Winemaker Notes
Lovely ruby-red with medium depth of colour and slight brick-red hues, the text-book definition of Rioja Gran Reservas. Great aromatic intensity on the nose, less fruit-driven, but generous aromatics of lavender, ginger and saffron. A round and balanced palate, displaying silky tannins while still remaining fresh and lively. The aftertaste is long and lingering, it offers hints of toasted wood and dried fruits.
This wine is enjoyed alongside a classic from Rioja's cuisine, chuletillas al Sarmiento- milk-fed lamb chops, which we grill over dried vine shoots to provide a unique and healthy smoke taste. We also call this our “fireplace wine”, it can be slowly enjoyed on its own, with a cheese platter or Iberian jamón.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
This elegant red is fresh and focused. There's a pleasing crispness to the integrated tannins as they frame a detailed range of ripe red currant and mineral notes, with vanilla, mandarin orange peel and delicate mountain herb accents.
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.