Rentas de Fincas Reserva 2002 is a warm Rioja.  This wine is soft and earthy — very agreeable.  Like so many Riojas, it has waited a long time for you.  In this case, 7 years, more than a few in wood.  The result is rich and smooth with a light crackle of tannin and cigar smoke at the finish.

Rioja is a remote district in northern Spain –  60 miles south of the Atlantic coast and 1,500 feet above the sea. It lies along the upper reaches of the Ebro River.  Spanish monks were producing wine in the region as early as the year 873.   Rioja suffered terribly during the years of the phylloxera outbreak at the turn of the last century.  Wine production dwindled further after World War II.  Only since 1970 has the region regained its productive vitality.

Rioja is known for long — often very long — aging in oak.   All this patience results in flavors of toast, smoke, earth and vanilla.   Rentas de Fincas is no exception.  The wine has an aromatic quality like an old cedar chest.  But underneath there is a powerful heartbeat of fruit and sun.

You can find this fine seven year old at Dedalus for $17.75.

Tuta  5/12/09