La Vicalanda Reserva

We may well open a bottle of Reserva from La Rioja with some preconceived ideas. Perhaps bottles we've come across in the past make us conjure up a wine of delicate intensity, dominated by the aromas of leather and old wood. Yet all this imaginary conjecture vanishes on sensing the first aromas of the La Vicalanda Reserva, and even earlier we'd dare say.

Once in the glass it appears lively, intense and modern. It has slow, plentiful tears and an intense colour. Its 14 months of ageing have done nothing but bestow complexity and profundity on the wine. The fruit is still very much in evidence and the oak is there as a companion, like a dancing duo who know how to keep in perfect step; nobody treads on anybody else's toes. You'll recognise in it aromas of cedar wood and tobacco leaves, but also those of ripe black fruit and violets. The tannins from the wood and juiciness of the fruit intermingle to form a harmonious whole which rounds off a splendid passage with spicy hints and a magnificent aftertaste that's balsamic and very long.

Serve it between 16 and 18 degrees, accompanied by some fine lamb ribs or a good game dish and it'll be imprinted on your memory forever.