Beronia Dos Maderas Reserva review - Tesco Wine

Recently I was fortunate enough to be selected for a Tesco Wine Community Taste Panel for the Beronia 'Dos Maderas' Rioja Reserva 2009. Below is my review of the wine, as well as some thoughts on food matching and aging potential. Enjoy!

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From the small town of Ollauri in the heart of Rioja Alta comes the wine on review today, the Beronia ‘Dos Maderas’ Rioja Reserva 2009. The name Beronia hails from the Celtic tribe who inhabited Northern Spain in the 3^rd century BC, known as the Berones. Yet, despite the name’s ancient origins, the Beronia winery was founded just over 40 years ago, and is therefore still a relative newcomer in the Rioja wine scene. Bodegas Beronia was set up in 1973 by four friends and gastronomic enthusiasts, hoping to make wines in order to pair with their dishes. Today, headed by their chief winemaker Matias Calleja, Beronia is something of a pioneering winery in the region: it was the first bodega in Rioja to market single varietal wines, as well as the first to make use of Dos Maderas (two types of oak) which help give a distinctive and memorable feel to their creations.

The Beronia Reserva 2009 is one such creation. The 2009 growing season was a very good one: although much of Rioja experienced searingly high temperatures in the summer, good rainfall later in the season saved the day and produced a formidable vintage. For their 2009 Reserva, Beronia blended 94% Tempranillo grapes with a dash each of Graciano and Mazuelo, before aging for 20 months in their signature blend of French and American oak barrels. According to Beronia, the French oak imparts spicy aromas to their wines, while the American oak contributes the softer vanilla and coconut nuances.

The wine itself is a medium intensity purpley-ruby colour, with a fairly intense nose of dark fruits and oak-derived flavours: blackcurrant, blackberry and plum mingle happily with nuances of vanilla and toasty cedar. Intriguingly, the nose is not showing as much development as other Reservas I’ve sampled from the same vintage, which points to a long and elegant potential aging period for the Beronia. This initial assumption was swiftly backed up by the wine’s structure: the good levels of tannin and acidity mean that the Beronia could be cellared quite happily for another decade, with earthy, raisined notes sure to follow the supple fruit and vanilla already present.

At the heart of Beronia’s philosophy is the consideration that their wines should always pair well with food, and happily this is indeed the case for the Dos Maderas Reserva. The wine matches perfectly with all types of traditional Spanish fare, including jamón ibérico, manchego, olives and other tapas, but the darker, duskier nature of the fruits mean that the wine would also go well with venison and game dishes. Whether you choose to enjoy it with friends alongside food or simply savour its delights on its own, it is clear that Beronia have succeeded in producing a stunningly good Rioja. ¡Salud!