2001 R. López de Heredia Rioja Reserva Viña Tondonia - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja (12/2/2015)
Served from magnum, but in 2 parts. Each half of the mag was decanted into a clean 750 ml bottle. One half was decanted an hour to the other half. The two bottles were then served blind to my tasting group as part of two separate flights of wines.
Both halves of the magnum showed pretty well, and the group was quite close on the average result. The later decanted half scored slightly higher than the earlier one. Both bottles showed chalky tannins on the finish, with the later half being more astringent, but also with richer fruit. Overall I would prefer to leave my other magnum for several more years to allow the tannins to soften, and for more aged character to develop. The wine currently seems to be in a bit of a grumpy teenager phase.