WTN: 2006 Bodegas Vizcarra Ribera del Duero 'JC Vizcarra'

[David M. Bueker]

I purchased this on the recommendation of a trusted merchant. He wrote about it in the store flier and called it Burgundian in style. Jay Miller (the Wine Advocate Jay Miller) called it hedonistic.

Umm...one of these things is not like the other.

Well not quite. The wine is very dark (Danger Will Robinson!) and the aromatics are full of ripe, crushed berries & oak (Danger!!...furiously waves mechanical arms...). But when I taste the wine it is rich, but balanced. There's no snese of heat & I don't fall over in my food after a glass. In fact I want to drink more of it to enjoy it's rich flavors that are accompanied by a touch of finishing austerity. I wouldn't call it Burgundian or hedonistic, but I can see elements that would lead someone to do so. Heck I would never nail it blind as Spanish, let alone Ribera del Duero, but the more I drink it, the more I try to take it apart (and really can't), the more I like it.


I wish you were here to drink it. (bonus points to the first person to get the reference)

I wish you were here to drink it. (bonus points to the first person to get the reference)

JC?

Riberas are so often wonderful. For the longest time I have avoided riojas because of the predominant use of American oak, so I love the fact that I can drink riberas with pleasure because they tend to use French...

[David M. Bueker]

JC?

Nope.

I've still got a bottle down stairs. It was rough when I first tried it. Need to go back and try again. Do you have more or is it still at the store.

[David M. Bueker]

I've still got a bottle down stairs. It was rough when I first tried it. Need to go back and try again. Do you have more or is it still at the store.

Yes and yes.

sounds like my kind of wine.

Riberas are so often wonderful. For the longest time I have avoided riojas because of the predominant use of American oak, so I love the fact that I can drink riberas with pleasure because they tend to use French...

Interesting point. For my palate there often seems to be an unpleasant reaction between Tempranillo and American oak in young wines, in particular a strong taste of dry caramel and molasses on the finish, which seems to disconcert me more at table than in a sip and spit situation. I experienced this on an 06 Rioja from Navajas last night and this afternoon at a tasting on a Ribera del Duero, whose provenance I did not note and which was an exception to the French oak rule. I also recall it on an Ercavio Roble.

Maybe these tastes will integrate with time though I doubt it on the Navajas where the substance is probably too light. Good classical old Rioja, e.g. Imperial 66 or Gran Reserva 87, is perfected balanced with no obtrusive wood but I suspect the proportion of NEW American oak was quite low and the wines were only put on the market many years after the vintage.