a) Corte Major 2008 Crianza - Co-Op
b) Viña Equia 2006 Reserva - Majestic
c) Viña Mara 2007 Reserva - Tesco

I'm looking for votes, Ok - opinion then !

Which one has been the most pleasurable to take as an appero ?
Which one has been a 1st for food ?

Say Why if you want to:-

cheers

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Duncan

Dunc,

Victoria Moore reported on this wine,

Cepa Lebrel Rioja Reserva 2008 Spain (13.5%, Lidl, £5.99)
£ For me, this wine is the pick of Lidl’s current range; startlingly good value. It also shows how, even on a cheaper level, the oak and bottle maturation on a “reserva” makes its presence felt. This one’s all mushy strawberries, relaxed vanilla oak, and the smell of an old house (in a good way, not a festering way). Bring out the slow-cooked lamb shoulder.

I drove to a Lidl yesterday for a look around, very Aldi looking.
Picked up an 05 and 07 of the above to try strange no 08 on the shelves ??

I dont rate the Corte one bit, unless my bottle was a dud ??

Or a wine you really should try is 2001 La Rioja Alta Rioja Viña Ardanza Reserva Especial.
This is a real stunner that will keep improving with age, drinking great now though. (not in price bracket but so worth the extra £8.00)

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He who knows all the answers has not been asked all the questions.

Thanks Rich,

At the price - I could also be after the Cepa Lebrel Rioja Reserva 2008.

I shall need to find a Lidl. The 05, 06 and 08 will interest me the most. For the cheap Riojas, I'm finding the 08 fruit at the moment to be superior.

Vina Mara, on vintage '07 is too dominated by oak at this stage in its life ( a high proportion of once filled barrels ? dunno), and therefore the typical flavour and richness of the Temp fruit is masked / subsumed. The overall effect being a tad unbalanced, acidity pops up which is good, but there is insufficent fruit freshness to carry it, and therefore with more age, the finish is drying and becoming a little bit astringent. ** IMHO - Drink up if you bought a load at Tesco for £6, not for cellaring.

With the Corte Major, I believe you may have had a dud, as both Mel and I were impressed with its fruit richness, and overall balance (harmony). So versatile for me.

Of the three above, Corte wins significantly. ** I will have another Mara, to see if the 1st bottle was unrepresentative.

Thanks for the Lidl tip - cheers

I have two 2000 La Rioja Alta Rioja Viña Ardanza in stock. Only the 2001 is awarded the Especial Label. Rich, the special '01 is normally arround £20 these days (sadly not £14).

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Duncan

Re Vina Mara 2007 Rioja reserva

The overall effect being a tad unbalanced, acidity pops up which is good, but there is insufficent fruit freshness to carry it, and therefore with more age, the finish is drying and becoming a little bit astringent

There is an improvement with this 2nd bottle this evening.
I still feel though, that the budget level fruit from the 2007 vintage does not meld so well with extra time in oak. Based on other budget 2008s I've had, look-out for Vina Mara '08 when it is available in Tesco. At £6 though, I'm certainily not complaining.

Serving temperature is rather important with Vina Mara, cellar temp is not at all suitable.

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Duncan

A tricky one.

I bought a few Corte Mayor at Co-op when it was reduced and I also have had one dud bottle.

I tried the Vina Mara Gran Reserva recently and it was better than previously and is barely any more money.

Am hovering over my keyboard and am unable to come down in favour of one.

Too close to call.

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mel

Well I've only got round to giving the vina Mara 07 a go so far
Drank over 3 nights (vacuvin'd) and over the first 2 days it seemed a bit light on the druit and the wood seemed to dominate too much which was a bit of a disappointment
On night 3 however the fruit was much more prominent and the wine itself was a lot deeper for it
Can't say whether it will improve with time but was certainly better at the end