Beronia, Rioja DOC Reserva (Spain) 2015

 Matias Calleja’s title at Beronia is Technical Director, but he keeps his winemaker’s eye on every step in making this polished wine.  Aromas are black cherry, blackberries, with a hint of baking spices.  In the mouth, the wine is smooth and balanced with dark berry flavors, spices and a hint of lemon peel.  It has a medium body with lively acidity and smooth integrated tannins.  All of the elements of the wine are intertwined and express themselves as a graceful whole.  An example of Calleja’s attention to detail is the development of barrels for aging the wines.  Traditionally, Rioja reds are aged in American oak, but he wasn’t pleased with the result.  He experimented with French oak barrels and wasn’t satisfied with that result.  His solution was a barrel with American oak staves and French oak heads.  This wine was aged for 20 months in a combination of the French/ American hybrid barrels and French barrels that had been previously used for at least two years.  The results of his efforts are evident in this polished wine.