Campo Viejo Rioja Reserva 2000

A definate step up from the Crianza this is also a definate step down from the Luganilla Gran Reserva tasted at the same time (see earlier entry). It did all the right things, pressed all the right buttons, however the lower bottle time meant that a bit of the oaky harshness was still evident. Flavour wise there were elements of Strawberry, Cedar and of course Oak and it had similar aromas with coconut (giving away the use of American Barriques rather than French ones) and plum in addition. There were no really harsh tannins, but they were certainly there and all in all it was a medium bodied joy that thankfully came before the Luganilla which would have totally dominated it. Once again serve with Lamb.