Good concentration for the vintage. This dark, thick red offers coffee, plum and prune flavors, a chewy texture and thick tannins, with more muscle than grace. Drink now through 2004.??–TM??Region: Spain / Rioja Select to Add

Bright, expressive, fleshy—all words that came up again and again describing this wine’s fruit, from nose to finish. The core is mostly blackberry, with mixed plums and a dash of oak; it’s medium-full, mouthfilling but not huge. Finsihes with some chewy tannins, and an almost beefy flavor. Perhaps too big to fully appreciate now; best drunk from 2005. —D.M. ——D.T.(4/1/2003)—— 90