Wine of the Week: Campo Viejo Tempranillo

Wine: Campo Viejo Tempranillo

Grape: Tempranillo

Region: Rioja, Spain

Vintage: 2012

Price: $9.99

Availability: Vons and other chain stores

In the glass: Campo Viejo wine is a deep garnet-red color with a dense opaque core going out into a fine light garnet-red rim definition with high viscosity.

On the nose: This wine has highly pungent peppery-black-fruit-basket- thrown-into-a-blender written all over it, with notes of balsamic, huckleberries, graphite and semirustic earth-driven minerals and a touch of herbal character and phenols.

On the palate: The wine is a little closed at first, which makes me want to open it and let it breathe for a good hour before tasting it. Once the wine opens, it reveals bright forward predominantly red fruit with vibrant acidity over earthy crushed loganberry and sloe fruit. It’s a soft wine on the palate, meaning the tannins are fully balanced and there is suppleness, although a hint of phenolic compounds and tight acidity from the wine’s core hits through the midpalate and into the decent finish.

Odds and ends: A couple of weeks ago, I was in Hong Kong preparing for another wine auction. Leading up to it was a fabulous dinner with great old Spanish wines. Campo Viejo 1970 was among the many wonderful wines, which reminded me that this seminal wine from the Rioja in Spain can age for a very long time. Granted, the one I had was the Reserva, which sees a little more barrel aging and care than this particular one, but this is one of the great legendary producers in this most revered wine region of Spain.

Not to be outdone, last week I was having dinner in what is arguably the finest authentic Japanese restaurant in Las Vegas, Raku on Spring Mountain Road, when we again decided to pair this delicious food with old Spanish wines. The 1964 Campo Viejo was among them and what a treat it was. Given that it was older than 50 years old, it was a remarkable wine. Here we have the 2012 version, which is a great value and it excels right out of the bottle, but as mentioned needs some air. You don’t have to try it with Japanese food, although with the charcoal-grilled Wagyu beef skewers and ponzu sauce it was pure genius. But a good lamb chop will do. Drink it now through 2020 and beyond.

Gil Lempert-Schwarz’s wine column appears Wednesdays. Write him at P.O. Box 50749, Henderson, NV 89106-0749, or email him at gil@winevegas.com.