When I think of Rioja, I always picture this bottle in my mind.
The classic wired body and clouded glass. I have fond memories of this wine, I seem to remember that the 1981 was excellent. So, did the memories flood back…?
The wine is made by Bodegas Faustino in Northern Spain. The vineyard has been arount since 1861 when Eleuterio Martinez Arzok moved to Oyon and bought a palace and vineyards from the Marques del Puerto. Faustino I was first launched on 1960 along with Faustino V, VII and Don Faustino.
I remember rioja’s as being quite high in tannin’s rather than the “soft, silky, mellow” mentioned on the back. I drank it with a nice Ox Tail stew, good strong meaty flavour. My tasting notes said…
Urgh, bad bottle? No, but not great. Tannins, but also maybe sour? Not smooth at all.
I disliked it so much I drank very little. What did it taste like the next day?
Nope, just as bad
Oh dear, that was not good. The wine had no smoothness at all and had a distinctly sour aftertaste. I hosestly thought it could have been a bad bottle but it wasn’t quite bad enough. I’ve given bad wine a second chance before but at over £10 a bottle someone would have to send me a bottle for free!! With decent reds from the New World available at <£10 it’s only a matter of time before disappointing Old World reds like this one die out. One Star.
Faustino I Gran Reserva Rioja 1996
Grape: Tempranillo 85%, Graciano 10%, Mazuelo 5%
Alcohol: 13%
Guide Price: ~£14 (Sainsburys)
I bought this wine at: Sainsbury’s (instore)
ITs Food Rating: One star
2 responses so far ↓
brian lloyd // Wednesday, 9 April 2008 at 12:11 am |
It must have been a bad batch. I have personally drank many bottles of this particular vintage, as I have many other of their vintages without any problems, infact I recently drank a bottle of 1964 vintage. I had suspected that this may be past its best, but in actual fact, it drank superbly
itsfood // Wednesday, 9 April 2008 at 6:30 am |
Yes, but isn’t it a shame when you get a bad wine?