then fills more and takes on quite a chewy beefy element. A little more power but less finesse perhaps, and the silkiness becomes more velvety with air. ****
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3/2/2019 - SimonG wrote: 92 Points
Tapas and Dinner bottles in Rioja and San Sebastian; 2/28/2019-3/2/2019: Showing well. Pale mid garnet, spice, warm leather and a good line. Fresh and quite bright acidity. Fruit there, but without the depth or plushness to round things out fully. Very similar to a bottle 30 months ago. ****
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5/27/2018 - kingkanu wrote:
very soft cork soaked 2/3 of the way through. This seemed to need a little time in the decanter to open up then has a classic mature Rioja nose, leather, tobacco, mature cherry fruit, lovely.
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5/11/2017 - psmith wrote: 91 Points
Rioja Night (Chicago, IL): Different animal from the 890 and 904, with more animale, raw flavors and spice notes. Still very alive however, and a great bargain.
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