The Marqués de Murrieta Rioja Reserva 2006 vintage is a good rather than very good wine. It would have been much better had it not have been beaten quite so severely with the oak stick. A medium to pronounced ruby in appearance, the wine’s aroma is a study in oak, butter, vanilla, oily popcorn kernels, some volatile acidity, vanish, oak and oak. Now, did I mention the oak? On the palate, powdery tannins, vanilla, cola and plums are accompanied by medium length, perhaps even a bit more. With time, and the next day, the oak and lactic characters become more dominant. A slight rawness to the wine is suggestive of a lack of integration between fruit and wood. If it were a school report card, I would write “talented student but could have done better”. Good

Abv: 14%
Price: $26
Vendors: Try Wine Searcher
Website: Marques de Murrieta
Tasted: August 2012