At 12% alcohol, costing under $12 back then, the 34 year-old wine scored 17+ Dionysian points. The 1987 Vina Pomal Rioja Reserva from Bodegas Bilbainas was fill with spices and wild cherry. After decanting it continued to open for another half an hour. Soft tannins made it easy to drink. It was browning with an orange edge.

I drink a lot of Rioja, but I always return to Vina Pomal. We had this with pasta laced with grape-seed oil and mixed with peas.

This was my last one of these. I’ve used this pandemic year to take time to enjoy the efforts I put into my wine cellar over the past four decades. Sadly, I’ve had few Dionysians to share them with. However, I hope to do so at our next Gathering in October in Ocean City, NJ, USA. In Vino Veritas