Beronia

I find it hard to believe that I haven't included this week's wine before now. Although I like to explore wines and find new things to try, I do have a few favoured 'go to' bottles that I buy regularly because sometimes I like to know exactly what I am getting.

So this is one of those:

Week B (2021) Beronia Rioja Reserva 2014. Waitrose £15.99  

Back in 2012 I had the pleasure to work in London with a team of five Australians, throughout the UK summer. I had worked with an Australian during an English summer once before, in the late 1970s / early 1980s, and remember her asking if it always fell on a Monday?  Ha, bloody ha.  But these ladies and gentlemen were different. When it came to the time for them to return home I asked one of them how he had enjoyed his time in London and he said 'Ah, look, it wasn't as bad as I had expected', which is unsurprising when you consider that the five of them would arrive in the office every Friday morning with a carry-on sized bag and a booking to wherever in Europe they were intending to spend the weekend. Indeed, a couple of them made it to New York on one occasion and others covered the map from Reykjavik to Warsaw and Oslo to Naples during their time 'working in London'. Have to admire their free-spirited approach to life, especially as it was all on expenses. I suppose if you live on a remote desert island, albeit a big one, the opportunity to see some culture that is more than 200 years old must be compelling. There is a little of the Mr Pot-Kettle here, as I did try to make the most of the spare time I had when it was my turn to visit. I was just not ever lucky enough to have more than a three week, rather than a five-month, trip. Usually two, and one of them included an afternoon stay in the Melbourne airport medical centre, but that's a different story.

The reason for mentioning any of this is that it was through one of these itinerants that I was introduced to this week's wine, for which I remain grateful. It was an introduction of convenience as he and his partner had been staying in an apartment close to the office throughout their stay and on the day of leaving had to leave things as they found them. As they hadn't find them stocked with drink, they had two bottles too many to drink on their last evening and so these were brought to the office and given to me and my cellmate to choose one each. I chose well. I can't remember what Mr Grumpy got.

Rioja is the famous wine from North East Spain, where they have admirable tradition of not releasing their wine to the market before they are ready to drink. The wines of Rioja are classified according to their age and the amount of time they have spent in both oak barrels and bottles. This one is a Reserva, meaning it has spent at least 12 months maturing in oak barrels and at least six months in the bottle. It also must be three years old, so it will have spent more than at least one of those minimums and probably both, aging in a combination of containers.

The wine is lush, with a fruity juiciness, a deep purple colour and flavours of that fruit together with some coconut notes from the oak and leathery tones from the aging. The tanins are there, but in just the right intensity to balance well with the fruit. 

It is made with a blend of Tempranillo (95%), Graciano (4%) and Mazuelo (1%). The minor contributors are in small quantities, but the blender must know what he's doing because the results speak for themselves.

I will buy this again. And again.