Cepa Lebrel Rioja Reserva 2012

Lidl has brought some of it's most popular wines sold in Europe to the US. Cepa Lebrel Rioja Reserva is one such wine. You can find numerous articles and blogs online that mention this wine. One newspaper article from London names Cepa Lebrel Rioja Reserva as one of the 10 "must buys" at Lidl.

With a price of $6.99 for a 5 year old Rioja Reserva, the attraction to this wine is obvious. Some of the European reviewers describe the taste as strawberry and vanilla oak. I had to swirl the wine in my mouth for quite a while to detect anything that could be strawberry, but there is ample oak leaving my mouth feeling dry at the finish. Prior to dinner, I would have preferred more fruit and less oak. With dinner, I appreciated the wine more than earlier.

I think this wine is a very good value but not the best Rioja you can buy.

SC Wine Joe rating = 87 points

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