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. — 21 days ago

James K

9.3

Impressed this held up for so long. Has zero hope or expectations when our neighbor brought it over. — 3 months ago

brando cox

8.9

All the right things. Cherry. Cassis. Blackberry. Balanced warm vanilla cherry crumble which good riojas are known for. A hint of undergrowth. 2013 drinking superbly in 2025. — 4 months ago

Mark

9.5

At my first taste, I was amazed at how smooth and well balanced this wine was. Very soft tannins and bright fruit. Taste of strawberry and a hint of the bitter of cherry. Really very enjoyable wine. The cork came apart as we opened the wine so I was concerned that it might have oxidized but not at all. Deep red and purple colors with no hint of brown at the rim of the wine. First in a vertical. — 9 hours ago

with Jeron and Jessica

Rufus King

9.4

Delightful Margaux with light cherry notes and and fine tannin, Bloom Brasserie, Dublin — a month ago

Renato Grandmont

9.2

Very well balanced — 4 months ago

GaryWEdwards

9.7

At 25 years, patience rewarded in this now delightful vintage. No hurry here as this juice is a long distance runner with at another 40 years to enjoy. — 16 days ago

Neal Krishna Devaraj

9.3

Excellent juicy grapes and plums — 5 days ago

Jan A

9.3

All time favorite! Huge qpr crusher — 2 months ago

Elena Todorov

9.5

1986 vintage holds great — 4 months ago