2019 Bodegas Aster by La Rioja Alta Crianza

Price:
$25.85
Stock:
Only 18 units left

Description

From: Ribera del Duero, Spain
Varietal: Tinto Fino (Tempranillo)

Taste & Critical Acclaim: Winemaker Notes. Intense crimson color with dark red rim and bright robe. Forest floor and black fruit notes stand out on the nose: blackcurrant, blackberry and blueberry jam wrapped with mocha, confectionery and spices such as black pepper, licorice and clove on the background. Balanced, vibrant and fresh mouthfeel, with the characteristic fine, gentle tannins of these Ribera del Duero wines. The aftertaste is fresh and sinewy, nicely rounded with a very pleasant finish. An elegant wine, with outstanding balance and excellent aging potential.

John Gilman 93+
Bodegas ster is the relatively new Ribera del Duero property of La Rioja Alta. They purchased land and planted vines in 1991, but did not produce any wines themselves until the 2001 vintage, after the tempranillo vines were ten years of age. Their 2019 Tinto Crianza comes in at 14.5 percent octane and was raised for just under two years in casks, with the wood being a fifty-fifty split of French and American oak. The 2019 version offers up a youthful and refined bouquet of plums, black cherries, cigar smoke, clove-like spice tones, a good foundation of soil and a generous serving of cedary oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and nascently complex, with lovely depth of black fruit, good soil undertow and grip, ripe, well-integrated tannins and a beautifully balanced, long, and focused finish. This is going to be simply outstanding wine once it is ready to drink.

Tim Atkins 93
We're looking for less wood and more freshness in the wine, says Alejandro Lpez of this perfumed, nicely weighted Crianza from three parcels around the bodega. Youthful bright and alluring, with deftly integrated 75% new wood, some stony reduction, notes of mint, raspberry and black cherry and sculpted tannins.

91 Wine Spectator
A toasty edge of smoke, mocha and vanilla accents the pureed cherry and baked plum fruit flavors in this harmonious red. There’s a zesty, spice-laden underpinning, with fine, taut tannins wrapped in a creamy texture and a fresh note of loamy earth lingering on the finish.


Pairing: An ideal partner for grilled meat, game, suckling lamb, or hard cheese. Some specific pairing options include serving this alongside homemade diner-style or smash burgers, smoked prime rib, grilled or oven-roasted tri-tip, kabab koobideh, grilled pork with whole spices and garlic bread, slow cooker BBQ pork and beans, and even takeout tacos or gyros. 

About the Haro firm of La Rioja Alta. On July 10, 1890, five families shared their passion for wine and founded La Rioja Alta, S.A. That day was the start of an ongoing search for excellence that their descendants still pursue today. Since then, they have managed to get the best from the marriage of tradition in wine aging and state-of-the-art technology in grape fermentation. Nowadays, they are an international reference for great Rioja wines. 

Their wines result from an exhaustive selection of their most exclusive grapes and a slow aging process that gives them elegance, complexity, and sophistication. They patiently settle in more than 30,000 American oak casks fashioned by their own coopers. They take great responsibility in making their wines using estate grapes—wines with personality and soul.

About Bodegas Aster. It’s no secret that Tempranillo is Spain’s most widely planted red grape variety, largely due to the centuries-long success of its home region, Rioja. But southwest of there, in the provinces of Burgos, Valladolid, Segovia, and Soria, Tempranillo has established a second bastion: Ribera del Duero. 

Sunny, dry weather, rocky clay-limestone soil, and high altitude (with its huge diurnal-nocturnal temperature swings) all conspire to create an unrepeatable expression of Tempranillo (or as it’s known here, Tinto Fino or Tinta del País). These wines are typically darker and more powerful than their Rioja cousins, but the good ones blaze forth with a unique freshness and crunch.

Given the raw material, it’s natural that many Rioja producers have been drawn to this neighboring zone over the years, and the historic Haro firm of La Rioja Alta is no exception. After searching through ideal terroirs for several years, they purchased the old parcel of Finca El Otero in Anguix, Burgos province, in 1993 and set to work to understand how to capture the essence of these vines best. Centenary companies don’t rush quality: it was not until 2000 that Bodegas Áster was born.

Today, Bodegas Áster produces three expressions of Ribera: a superb entry-level Crianza intended to show the perfect blend of structure, fruit, and oak elevage; El Espino, a newer cuvée selected for aroma and fruit intensity; and Finca El Otero. This last, sourced from the estate’s original oldest vines, is the total package and is now considered to be one of the best single cuvées being produced in the Ribera appellation.

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