Conde De Valdemar Crianza 2007

Conde De Valdemar Crianza has long been a favourite of mine for many reasons. The has always been of exceptional quality, even in ropey vintages, such as 2006. When it returned to my local I wept with joy. Well, not really that would be a bit odd. I did however, purchase a bottle.


Later that night in the my tasting laboratory (a.k.a. my kitchen table, riedel glass and a bottle of the Crianza sitting in the decanter) I began to delve into the intricate layers of this Rioja.

A Crianza in the Rioja D.O.C. must spend a minimum of one year in oak and one year in the bottle before it is released. The idea behind this is the wine must be of a particular standard and 'ready to drink' when released. This of course all depends on how you like your wine, youthful and fruity or mature and broody.

Straight out the of the bottle into the decanter an intense array of oak aromas were released, most notably vanilla and cedar box. The wine itself spends 15 months in oak barrels, so no expense is left out here by the winemaker. After about 45 minutes I came back to the wine and a heap of fruit had emerged, blackberry, cherry, raspberry and tobacco on the nose wrapped in delicious oak.

On the palate there was an abundance of black-berried fruits and cherry, with a light touch of cinnamon and vanilla from the oak. The finish was long and the tannin firm with very good levels of acidity. Very well balanced and most importantly delicious.

Score: A (91)

Availabe in the Mill Wine Cellar for €12.95

Thobias Inkblot, with special thanks to Shane Mc Nally and Mr. Roboto.