Mark

9.5

This is a huge wine and I hate that I opened it. I think it’s going to be awesome in another 10 years. Huge fruit strong tannins and a chalky feel from green tannins. I’m going to buy a case to cellar for later. This is a really big wine and is delicious but too young. — 6 days ago

with Jeron and Jessica

Raun Kupiec

9.0

First bottle corked. Luckily able to pull another from the cellar to compare. What a difference! Great learning when you can compare. Black cherry, smooth, decent acidity, very soft tannins. First bottle was wet cardboard. — 25 days ago

with Barbara

Mark S.

9.0

Good Les Griffons de Pichon Baron 20 @10120, Pieroth, 251117 — 7 days ago

Jan A

9.6

I keep posting this, it is such a pqr killer! Widely available at around 18€ in the Netherlands. For my palate this is easy on premier/grand cru level. Worth seeking out! — 4 days ago

Freddy R. Troya

9.0

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. — a month ago

Rufus King

9.4

Delightful Margaux with light cherry notes and and fine tannin, Bloom Brasserie, Dublin — a month ago

Brandon Boesch

9.8

What beautiful wine. The secondary fruit notes are coming through, some dried fruit, more body. This is still an insanely austere wine. Sea shells, lemons, apples, chamomile, flowers, more apples, orange blossom. It’s just so much better with the fruit tasting older. So glad I experienced this over a few years to see how champagne evolves. 2015 harvest, disgorged jun 2019, no dosage. — 15 days ago

Mark S.

9.2

aged long finish Château La Fleur-Pétrus Pomerol 14 @43780, Pieroth, 251117 — 7 days ago

Mark S.

9.2

fruity need to wait for more than 10 years. Château Pichon-Longueville Baron 20 @35530, Pieroth, 251117 — 7 days ago

Kate

9.2

I like blends. This is light bodied. — 25 days ago