Wine Tasting: 2010 Baron de Ley Rioja Reserva

Today, it's a Tempranillo tap dance!  2010 Baron de Ley Reserva is a beautiful Rioja from Spain.  It's aged 20 months in America oak casks and then a further 24 months in the bottle before it's released.

Tasting Notes:
Full bodied and dark ruby in color and a fleshy texture and long finish.  Tobacco and plum rind on the nose with a remarkable rich red fruit, tar and volcanic rock flavors. A very nice minerality of sorts.

Final thoughts:  This Rioja is quite delicious and well balanced, though I believe a little more time will add to the complexities and smoothen out a bit more.   It's very good now and has a possibility of becoming great.

Tasting: 2010 Bodegas Olarra Rioja Cerro Anon Reserva

Definitely needed decanting.  It took almost an hour before it really started to pop.

I paired this with a roasted red pepper, red onion, and eight month old Manchego cheese Quesadilla.  It paired rather well, but I felt the Manchego cheese was a bit underwhelming for the Quesadilla.  I switched the Manchego to a Chipotle Gouda and the Quesadilla was much better, but the wine didn't pair as well.

Next time I make these Quesadillas, I will pair the wine with the Chipotle Gouda.

Tasting: 2010 Bodegas Ramirez Rioja Selección Crianza Ramirez de la Piscina

This Rioja is garnet in color with medium legs.  It smells of cranberry, strawberry, and black cherry.  It tastes of blueberry, prune, with a hint of pine and a tarry finish.  The body is medium full, texture is pretty even with a medium finish and minimal acidity.

Paired well with a Rigatoni with red peppers and Italian sausage.