This is a high quality Spanish red wine made from the Tempranillo grape. The wine has reserva status which means that it must be matured for three years before bottling with at least one year in oak barrels. This form of maturation is reflected in the taste and quality of the wine. The wine is also classified as Denominación de Origen Calificada which is the equivalent of French AOP status.
We drank a half bottle with roast lamb. Rioja is an ideal wine to go with roast lamb. Our wine was of full body with well integrated tannin and acidity and it was dry. It had a lovely fruity taste with elements of vanilla and nuts from the oak ageing. It was quite strong in alcohol at 14% but it did not taste hot as the alcohol was well balanced against the tannin and acidity. The wine went perfectly with our roast shoulder of lamb. The taste dwelt long on the palate which is another indicator of good wine. This is wine which should only be drunk with good food.
The following evening we finished the bottle with a lamb cawl that I made with the remaining meat. I was a bit heavy handed with the meat stock which I kept from the roasting tin but it made no difference because the wine cut through the little bit of extra fat. Lamb cawl is one of my favourite dishes and it is great for a cold winter's evening.
Marqués de la Concordia Rioja Reserva 2013 Red is a high quality wine which is ready for drinking now but which could be kept a few years longer and it is readily available.It is excellent value for money and easily competes with most red Bordeaux wines at about £13 a bottle. I recommend it.
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/11455/welsh-cawl
Cawl can just as easily be made with beef, pork or bacon. I prefer it with chunks of bacon rather than lamb. if you are making it with beef or pork why not add some cubes of smoked bacon by frying the bacon in some oil in the pot before adding the vegetables and meat. I like to add some lemon juice which is balanced against a large teaspoon full of honey. You could replace the lemon juice with cider vinegar.
