Winemaker Notes
It pairs perfectly with international foods (curries, marinated fish and spice dishes) and traditional red meats, game and cured cheeses.
Blend: 90% Tempranillo, 10% Mazuelo and Graciano
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2008 Reserva is classical in all senses, starting with the blend of 90% Tempranillo and 5% each of Mazuelo and Graciano, followed by its color, aroma and palate. It's bright cherry-colored, with aromas of red fruits intermixed with notes of leather, truffles and smoked meat, and a juicy, supple palate with good acidity and good length. This is a great Reserva and very good value. Drink now-2019.
Range: 91+ Points -
Wine Spectator
The smoke and mineral notes frame a core of black cherry and licorice in this sleek red. Not muscular, but racy and pure, showing balance and freshness in a savory style. Drink now through 2018.
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.