Tom’s Toasts: St. Patrick and St. Patrick’s Day

This week’s pick is the 2010 Campo Viejo Rioja. This wine is a little unusual as it’s a basic Rioja, which means that the wine spends less than one year aging in oak. You more often see Rioja Crianza, which must be aged at least two years with one in oak, or Rioja Reserva, which must be aged at least three years with one year in oak. The 2010 Compo Viejo Rioja is also unusual as it exemplifies a very modern, almost new world style that is made from 100% Tempranillo, which is the main grape variety in Rioja. The wine is aged for four months in American oak and then ages in the bottle. This results in a wine that is very fruit forward with bright red fruit with cherry dominating and hints of black fruit, vanilla and baking spices.