The Finca Antigua 2011 Crianza is a blend of 50% Tempranillo, 20% each Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, and 10% Syrah. It's very balsamic, with a core of ripe red and black fruit, plenty of spices and a clear commercial profile. The palate displays fine tannins and good freshness that provides nice balance. No less than 240,000 bottles of this wine are produced, which is impressive.

Opening the range of blended wines and produced with 50% Tempranillo, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 10% Syrah, the 2010 Crianza is the winery's flagship wine with 240,000 bottles produced. This is also a blend of different plots. The wine aged in a mixture of French and American oak barrels for about 14 months. A common character of these blended wines is marked balsamic aromas and good acidity, something the winemaker looks for in the blends. It has the combination of Atlantic and Mediterranean characters, which sometimes can render the wine a little anonymous. The balsam is intermixed with licorice and aniseed notes and the palate reveals abundant, dusty tannins and moderate acidity, which makes me think this wine should be kept for one more year in bottle to polish those edges.

The 2009 Finca Antigua Crianza is a blend of 50% Tempranillo, 20% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Syrah raised in French and American oak for 15 months. It has a pleasant bouquet of black cherries, fresh fig and Christmas cake that is well-defined, hints of licorice developing with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with succulent red fruit, well-judged acidity and a composed, sensual finish. This is a well-crafted Crianza. Drink now-2015. Importer: Winebow Inc., Montvale, NJ; tel. (201) 445-0620; V Suarez Inc., San Juan, PR; (787) 792-1212

The 2008 Crianza has a light leathery nose with touches of mocha and dried herbs. It needs to develop more intensity. The palate is medium-bodied with light tannins on the entry. It has an attractive core of dusky red fruit and well-integrated cedar-tinged oak. The finish is balanced and focused although it would benefit from greater length. Drink now-2016. Carlos and Pilar Martinez-Bujanda Irribarria presently own Finca Antigua, the family having been involved in wine since 1889. But it was not until 2003 that Finca Antigua was founded. They farm high altitude loam and limestone soils. Importer: Winebow; www.winebow.com

Finca Anigua’s crianza is a blend of mostly Tempranillo with smaller amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. After 14 months in oak, it’s toasty and filled with aromas of dried spices and cocoa that slightly dominate the tart, cranberry fruit.——W.E.(11/1/2003)—— 86