Tag Archives: El Coto

Wine of the week: El Coto Rioja Blanco 2022

El Coto Rioja Blanco bottle
El Coto Rioja Blanco 2022/$8-$12

This long-time WC favorite is as fresh and delicious as ever

Twelve years ago, I got a sample of the 2010 vintage of this wine and tasted it for the first time. My tasting notes: “Very nicely done — a bit of lemon and very clean, very crisp.”

Which is more or less what my tasting notes say for the current vintage of the El Coto white. Is it any wonder I’ve been drinking it — availability willing, of course – since then?

Because, in Dallas at least, availability has been a problem. That’s one reason why I was so glad to get this sample, since it meant the wine should be for sale around here.

The 2022 version ($12, sample, 12%) is a little softer and more round in the mouth than I remember, but still focused on lemon fruit and that clean, crisp finish that this kind of wine does so well, thanks to the viura grape.

Highly recommended, and if it’s not quite a Hall of Fame wine this vintage, it’s damn close. Drink this chilled on its own, with salads, or with something like spaghetti and clam sauce (and use the wine to make the clam sauce).

Imported by Opici Wine & Spirits

Wine of the week: El Coto Rioja Rosado 2020

el coto rosado
El Coto Rioja Rosado 2020/$8-$14

Terrific cheap Spanish pink wine for sharing with Mom

The theme on the blog these days seems to be defending cheap wine – here and here; and now, for the Spanish El Coto, which is one of the world’s great cheap roses.

Not just one person, but two – two! — scored the wine in the 70s on CellarTracker, the blog’s unofficial wine inventory app. That’s the kind of score usually given to something that you taste and spit out, and not a wine that has been terrific for years and years.

So nuts to scores and wine snobs.

The El Coto rose 2020 ($11, purchased, 13%) is as it always is: perhaps a little fruitier this vintage (strawberries and watermelon, maybe?), but bone dry and clean and crisp and long on the finish. Plus, as with most quality Spanish roses, it has an oh so pleasing aroma that could be oranges or even flowers.

Buy a case for Mom for the upcoming weekend, so she can drink it during the summer. And you can drink it with her and laugh about what the score freaks are missing.

Highly recommended, and certain to show up in the Hall of Fame next year. The 2021 is slowly making its way to the U.S., but there is still plenty of 2020 on store shelves.

Imported by Opici Wine & Spirits

Wine of the week: El Coto Rioja Crianza 2016

el coto rioja crianza
El Coto Rioja Crianza 2016/$10-$17

The El Coto Rioja Crianza is one of the world’s great cheap wine buys

There’s a reason why the subhed on this post is so similar to the one on this post. Both are Spanish red wines from the Rioja region, and the El Coto, in its own way, may offer even more value than the CVNE Cune.

Sometimes, despite all going on around us, cheap wine truly is grand.

The main difference between the El Coto Rioja Crianza ($10, purchased, 14.5%) and the CVNE Cune is price. For some reason, and even before the Trump wine tariff, El Coto had raised its prices into the premiumization tier, $15-$18 (destroying the value of its otherwise excellent rose in the process). So when I found this for $10 at Total Wine, I bought it. Should have bought a case.

The wine offers spice, earth, cherry and raspberry fruit, a touch of oak, and muted acidity. The high alcohol is not noticeable, and may be well a tariff accounting trick. And, that it tastes like this at this age, is beyond me. A value at $15, and a steal at this price.

Some wine geek stuff for anyone who missed the CVNE Cune post: Crianza is the most basic of the three kinds of Rioja, which means it gets less aging, sees less oak (if any), and costs the least compared to reserva and gran reserva. There are also requirements for which grapes can be used, so most of the wines are mostly (if not all) tempranillo.

Drink this with almost any simple red meat, roast chicken, or the blog’s couscous jambalaya. Certain to return to the Hall of Fame in 2022 and will likely be on the short list for the 2022 Cheap Wine of the Year.

Imported by Opici Wines

Wine of the week: El Coto Rioja Blanco 2018

El Coto Rioja BlancoThe El Coto Rioja Blanco delivers once again – quality Spanish white wine for $10

El Coto, one of my favorite Spanish producers, understands how to make great cheap wine – and that it’s just not about what’s in the bottle.

Does that sound odd, especially coming from the Wine Curmudgeon? Not at all. Because not only is the wine top-notch, but the El Coto Rioja Bianco doesn’t waste money on a heavy bottle with a punt, which so many $15 supermarket wines still do. Plus, it comes with a screwcap. What more could the WC ask for?

So drink and enjoy the El Coto Rioja Blanco 2018 ($10, purchased, 12%), a white wine made with almost all viura. That means it doesn’t taste like chardonnay or sauvignon blanc. Rather, it’s viura as it should be: Tart, lemony, and simple without being stupid. Plus, it’s also consistent from vintage to vintage without being boring, perhaps the third hallmark of a great cheap wine after quality and minimal marketing costs. Hence, the kind of wine to buy because you know it will offer quality and value every time. And buy more than one bottle at a time.

This vintage of the El Coto Rioja Blanco may be a touch light on the back; I couldn’t tell because I enjoyed it so much that I drank it without paying enough attention. Regardless, it’s well worth drinking, and especially at this price and especially given the tariff.

Imported by Opici Wines

Memorial Day and rose 2018

Memorial day and roseCheck out these six roses — still cheap and delicious — for the blog’s 11th annual Memorial Day and rose celebration

Talk about the best kind of  tasting fatigue — I sampled close 100 roses this year for the 11th annual Memorial Day and rose post, and I’m not tired of pink wine yet.

Rose, as noted, has been resilient enough to withstand the onslaught of high alcohol, lifestyle-designed bottles, and sweet rose passed off as dry. And why not? Many of the producers who make rose the right way do it as a labor of love. As one told me this spring: “Yes, I could charge more for it. But then fewer people would drink it, and I love rose enough that I want as many people as possible to drink it.”

So enjoy this year’s rose extravaganza. My six pinks are after the jump. But you should also check out the rose category link, which lists 11 years of rose reviews. And don’t overlook the blog’s rose primer, which discusses styles, why rose is dry, how it gets its pink color, and why vintage matters. Wines older than two years — 2016, in this case — are more likely to be off, tired, or worn out. Continue reading →

Wine of the week: El Coto Rioja Crianza 2015

El Coto RiojaThe El Coto Rioja crianza is one of the world’s great cheap wines, a Spanish red to enjoy over and over — even when you don’t get a sample

The Wine Curmudgeon has always been ambivalent about samples. Yes, they save me a lot of money, but too much of the wine I get as samples isn’t worth drinking — let alone writing about. One of the few times I’ve missed samples is when the El Coto Rioja stopped showing up.

That’s because the El Coto Rioja ($10, purchased, 13%) is one of the world’s great cheap wines, and samples mean I get every new release. Buying it is much more hit or miss; I haven’t tasted the wine in more than two years.

Which is entirely too long. This is classic tempranillo, a red wine from the Rioja region of Spain. And the price makes it all that much better. All of the varietal character that is supposed to be in this kind of wine is there: the bright cherry color, the fresh red fruit with a touch of orange peel in the aroma, and the tart cherry fruit and spice flavors. Know, too, that Crianza is the most affordable and accessible of the three versions of Rioja, so it’s supposed to be simple – and simple does not mean stupid.

Highly recommended, and a candidate for the 2019 $10 Hall of Fame. This is winter red wine, perfect for stews, braises, and almost anything else (a sloppy cheeseburger and onion rings?) when it’s cold and snowy and you want to sip and to sigh and to enjoy.

Imported by Frederick Wildman & Sons

Porch wine for the long, hot summer

porch wineHas the hot weather made you as cranky as the WC tasting 15 percent chardonnay? Then take a long, cool sip of the porch wine post.

We haven’t hit 100 in Dallas yet, but 99 for the last week or so is close enough. And, from what I hear from my pals in the rest of the country, it’s too damn hot where they are. Which means it’s time for a porch wine post – focusing on lighter wines, red and white, that are lower in alcohol and that offer relief from the heat. The idea with a porch wine is to drink something that won’t make the sweat bead on your forehead.

These four wines are excellent examples of the type, and should give you an idea about what to look for:

• Nik. Weis Urban Riesling 2015 ($15, sample, 9%): Well-made German riesling is difficult to find in Dallas, which makes no sense given how warm-weather friendly the wine is. The Weis is made in a more modern style, with fresher apricot fruit instead of dried and brighter acidity, but it’s also layered with the traditional honey notes. Nicely done, and will even age a little.

• El Coto Rosado 2015 ($9, purchased, 13.5%): The El Coto is is one of my favorite Spanish roses, and if it’s not quite as well done as the Muga, it’s still delicious and a tremendous value. Look for strawberry fruit, plus a little earthiness and even orange peel from the tempranillo that’s in the blend.

• Torresella Prosecco Extra Dry NV ($15, sample, 11.5%): This Italian sparkler reminded me why I love wine. I much prefer cava to Prosecco, so it’s always a pleasure to find a Prosecco worth writing about – not too sweet, firm bubbles, surprisingly balanced, and more apple and pear fruit than most others. Highly recommended.

• Drouhin Domaine des Hospices de Belleville Fleurie 2014 ($25, sample, 13%): Top-notch red from the French region of Beaujolais that has nothing in common with most of the plonk made there these days. Firm but not overbearing, with red fruit and soft tannins, and something you can drink on its own or with food. The only drawback is the cost, but given how expensive this quality of French wine has become, it’s not overpriced.

More about porch wine:
• Wine terms: Porch wine
• Wine when the air conditioning is broken
• Wine of the week: Angels & Cowboys rose 2015
• Wine of the week: Chateau Bonnet Blanc 2014