A couple weeks ago, I had the opportunity to taste a short flight of wines from Spanish producer, Camp Viejo.  This Rioja-based winery has been producing wine for a good 50 years and produces three different wines, each a specific style as regulated by the Rioja DOC.

Rioja, for those who don’t know, is the leading wine region in Spain.  It’s located in the northern part of Spain and they are predominantly known for red wines.

Campo Viejo 2007 Crianza

Wines labeled as Crianza must have spent at least 12 months in oak casks.  This particular wine was oaked in a combination of French and American oak, but the majority of it was in American oak.  The wine was also given 5+ months of bottle aging before being released.  The blend in this wine is 85% tempranillo, 10% garnacha and 5% manzuelo.

Cherry, plum, smoke aromas and a touch of vanilla give this wine a complex and exciting nose.  It has really nice acidity on the palate.  There’s plenty of tangy fruit on the palate too, with characteristics of cherry, raspberry and plum.  It finishes nice and spicy.  It would be a nice wine to pair with turkey.

Wine: Campo Viejo Crianza
Variety: Red blend, mostly tempranillo
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 86
Price:  $10.00

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Campo Viejo 2006 Reserva

Rioja DOC wines labeled as Reserva are required to have spent at least 18 months in oak.  This wine spent that time in a combination of French and American oak.  It has also had an additional 18 months of bottle aging.  The blend is 85% tempranillo, 10% graciano, and 5% manzuelo.

This wine shows a nice balance of fruit and earth on the nose, with aromas of coffee, plums, blackberry and tobacco.  The palate has a medium body (i.e. not too big) with flavors of plum, blackberry and spice.  It finishes spicy too.  It’s a tasty wine.  Pair this wine with grilled pork.

Wine: Campo Viejo Reserva
Variety: Red blend, mostly tempranillo
Vintage: 2006
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 87
Price:  $14.00

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Campo Viejo 2003 Gran Reserva

Rioja DOC Gran Reserva wine must be oaked for a minimum of 24 months.  This one was oaked in 80% French oak and the remainder was American.  The wine was also given 36 months of bottle aging.  The blend is 85% tempranillo, 10% graciano and 5% manzuelo.

Chocolate aromas slap you in the face with this wine.  It’s loaded with spice aromas too, like cloves and allspice.  And it also shows some plum and smoke aromas.  There’s a lot going on in this wine.  The palate offers deep plum, blackberry and raisin flavors up front, with dark chocolate on the mid-palate and raisins and coffee on the finish.  This is a very nice wine.  Break out the red meat for pairing with this wine.

The suggested retail price is $21, meaning that you can most likely find this wine for less than that.  And at that price, it’s a steal!

Wine: Campo Viejo Gran Reserva
Variety: Red blend, mostly tempranillo
Vintage: 2003
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 91
Price:  $21.00

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Disclosure: These wines were received as a sample.