2004 San Vicente Rioja

It’s definitely a splurge, but what perfect wine the 2004 San Vicente Rioja is. From a great producer in a great year, it has beautiful color and depth, a generosity and warmth that make each sip last and last. This is a wine to spend an evening over, experiencing how it takes on weight and changes in the glass. It’s terrific now but will get only get better. These wines age.

Don’t hurry this Rioja. It might be a good idea to decant it an hour before you sit down to enjoy it with grilled baby lamb chops, roast leg of lamb studded with garlic and rosemary or some lamb shanks braised with beans and hanks of herbs.

--S. Irene Virbila

Quick swirl

Region: Rioja

Price: $47 to $65

Style: Rich and complex

Food it goes with: Grilled lamb chops, roast leg of lamb, tagines and stews

Where you find it: Manhattan Fine Wines in Manhattan Beach, (310) 374-3454 www.manhattanfinewines.com; Mission Wines in South Pasadena, (626) 403-9463, www.missionwines.com; Vendome Liquors in Toluca Lake (818) 766-9593; Wine Exchange in Orange, (714) 974-1454 and (800) 769-4639, www.winex.com; Wing Hop Fung, 725 W. Garvey Avenue, Monterey Park, (323) 940-8000; www.winghopfung.com, among others.