Faustino I Gran Reserva 2010
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- WE
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- W&S
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Winemaker Notes
Tempranillo, Graciano and Mazuelo, the three classic Rioja grape varieties. Graciano provides a very lively color and high acidity; Mazuelo flavour and abundant tannin, both together with Tempranillo are the perfect coupage for long ageing wines. True to Rioja, true to its origins. Cherry red developing to an intense ruby color. Intense and complex. Well integrated sweet and warm hints with ripe fruit, notes of vanilla and sensations of cinnamon, blond tobacco and cocoa. Elegant in the mouth, structured and with good acidity. The finish is sweet and surprising for a Rioja Gran Reserva. There is an aftertaste of the blend of very ripe fruit, vanilla and roasted notes.
Blend: 86% Tempranillo, 9% Graciano, 5% Mazuelo
Critical Acclaim
All VintagesThis red carries dense aromas of plum, cassis and caramel, but is surprisingly bright on entry. It offers complex dark-fruit flavors up front that dissolve into notes of butterscotch, tobacco and dark chocolate. Plush tannins make their presence known right into the fruit-filled finish.
Long on red-fruit clarity, this tastes like crushed strawberries and cranberries, with some deli-cate bitterness from the skin of the fruit. Its lacy flavors persist, a wine of grace and har-mony, tight and clean. This is not a block- buster 2010, but if you take it on its own terms, it is lovely to drink.
In the mid 1800s, Eleuterio Martinez Arzok took his first steps toward establishing himself as a producer and merchant of wines from the Rioja region of Spain. He started out by selling his wines in the Rioja and Basque regions, direct from the barrel. Much has changed since then and the winery he founded has since become known as one of the premier fine wine producers of the Rioja region.
In the late 1950s, his similarly adventurous descendant, Julio Faustino Martinez, launched the family-owned label in both national and international markets. Today, Bodegas Faustino is Rioja's largest exporter of Gran Reserva wines. The winner of numerous awards and gold medals in international competitions and tastings, Bodegas Faustino is a proud custodian of the Rioja region's growing international reputation as a source of truly world-class fine wines.
With 1600 acres of its own vineyards, Faustino is self-sufficient in producing its Reserva and Gran Reserva wines. The vineyards are located in the upper part of Rioja Alavesa at an altitude of between 1500 and 1800 feet. The climate is cool, influenced by the Atlantic Ocean, and the vines thrive in the chalky soil. The state-of-the-art Faustino winery has a stock of 45,000 barriques, 80% of which are American oak. The winery maintains a permanent stock of 9 million bottles of Reserva and Gran Reserva wines.
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.