($48, American Wine Distributors): If you just looked at vintage charts, you’d wonder why Alegre chose 2002, a below average year for Rioja, for their ‘selected vintage’ bottling.  But this wine shows you that talented producers make excellent wines in so-so years.  Wonderfully balanced, this expressive wine has a captivating nose followed by a gorgeous mixture of creaminess from what must have been judicious time in oak and red and black fruit flavors.  Concentrated, but not overdone, fine tannins lend structure without intruding. Ready to drink now, it has the requisite balance to improve in the cellar. 91 Michael Apstein Nov 11, 2008