Bodegas Faustino
Gran Reserva Faustino I 75th Anniversary Rioja Tempranillo Blend
La Rioja, Spain
Vintage 2016 | cassis laurel elegance
Vintage 2016 | cassis laurel elegance
Oct 12th, 2022
This wine takes me back to 1980. I had to check my very first wine journal, back when I was still a true wine novice.
What I wrote then was simple but telling: “wonderful, full, and ripe.” No elaborate analysis, just sheer admiration as my third wine ever.
Now, decades later, I taste it again. With experience, reference points, and countless glasses behind me. And yet, the remarkable thing is: my tasting note today aligns perfectly with what I wrote back then.
The wine remains classic, harmonious, and carefully crafted. Ripe fruit, integrated oak, soft tannins, and a long, elegant finish, exactly what you hope for in a Gran Reserva.
This time, I was particularly surprised at how astonishingly well it paired with smoked salmon and a touch of soy sauce.
Something I could never have imagined in 1980. Yet it worked beautifully: the wine’s umami embraced the salmon, and the soy’s saltiness found balance in the wine’s ripeness and softness.
A wine that has not only stood the test of time, but has also grown alongside my palate. Then impressive for its power and ripeness, now for its precision, balance, and classic craftsmanship.
Some first impressions, it seems, are simply right from the start. And in this price range it’s just a very good wine.
This wine takes me back to 1980. I had to check my very first wine journal, back when I was still a true wine novice.
What I wrote then was simple but telling: “wonderful, full, and ripe.” No elaborate analysis, just sheer admiration as my third wine ever.
Now, decades later, I taste it again. With experience, reference points, and countless glasses behind me. And yet, the remarkable thing is: my tasting note today aligns perfectly with what I wrote back then.
The wine remains classic, harmonious, and carefully crafted. Ripe fruit, integrated oak, soft tannins, and a long, elegant finish, exactly what you hope for in a Gran Reserva.
This time, I was particularly surprised at how astonishingly well it paired with smoked salmon and a touch of soy sauce.
Something I could never have imagined in 1980. Yet it worked beautifully: the wine’s umami embraced the salmon, and the soy’s saltiness found balance in the wine’s ripeness and softness.
A wine that has not only stood the test of time, but has also grown alongside my palate. Then impressive for its power and ripeness, now for its precision, balance, and classic craftsmanship.
Some first impressions, it seems, are simply right from the start. And in this price range it’s just a very good wine.