This little guy in the photo to the left doesn’t have a guilty bone in his body. Neither should you. No-Guilt Wednesday (NGW) is not about compromising on quality. It’s all about drinking good wine that does not break the bank ($15 or less), eating good food and of course, it’s about sharing with the ones you love.
Today, we give you two from Rioja– both good buys!
Bodegas Lan Crianza 2006 ($10). Opening with aromas and flavors of appealing crushed red cherries and made with 100% Tempranillo, this is has a frisky acidity that makes it quite food friendly. It has softer tannins than its sister wine the 2005 Reserva. I am of two minds on the wine. On the one hand, it is somewhat one-dimensional– a simple wine really. However, it has enough palate interest that it is better than merely good. Rated **1/2 
Bodegas Lan Reserva 2005 ($14). Slightly more complex than the Crianza, it has some vanilla notes that are imparted from the use of what I guess must be American oak– a fact that was confirmed on my visit to their website. Being a reserva, it is aged in French and American oak for at least 12 months, followed by 24 months of bottle aging before release. That oak is a bit more pronounced, but it is accompanied by a red Twizzler thing that turns me on. The fruit seems slightly more ripe and it does not have the same acidic edge as its younger sibling. That is probably due in part to the fact that this is a blend of 80% Tempranillo, 10% Mazuelo, 10% Garnacha. On the second night this tasted even better which leads me to believe that this is a good candidate for decanting. While I give this a slight edge over its sister wine, in the final analysis, it is a matter of taste and on any given night, either of these will do the job quite nicely. Rated **1/2
sybaritesauvage 
GREAT lead in to the sibling wines! They are both going on our list for our next visit to our favorite wine shop.
When you trty them, let me know what you think.
Thank you for coming along on the Sybarite Ride!
Next stop? Who knows…
The phonograph needle was excellent…good piece. Also good reminder to drink a simple rioja once in a while…still a good deal.