Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Classic Rioja aromas of cured meat, dried cherry, wood spice, tobacco and vanilla play nicely together. The plush palate is plenty full but not heavy, with flavors of plum, berry fruits, vanilla and oak. It's a balanced wine from a stellar vintage, with a powerful finish that indicates it will continue to mature with grace.
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Wine Spectator
This red is fresh and lively, with a core of black cherry and plum accented by licorice, tobacco and mineral notes. The tannins are light but firm, the balsamic acidity bright, focusing the polished texture through the smoky finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The sleek and polished 2010 Reserva revealed good ripeness and balance and a nice combination of primary notes with hints from the aging in oak barrels—chocolate, toast and smoke. The palate is medium-bodied with balsamic flavors and polished tannins. Approachable and pleasant.
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.