Tag Archives: Beronia

Wine of the week: Beronia Rioja Crianza 2011

Beronia Rioja crianzaIf Spanish wine is the best value in the world, Rioja crianza may be the best value in Spanish red wine. Every once in a while I’ll run into a clunker, but almost all deliver stunning quality and cost $10, or not much more. The Beronia Rioja crianza ($11, sample, 13.5%) is no exception.

Wine terms first: Rioja, in northern Spain, is the country’s best-known wine region, and where tempranillo is used to make the wine. Crianza is one of three levels of Rioja, followed by reserva and gran reserva (and there is also, thanks to the EU, a fourth style wine simply called tempranillo). Each level requires a specific amount of oak and bottle aging; for crianza, it’s a year oak and at least a couple of months in the bottle. That’s why it’s the least expensive of the three.

The Beronia isn’t quite as traditional as some — the Ramon Bilboa crianza, for one, also a steal at $12 — and shows a more modern approach. That means softer and more approachable cherry fruit, and a little less zingy feel in the mouth. But there is still enough acidity to be Rioja, and enough earthiness to speak to the region’s terroir.

Pair this with most meat or poultry, and you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how well it goes with grilled shrimp with a paprika edge.

Mini-reviews 46: Beronia, Toad Hollow, Neprica, Mazets

Reviews of wines that don ?t need their own post, but are worth noting for one reason or another. Look for it on the final Friday of each month:

? Beronia Tempranillo 2010 ($15, sample, 14%): Spanish red is rich, has lots of red fruit, and is professionally made. That it doesn’t especially taste like it ?s from Rioja is only a problem if you care about those things.

? Toad Hollow Chardonnay 2011 ($13, sample, 13.9%): California white is unoaked, and mostly tastes as it always does, with green apple fruit. But seems to be a hint of sweetness.

? Tormaresca Neprica 2011 ($12, sample, 13.5%): This vintage of the one-time favorite is more balanced and Italian than the 2010, but still firmly in the international style with lots of sweet red fruit.

? Mazets de Saint Victor C tes du Rh ne Villages 2010 ($10, purchased, 13%): This French red blend has funky, Rhone-like aroma, but that’s about the only interesting thing. Thin and watery in the middle and quite disappointing.

Expensive wine 37: Beronia Rioja Gran Reserva 2001

beronia Rioja Gran ReservaThe Wine Curmudgeon loves Rioja. The Spanish red, produced in the northern region of Rioja and made mostly with tempranillo, is food friendly, classy, and a tremendous value. One can buy Gran Reserva, the best made of the three levels of Rioja, for pennies on the dollar compared to similar quality wines from the world’s other top wine regions. And $10 Riojas are almost always equally as excellent values.

The Beronia ($28, purchased) is a more modern style of Rijoa, which means it’s bit higher in alcohol and has fresher, more forward fruit. It’s still the classic cherry that Rioja is known for, but a lot more noticeable. And modern though it may be, it still smells like a Rioja (I’d say funky; the correct winespeak is probably spicy or earthy) and it posseses the lively acidity and well-integrated oak that these wines are famous for.

One of the favorite moments in my wine career was a lunch in a small town in Rioja, with a bottle of Crianza (the basic level of Rioja), roast baby lamb and canned white asparagus. I can still taste the way the lamb and the wine went together, and it makes me smile whenever I think about it.

And a tip o’ the Curmudgeon’s fedora to Laurie Daniel, who judged with me at last week’s Dallas Morning News-TexSom competition, and donated this bottle to the cause because she didn’t want to cram it in her luggage. Much appreciated, Laurie.