Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
A young business, founded in 1985, but one that was successful right from the start. The winery is based in an old fortified monastery. This Reserva has been the cornerstone of the winery since the beginning, under the guidance of chief winemaker Gonzalo Rodriguez. It reflects the warmth of the Rioja Baja, and vines grown on alluvial soils over clay, The ripe fruit is matched by 20 months in American oak. Baron de Ley set out to make Riojas in a modern style, and has continued to experiment with blends, and lesserknown varieties such as Maturana Tinta.
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.