Excellent! It took very little time to breathe which was unexpected for a 2011. We will be buying more of this if we can find it. — 2 years ago
2017 Full bodied and a smooth after taste. — 5 years ago
Lovely soft flavours with rich grape overtones — 6 years ago
Great champagne blend with sharp bubbles and toasted caramel notes. Some green apple. Excellent especially at $25. — 7 years ago
Notes of strawberry and butter. Can't go wrong with a rosé! — 9 years ago
A fantastic wine , amazing nose and good palate. Best paired with a oven baked dorado from Ligurian sea. — 10 years ago
About me: I prefer light or medium bodied, semi-sweet, soft/smooth, fruity nose, weak or medium flavor, clean finish. Don't care for very sweet, acidic, dry, crisp, oaky, bitter, peppery, tannic, strong, heavy. Usually don't eat when I drink wine. Rating only reflects my preference.
Review: Opens creamy, quite sweet with pronounced cherry flavor. Followed by some oak (though it's prepared in steel drums) and very mild bitterness. Finish slightly mineral with mild cherry. Reminds me of port. Bought a case. — 10 years ago
Perfect at the end of the day with a beautiful filet — 11 years ago
Great sweet red wine. Almost dessert like. — 13 years ago
Barón de Ley – Varietales Tempranillo – 2014
Rioja DOCa – Spain 🇪🇸
Overview
A 100% Tempranillo from Rioja’s esteemed Barón de Ley Varietales Collection, crafted to highlight the noble face of the region’s flagship grape. Although structured in a crianza style with a projected drinking window of 10–12 years, opening it in 2025 revealed the wine perched right on the twilight edge of maturity. This is bottle #04400, now showing the soulful evolution that Rioja Tempranillo is famed for.
Aromas & Flavors
Initially faint cherry fruit, now firmly in the tertiary spectrum: leather satchel, dried rosemary, forest floor, and faint cigar box. Gentle hints of balsamic and dried fig linger in the background.
Mouthfeel
Medium-bodied with softened, polymerized tannins. Acidity remains fresh enough to carry the wine, but fruit presence has largely faded, leaving savory and earthy notes to dominate.
Food Pairings
A fine match for aged Manchego cheese, braised lamb shank, mushroom-stuffed peppers, or even a rustic stew where earthy and herbal notes harmonize.
Verdict
This Tempranillo no longer plays its youthful cherry trumpet but rather resonates like the old violin sound of Rioja—mellow, textured, and contemplative. A fascinating study in maturity, best enjoyed with reflection rather than exuberance.
Did You Know?
Rioja wines are often classified not just by grape but by aging designations (Crianza, Reserva, Gran Reserva). This bottle leaned into crianza timing, showing beautifully at first but demonstrating how Tempranillo gracefully transitions from fruit-driven vibrancy to complex tertiary elegance. — 7 months ago
Fínt með fiskibllu — 4 years ago
Non vintage — 5 years ago
Waitrose. Liked it. Fruity raisin taste after double aerating. Slightly drying aspect on the palate. Decent — 6 years ago
Excellent — 7 years ago
Thank you for sharing this great wine Martin Rivard — 9 years ago
Full of rich juicy cherries and currants with hint of vanilla. Very modern in style with soft tannin. Super approachable Bordeaux wine. — 10 years ago
Очень хорошо. — 10 years ago
First time drinking a Bordeaux and was very pleased with this one. — 11 years ago
A regular. — 13 years ago
Great bang for the buck. Yeasty savory bread, macerated peach, overripe/candied pineapple, and a long creamy mouthfeel with fine perlage. An expressive ripe style that is very well executed for the price point  — a year ago
10 is all i can say — 2 years ago
Ruby red color with aromas of rich red fruits, sweet spice, smoke and cedar notes, aged in French oak. On the palate flavors of black cherry, blackberry and currants with vanilla, tobacco, spice and licorice. Fine ripe tannins, long finish ending with fruit, sweet spice and toasty oak character. Nice, good now but more time is better! — 3 years ago
Stephens day tipple... Beautiful — 5 years ago
This 2016 was gifted to me at a meal I was hosting. Beautifully presented bottle and a Very pleasant, well balanced wine with great aromas. This paired really well with roasted beef. — 7 years ago
Posthumously review, it was great — 8 years ago
Smokey nice with Ribeye — 10 years ago
Un infanticidio terrible. El próximo dentro de 20 años. — 10 years ago
Great again from Loire region. — 11 years ago
Sings like it should — 13 years ago
Doug Powers
[40% Grenache, 15% Syrah, 15% Cinsault, 10% Carignan, 10% Mourvèdre, 10% Counoise] Fresh, crisp, lively red fruits in this lovely old vine CdR (fruit from Lirac, aged 12 months in small oak barrels), unlike the 2007 (compromised by a so-so cork), this 2009 shows very well, long, lingering finish, this drinks great tonight but should hold or possibly further develop for 3-5 more years. Served with Buffalo NY strip steaks!! No music accompaniment, though — sorry @Dave! — 6 months ago