Winemaker Notes
Bright, deep cherry red with a blush rim. Great intensity before swirling, after oxygenation, notes of ripe black fruit appear mixed with chocolate and vanilla. On the palate it is powerful, with noble, silky tannins that fill the mouth. The black fruit reappears with hints of plum, toasted notes and a sweet and long-lasting finish.
Blend: 70% Tempranillo, 30% Graciano
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A pretty nose of spiced cherries, raspberries, dried leaves and some chocolate wafers. Medium body with fine tannins. Well-rounded with a fresh core of berries on the vivid mid-palate. Excellent length in the finish. Drink or hold.
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Wine Spectator
A well-meshed red, with a frame of lightly chalky tannins, showing a lively mix of juicy blackberry and mulberry fruit flavors accented by dried sage, loamy earth, vanilla and orange peel elements. Tempranillo and Graciano.
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.