The 2010 Ontañón Crianza, a blend of 90% Tempranillo and 10% Garnacha aged in American Oak for 12 months, has tempting aromas of sweet spice, coconut, vanilla, toasted oak and black cherry on the nose as well as palate. It is a medium to full bodied, extra-dry, integrated wine; with good acidity, refined tannins (decant for 15 min) and an extra-long and smooth finish. This is a quite oak influenced wine - just what is expected from fine Rioja, and compliments any strong flavoured dish or is very enjoyable as a standalone sipper, best 2017-2025 – evolution potential +1 (long cork enclosure). My impression: BEAUTIFUL, 90 (EP+1) pts – recommended for both its quality and value – STOCK UP. Tasted in Jan/00.

See my wine recommendations readily available at the LCBO here:

http://grapeselections.com/grapeselections

or here @

http://www.winealign.com/wino/dantrcka/recommended-wines-you-can-still-buy

Enjoyed this wine with roast beef last night. Excellent value!

Another great wine from very consistent Bodegas. Top value at $17.

Nice. Oak very present (which you might not enjoy).

This ruby red Tempranillo dominated Crianza certainly over-delivers on quality relative to its price. Oak is well integrated and not over the top, featuring notes of cedar, graphite, mocha and vanilla. There's cherry and dried fruit. It's a medium wine - medium complexity, medium bodied, medium acidity and medium dusty tannin. Very good to excellent length though. And the price is definitely right. A touch of alcohol burn at the end. March 2015.

This good, solid Rioja Crianza (at a great price) is all about potential. Right now, it has a lovely nose of sweet vanilla, woodsy oak, and luscious fruit (raspberry, blueberry, cherry), but it falters somewhat thereafter, exposing hollowness mid-palate, succumbing to tartness in place of fruit depth, and coming across as way too acidic for its own good. But therein lies its potential, and given its acid-tannin-fruit structure it's likely that additional aging will soften the edges and allow the deeper flavours to shine. It may never be a great wine, but it could develop to just short of that.

I found this wine, initially, far too "woody". The oak is heavy and predominates, but after ~30 mins., it was much more appealing as the oak subsided.

A good value from the Rioja Region. I would purchase again, but not a full case. The Marques de Riscal (32656) is so much better it has spoiled me, but it is also 7$ more. Worthwhile but not enchanting.

From start to finish, all I can smell and taste is oak, Just completely out of balance. Were any grapes used at all to make this wine?? Way over the top.
Tasted March 2014.