Wine review

Conde de Valdemar Reserva 2000 Rioja, $19. Those who know me know I love my Rioja. So when so some good things happened yesterday, I decided to splurge on this bottle (why $15 seems like a normal price for wine and $20 seems like a splurge, I don't know. Maybe John Tierney could explain.) Unlike some other recent splurges, this was a good choice, and fully cleared my palate of the terrible Red Guitar. This Rioja is a blend of 85 percent Tempranillo grapes and 15 percent Mazuelo. The wine is aged 24 months in American and French oak barrels and then aged in the bottle 20 months. Despite the two years in oak, the wine is hardly oakey. (I assume the bottle-aging makes it more subtle? I am still learning.) It has a subtle range of flavors and is deliciously complex, a tad peppery with hints of red currant and cherry. This is a wine to be savored on its own or with a nice Manchego. I cannot wait until I have something really exciting to celebrate so that I can splurge on the Gran Reserva ($31).