Marqués del Romeral 1971

Wine: Marqués del Romeral 1971
Winery: Bodegas Félix Azpilicueta Martínez - AGE Bodegas Unidas (Fuenmayor, La Rioja)
Appellation / Zone: D.O.Ca. Rioja
Varietals: 60% Tempranillo, 25% Mazuelo, 15% Graciano.
ABV: — (Not specified)

Winemaking

Following fermentation, the wine remained for 12 months in large vats to complete malolactic fermentation and undergo natural settling before aging. Subsequently, it matured for 36 months in used 225-liter American oak barrels. It underwent a minimum of 48 months of bottle aging in the winery’s underground cellars prior to its commercial release.

 

Tasting Notes

 

Appearance: Brownish-ruby color with medium depth; somewhat turbid and grainy, with a significant amount of sediment at the base of the bottle. It displays matte, orange reflections. The rim is extremely wide and completely tawny/brick-colored, showing no distinction from the meniscus, indicating advanced evolution.

 

Nose: Upon opening, the wine appears disjointed, difficult, and lacking harmony. There are notes of mud, iodine, charcoal, camphor, and fireplace soot; a wide array of descriptors without any coherence. After two hours of aeration, it fails to improve. Creamy notes and sweet spices—vanilla, nutmeg—eventually emerge, yet the puzzle pieces do not fit together.

 

Palate: Somewhat better on the palate. Mature and thick, with a heavy oak presence that has failed to integrate and an almost flat acidity. Bitter notes are present alongside a vegetal finish that, with some imagination, one might call pleasant. An unfortunate vintage that has barely been able to withstand the passage of time.

 

Commentary

This bottle was stored in exceptional conditions alongside other vintages from the same winery that have reached the present day in very worthy condition. However, when a wine lacks the necessary core, no amount of careful cellaring can save it. It is difficult to explain why this wine was bottled and sold under the Marqués del Romeral Gran Reserva label when it should have been released simply as Romeral. Better left unrated.

 

Personal Score: Unrated (Wine in decline)
Tasting Group Average: Unrated
Price: 65 €