Thirsty Thursday: 2006 LAN Rioja Crianza & 2005 LAN Rioja Reserva
Ever since my days of schlepping wine for the man, I’ve been a fan of comparison tastings. The sampling of multiple vintages of the same wine or different styles of a particular varietal can be extremely illuminating for one’s palate to the subtle and not so subtle differences of a wine from year to year or from region to region.
One unique aging comparison tasting that I once enjoyed used wines from the Spanish winery Bodegas LAN. Founded in 1972 and named after the initials of the three provinces in Rioja (Logrono, Alava, and Navarra), LAN has become a consistent producer of quality wines primarily using the region’s native grape, Tempranillo.
The tasting that I encourage you all to experience for yourself is that of LAN’s three basic level wines: the Crianza, Reserva, and Grand Reserva.
In Rioja each of these names defines the aging process of the particular wine.
- Crianza- wine must have spent at least 12 months in oak barrels.
- Reserva- wine must be aged for at least three years in oak and bottle, of which one year must be in the barrel.
- Grand Reserva- wine spends a minimum of two years in oak barrels and another three year in the bottle.
Hence when sampling all three bottles at once, one can experience and compare the differences between three aging processes of a particular vintage and quality levels of the wines.
Unfortunately, I was unable to obtain the Grand Reserva in Salt Lake City. So for the purposes of this edition of Thirsty Thursday I’ll be reviewing only the LAN Crianza and Reserva.
2006 Bodegas LAN Rioja Crianza
Pale maroon in color with an ever so slight ring of oak aging, the Crianza’s minimal nose hints at red fruits and spice which present themselves on the palate. Light with balanced tannins, simple cherry flavors as well as spice and licorice notes are expressed on a palate that is wrapped in a small amount of oak. Flavors linger pleasantly on a slightly warm finish. Always an outstanding value in wine.
Retails for around $10-12
2005 Bodegas LAN Rioja Reserva
Clear dark cherry in color with a more significant ring of oak aging, the Reserva’s nose offers a magnified the ripeness of fruit as compared to the Crianza along with a stronger oakiness. Medium bodied, a combination of ripe plum, violet, licorice, and spice pleasantly encompasses the palate. Finishes with a smoky and violet essence that lingers along with a slight astringency. Decanting recommended
Retails for around $18-20
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Very interesting. When given the chance to compare, I often realise the 2005 (from Europe) is never my favourite year, but it’s usually more expensive because 2005 is considered a great year.
Such is life with good vintages, but good wines are always worth the extra price.
Another wine added to the list. I’m going to need a wine cellar if I ever buy everything on that list. Nonetheless, thanks for the info, Jed.
Just in case…I’ll do some research for off-site wine storage for you. That or I could just come over for a weekend and help you clear out some space.
Absolutely one of my favourite grapes and varieties of wine. I am looking forward to sampling some wonderful Spanish wines in September when we visit Spain!
Very jealous of your future travels to Spain. I haven’t been there in almost 15 years!
I’m hoping to blog as we go, just like I did for Morocco…you can come along virtually!
Now you are talking!
Great review Jed. Of course I love Riojas, you can never go wrong with them; but have you considered the Ribera del Duero? You should give them a try too, they are amazing…
Here, take a look (is in English) http://www.riberadelduero.es/eng/index.asp
Bye!
Oh ya Giovanna….Ribera del Duero. I’ve had many amazing wines from there. Hardly ever a bad bottle.
I like this idea and you’ve just inspired me to throw together a little dinner party sampling these Riojas! Based on your review, both of them sound good to me. Do you actually decant your wine or use an aerator?
Hi Linda, I usually prefer to use a decanted as it always seems gentler to me. However, if I’m feeling lazy or are in a rush I will use the aerator from time to time.
I’m going to have to google these wines. They do sound great but I’m not sure they’re available here. xx
Why to do I keep think I should move to Australia and start my own wine import business???
Your posts always remind me that I want to host a wine tasting party
Thanks for your review!
You’re welcome Liz and hosting a wine tasting party isn’t a bad thing at all. Always a great time for everyone.
We used to do wine tasting parties BK (before kids), and would try different versions of the same wines, too. It’s so interesting the subtle and not so subtle differences.
I love your wine posts b/c I love wine but never take the time to read about them
Thanks Jen…anything I can do to help out your wine consumption.
I like the sound of that!
What’s funny Jed is everytime I visit your site, the new post is always about alcohol. Go figure. hehe Enjoy the Training Camp.
Is that a bad thing???
Definitely not a bad thing. Why do you think there’s always a comment from me when it comes to your alcohol posts. hehe
By the way, did you participate in the NCAA bracket? The Duke and Mizzou games were bracket busters!
I didn’t this year, but I can’t say I’d be losing sleep over Duke…now Mizzou that is a different matter entirely. Hope they didn’t kill you.
I really like Rioja but don’t buy it much…mainly because I don’t know as much about it as other wine, so this gives me some great ideas of what to try, thanks!
LAN is a great Rioja winery expand your knowledge from. Limited selection but quality production.
Ooh – Spanish wines! Will have to lok out for these
I have become a wine snob in the past few yrs following a visit to Napa. it was really interesting an enlightening and made hubby and I realize we really had been drinking crap wine! I like rioja but haven’t had any in a while, I’ll give this one a go, it sounds fabulous! Cheers!
[...] we left off last week with a new found favorite from the land of Rioja, Spain: the 2009 Montebuena (click here if you missed last week’s wine [...]