Philly Wine Finder

Vina Eguia Tempranillo Reserva 2007

Smooth, velvety, earthy, medium body, a little pepper. Very enjoyable tempranillo Rioja Reserva for $9.99.

The label is amusing. There is a hand on an open book surrounded by the words In vino veritas (In wine there is truth). Below that it says in Spanish  La verdad y nada mas que la verdad (The truth and nothing but the truth). Further below there is more rambling in Spanish about truth and wine.

As far as wine labels go, we'll take quotes about truth and wine in foreign languages over bears, frogs and fishes any day. It also helps that the wine is good, and that's the truth.

Muchos por todos en Filadelfia. Vamos a comprar más.

Vina Eguia Tempranillo Reserva 2007
Chairman's Selection^TM
Description from PLCB web site
PLCB Code: 32479
Size: 750ML
Price: $9.99
Compare to prices on wine-searcher.com

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 CellarTracker

Basque Lamb Stew #2 and Dinastia Vivanco Reserva Rioja

Basque Lamb Stew leftovers, this time with Rioja. The wine had notes of dark chocolate and cinnamon and was a better match than Christian Moueix Bordeaux.

Dinastia Vivanco landed a wine in the Wine Spectator top 100 wines this year. The vineyard includes a museum of wine history, the bottle on this 2005 reserva is modeled on an 18th century bottle.

Dinastia Vivanco Reserva Rioja 2005
Chairman's Selection^TM
Description from PLCB web site
PLCB Code: 32118
Size: 750ML
Price: $17.99
Compare to prices on wine-searcher.com:  (Avg $24, Min $22, Max $25)
Availability in Pennsylvania:

In Wine & Spirits stores

 

 

Dinastia Vivanco Reserva Rioja 2005

Oh Rioja how we've missed you and your rustic goodness! With Tomato soup and Taquitos. This wine has a great finish.

 

Dinastia Vivanco Reserva Rioja 2005
Chairman's Selection^TM
Description from PLCB web site
PLCB Code: 32118
Size: 750ML
Price: $17.99
Compare to prices on wine-searcher.com: (Avg $22, Min $18, Max $26)
Availability in Pennsylvania:

In Wine & Spirits stores

Region:    Spain > La Rioja > Rioja
Grape Varieties:     Tempranillo 90%
Graciano 10%
Alcohol Content:    13.5%

PAWineTalk

Castillo de Fuenmayor Gran Familia Rioja 2008

Not only is Rioja one of our favorite wines to drink, it's also (along with SHPAYT-lese) one of our favorite wines to pronounce, especially overexaggerating the HAH at the end. When we asked for help finding this in the store, we overheard one clerk asking the other, "do you know where this ree-yoo-hoo is?"

This has the classsic Tempranillo profile, ripe red fruits and a bit of Spanish leather. It's a little rough, but with Rioja, that's not out-of-balance, it's called rustic.

Good buy at $8.99. Available at 19th and Chestnut, 12th and Chestnut, Society Hill, Columbus Blvd, Bala, Ardmore, Bryn Mawr, Villanova.

Castillo de Fuenmayor Gran Familia Rioja 2008
Chairman's Selection
PLCB Code: 32056
Size: 750ML
Price: $8.99
Region:    Spain > La Rioja > Rioja
Grape Varieties:     Tempranillo 90%
Graciano 10%
Alcohol Content:    12.5%

PAWineTalk

Rack of Lamb and Rioja

The idea for this pairing came from the book Wine, Food & Friends: Karen's Wine and Food Pairing Guide, Plus Over 100 Cooking Light Recipes by Karen MacNeil.  This book is a great complement to the classic The Wine Bible , also by MacNeil, and sometimes it goes on sale in the bargain bin at Amazon.

MacNeil is dead on about Rioja and Lamb, as this Rioja Crianza from Garagiste went perfectly with Trader Joe's Free Range Fully Cooked Heat and Serve Seasoned Rack of Lamb.  Not much on the nose, maybe some bright fruit,  but a pleasant spiciness was a great match for the gaminess of the lamb.  The food definitely brought out the best in this wine, which was in fact a little different from the Rioja's we are used to from the PLCB. 

2007 Ontañón Rioja Crianza
Garagiste
$12.93

CellarTracker

Wine Review Lacrimus Rioja Crianza 2006

Is this Lacrimus Rioja Crianza for $12.99 any better than the Campo Viejo Rioja Crianza on sale for $6.99?  We tried to deny it at first, but unfortunately, the answer is yes. The color is richer. The nose is fuller.  The taste is more complex. The finish is longer.  As much as we like Campo, we have to admit this is better. 

Available at 19th & Chestnut, 12th & Chestnut, Society Hill, Chestnut Hill, and Franklin Mills. 

Lacrimus Rioja Crianza 2006
Chairman's Selection
PLCB Code: 30922
Size: 750ML
Price: $12.99
PAWineTalk

Campo Viejo Tempranillo SALE $6.99

We never get tired of this Tempranillo from Rioja for $6.99.  Dark cherries on the nose and palate, great with all kinds of food.  There are a number of bottles on available in the Center City stores and at Franklin Mills. Buy a bottle of this and a bottle of the Lacrimus Rioja Crianza 2006 which is a Chairman's Selection for $12.99 and rated 90 points by Wine Advocate.  Is the Lacrimus really worth almost 2x the price?  We intend to find out--but first we have to go buy the Lacrimus.

CAMPO VIEJO CRIANZA TEMPRANILLO
PLCB Code 3206
$6.99  

COMPARE TO:

Lacrimus Rioja Crianza 2006
PLCB Code 30922
$12.99
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Garces Trading Company and PLCB is Amazing!

Garces Trading Company is collaborating with PLCB to offer a liquor store inside the restaurant, which they are calling a BYOB. Controversy aside, from the consumer point of view this is just fantastic. From within the restaurant you can just waltz over to the store (the glassed in area in the picture), buy something, and bring it back to your table.

The selection leans old world, and there seem to be wines here that are not available elsewhere in the state system.  For example there is a decent section of  rosé which is unusual for a PLCB store. Note the elegant way the wines are displayed.

Another nice feature is the number of half bottles available at reasonable prices. We don't usually drink champagne, but this was a special occasion so we started off with a half bottle of Veuve Clicquot (5078) for $24.99. When we purchased it they exchanged the bottle for one that was chilling in a refrigerator. A fine bead of bubbles shot up from the bottom of our glasses!

 

Next we selected a half bottle of Montecillo Rioja Crianza (15662) for, get this...$4.99!  You can get about 2.5 glasses out of these 375ml bottles. Other half bottles available included Chianti and Beaujolais.  As you can see, the stemware provided by Garces was perfect and added to the enjoyment of the wine.  This velvety smooth Rioja went well with our food, which was just incredible.

On the way out we stopped back in the store and picked up some Domaine Hetszolo Dry Furmint (22390) and some Willm Gewurtztraminer (22359).  Garces Trading Company is our new favorite place!  Every restaurant should have a liquor store attached to it!  Thank you Garces and PLCB!

2006 Campo Viejo Rioja

This wine seems to go on sale at PLCB stores every few weeks, although there seems to be no rhyme or reason as to when it goes on sale so we always stalk it and check the price. The crianza goes on sale for about $6.99 and the reserva for $8.99. You will not find prices better than this anywhere, including out of state.  The crianza and reserva are both good, the reserva maybe has a little more body.  The crianza is great with burgers and is an excellent choice for barbecues. If you don't yet know about tempranillo, it's time to learn.

Campo Viejo Crianza Tempranillo

PLCB Code #: 3206
Size: 750ML
Price: $6.99
Minimum Quantity: 1
Number of stores: 227