Winemaker Notes
Limpid garnet red color. Very aromatic, with floral notes (fresh rose) and red and black fruit: cherry, currant, blackberry along with spicy hints (clove) and subtle pastry touches (caramelized cream). On the palate, an initial fruity, meaty, friendly sensation. Balanced tannic structure and stimulating acidity.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
In this wine, complex aromas of brambly fruits of the wood, chocolate-covered espresso bean and clove lead the way for black cherry, blackberry, dark chocolate, mint and baking spice flavors. Gorgeous mouthfeel and luxurious tannins make for a satisfying finish.
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James Suckling
A serious Rioja showing excellent depth of fresh blue and red berry fruit. Some spices, flowers, chili chocolate and a hint of sandalwood. Juicy, round and polished on the palate with a mouthful of dusty tannins that extend to a long finish.
Hailed as the star red variety in Spain’s most celebrated wine region, Tempranillo from Rioja, or simply labeled, “Rioja,” produces elegant wines with complex notes of red and black fruit, crushed rock, leather, toast and tobacco, whose best examples are fully capable of decades of improvement in the cellar.
Rioja wines are typically a blend of fruit from its three sub-regions: Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Oriental, although specific sub-region (zonas), village (municipios) and vineyard (viñedo singular) wines can now be labeled. Rioja Alta and Alavesa, at the highest elevations, are considered to be the source of the brightest, most elegant fruit, while grapes from the warmer and drier, Rioja Oriental, produce wines with deep color, great body and richness.