LCBO SALE PICK OF THE WEEK: APR. 14

BODEGAS FRANCO-ESPAÑOLAS 2005 RIOJA BORDON GRAN RESERVA (RIOJA, SPAIN)

Sale $20.85, Regular $23.85
Discount (until Apr. 24): $3.00
LCBO # 428060 | 750 mL bottle

Tastes like: Ripe red, black and blue berries, a touch of smoke and oak, and a delicious long finish of harmonious fruit and spice. Supplely textured, gorgeous, irresistible.
Pairs with: Low light and John Coltrane’s “Ballads.” Or, meat, hard cheese and grilled quail.
Good for: The reading of memoirs, the playing of billiards, the throwing of darts.
Alcohol: Label says 14%; LCBO says 13.5%
Drink: Now.

Why we're drinking this
Because it’s 2016 and this wine was grown in 2005. Ah, the beauty of Spain. Great deals in great aged wine. The 2005 vintage was a goody — and this wine has garnered 90+ scores from all the major wine-scoring gurus like Robert Parker, Stephen Tanzer, Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast. Not to mention kwäf… we’ll go on record and give this beauty 91 points for its elegant power and pure delightfulness. This Gran Reserve is made with 80% Tempranillo and 16% Garnacha, plus a little tipple of the somewhat obscure Mazuelo (2%) and Graciano (2%). It’s had a minimum of 36 months in American white oak, which accounts for its mature woody-smoky qualities. This is well-aged Rioja at its best: powerful elegance with beautifully ripe fruit and silky smooth texture. It’s a drinker all right.

Tasting note
Cedar sauna meets cigar box, with a generous dose of ripe blackberries, cherries and a hint of vanilla. That’s the nose. And you won’t be able to stop sniffing it. But you’ll want to taste this bad boy stat. It’s really quite remarkable: berries of all colours (blue, red, black) wrapped in sweet spice (vanilla, oak toast) and intriguing notes of age (green olive, black tea, leather). But it’s more than just the wine version of a man cave. This is a vibrant wine of a certain age. It’s got vivacious acidity and supple texture, soft ripe tannins and a finish of balanced fruit and more of those woody tones. It’s perfectly harmonious, perhaps the best twenty-dollar wine I’ve had this year. I’ll be stocking up for the weekend, that’s for sure. Note: It’ll hold another year or two, but it’s drinking perfectly right now.

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This week's selection by kwäf Taste Bud Dick Snyder