TN: 2018 Honorio Rubio - Rioja "Añadas" (Spain, La Rioja, Rioja)

2018 Honorio Rubio Rioja Añadas Edición Limitada - Spain, La Rioja, Rioja (4/10/2021)
– popped and poured –
– tasted non-blind over a few hours –
– 100% Viura –

NOSE: smells “skin contact-y”; oak; orange oil; moderately expressive; oak is stronger than I would prefer.

BODY: golden orange color of medium-deep depth; medium to medium-full bodied.

TASTE: a bit tannic; oak (again, more than I’d prefer); high acidity; papaya; little bit of skin contact character; aged 11 years before bottling on Jan. 20, 2018; 13.5% alc.; mixed-vintage solera; 95% French oak, 5% Bulgarian acacia. I enjoy this bottling quite a lot, but it does have a touch of sherried character around its edges that’s not going to appeal to some. This will be gangbusters if some of the oak is absorbed with age. best to Hold.

50, 5, 12, 17, 8 = (92 pts.)

Isn’t that NV?

It is NV, but lists the bottling date on the back (as per Brian’s note).

I do hope the oak integrates over time on these wines - the underlying material is excellent.

Yes, but rather than have a thread (and CT entry) with various bottling dates, I felt it best to identify it by bottling year, and then be more precise in the TN.

Yep. That is the big question with this wine. The underlying material is too attractive for me to resist taking the gamble. I’m a fan of the “Lias Finas” bottling, too, although a 2015 I had a year ago was incredibly tight and generally unyielding over a two week time period. These really do seem like wines that will improve with 15, 20, maybe more years in the cellar — quite frankly, I wouldn’t be surprised to see these singing forty years from now.

I do like these wines quite a bit, sort of a cheap white rioja fix compared to ldh

Yeah. Emphasis on “sort of”.

Same opinion as the others about the oak. Lots of great material here, hope it integrates.
For those missing LdH’s rosados, Rubio makes one in similar vein.

Opened this tonight with tacos. I wish I had read this thread first. A very nice wine, but needs time to absorb the oak. Nice mouthfeel, good cut; apricot, oak, walnut. Dark golden in the glass.

Been dying to try this producer but cannot seem to find it anywhere in my market.

had a bottle last year and was blown away. such a fascinating wine. found at flatiron here in nyc, but haven’t seen anywhere since.