Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2007 Finca La Emperatriz Reserva comes from 60-year-old bush vines. It has a melted, sensual nose of macerated red cherries, a hint of sloes and eau-de-vie. There is just the right amount of volatility to lend it lift without diminishing the freshness. The palate is rounded and sumptuous in the mouth with cranberry, wild strawberry and red currant mingling with Asian spices and tobacco. The finish is very composed, with impressive weight and length, but does not outstay its welcome. This is a very fine Reserva that should age well over the next decade. Drink now-2022. Bodegas La Emperatriz, named after its 19th century owner “Eugenia de Montijo” (the wife of Napoleon III), is located in Rioja Alta. It is owned by Victor and Eduardo Hernaiz, and the present winemaker is David Gonzalez. Theirs is a hugely impressive portfolio that singles out specific parcels and terroirs, though you should not ignore their excellent Crianza and Reserva. Factor in a wallet-friendly price and you have a winning formula.
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.