Freddy R. Troya

9.0

Barón de Ley – Varietales Tempranillo – 2014
Rioja DOCa – Spain 🇪🇸

Overview
A 100% Tempranillo from Rioja’s esteemed Barón de Ley Varietales Collection, crafted to highlight the noble face of the region’s flagship grape. Although structured in a crianza style with a projected drinking window of 10–12 years, opening it in 2025 revealed the wine perched right on the twilight edge of maturity. This is bottle #04400, now showing the soulful evolution that Rioja Tempranillo is famed for.

Aromas & Flavors
Initially faint cherry fruit, now firmly in the tertiary spectrum: leather satchel, dried rosemary, forest floor, and faint cigar box. Gentle hints of balsamic and dried fig linger in the background.

Mouthfeel
Medium-bodied with softened, polymerized tannins. Acidity remains fresh enough to carry the wine, but fruit presence has largely faded, leaving savory and earthy notes to dominate.

Food Pairings
A fine match for aged Manchego cheese, braised lamb shank, mushroom-stuffed peppers, or even a rustic stew where earthy and herbal notes harmonize.

Verdict
This Tempranillo no longer plays its youthful cherry trumpet but rather resonates like the old violin sound of Rioja—mellow, textured, and contemplative. A fascinating study in maturity, best enjoyed with reflection rather than exuberance.

Did You Know?
Rioja wines are often classified not just by grape but by aging designations (Crianza, Reserva, Gran Reserva). This bottle leaned into crianza timing, showing beautifully at first but demonstrating how Tempranillo gracefully transitions from fruit-driven vibrancy to complex tertiary elegance. — 3 days ago

David Kline

10

Rim to rim unvaried. Cola color showing but maintaining red-garnet. Nose of baked plum with framboise liqueur, morel, black trumpet, black truffle, and portobello. A nuttiness trailing; pecan-hazelnut. Otherworldly mouthfeel for its age. Tart cherry, violets, lightning bursts of fungus, grilled earth, cedar and cinnamon sharpen onto a point of intense roobios. Dried raspberry, cherry and blackberry pop and drop. Insane.
How is this still kicking?
#remoissenetpèreetfils #remoissenet #richebourg #richebourg #grandcru #richebourggrandcru #cotedor #bourgognerouge #redburgundy #burgundy — 3 years ago

Holly Morgan

9.2

Great with a black trumpet mushroom and butternut squash tart. — 4 years ago

Tom Casagrande

9.4

15-yr. old Finger Lakes Gewurz, still alive and kicking like a mule. Very brassy golden color. Like a trumpet. Nose still showing some Gewurz fruit, but showing a bunch of unique tertiary notes. Full bodied and off dry. Long lingering finish. Amazingly little oxidation. This is remarkable. — 2 months ago

with Dan and Angelo

Jeremy Shanker

Sommelier at RN74

9.6

Finally had a Dunn that was ready to drink! Pasilla, black currant, forest floor, black trumpet mushroom. — 2 years ago

David Kline

9.3

Complex nose with earthy mushroom, black plum and raspberry, some mixed tobacco and cola nut. Cedar and dried raspberry, trumpet mushroom, smoky blackberries, and a wound up chicory and coffee. Brimming with goodness.


#authentique #authentiquekeelerestate #keelerestatevineyard #eolaamityhills #eolaamity #oregonpinotnoir #oregonwine #oregon #pinotnoir #authentiquewinecellars #biodynamicwine #biodynamite #biodynamicgrapes — 3 years ago

with Courtney

Peter van den Besselaar

9.2

Vintage 2019 | soft minerality and honey in smell, excellent body and balance. I chose this bottle to pair with choucroute and pheasant with trumpet of the dead mushrooms. — a year ago

David Kline

9.5

Meaty-cherry nose has dark chocolate undertones and trumpet mushrooms, pretzel bread, bresaola, vaporous sarsaparilla-into cola, and pâté. Dried black cherry shows tart red into mid-palate, white pepper, cranberry and Crimini. Dark toast, raspberry and savory.

#2016 #monopole #ClosdeTart #closdetart #misenbouteilleaudomaine #estatebouttled #grandcru #burgundy #moreysaintdenis #msd4life #côtedor — 2 years ago

David Kline

9.4

Herbaceous. Black cherry meets trumpet mushrooms, dried violets and roses. Silky warm plum compote. On the palate, a well-knit red and black cherry see cranberry compote instead; red currant, dried raspberry and blackberry. Lovely exhibit of dried flowers, touches of iron and graphite sparkle on the long long tail.



#châteauphelansegur #phelansegur #saintestephe #2014 #misenbouteilleauchateau #leftbankbordeaux #leftbank #bordeauxrouge #bordeaux — 3 years ago

LeMel Humes

9.2

Surprised by the full body bold but the melody of a smooth muted trumpet solo. It captures every color of the rainbow. — 3 years ago

with Suzanne