Winemaker Notes
Viña Dorana is a historic brand revived by Gómez Cruzado, one of Rioja's oldest wineries dating back to the early 1900s. The winemaking approach aims to keep the oak influence in the background, allowing the wine's freshness and acidity to shine. Viña Dorana Reserva has a supple, medium-bodied palate with very fine tannins and a subtle earthiness.
Blend: 60% Tempranillo, 40% Garnacha
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The very classical 2018 Viña Dorana is serious and austere, with the freshness of a cool year, something less and less frequent nowadays. It's a harmonious blend of 60% Garnacha and 40% Tempranillo, rescuing the fine wines from yesteryear, with good ripeness, 14% alcohol and the freshness from the year. It matured for two years exclusively in French oak barrels, giving it a slightly more modern twist and a more fruit-forward character. It should improve with time in bottle, as there is still a trace of oak in the finish. 29,482 bottles and 710 magnums produced. It was bottled in July 2024.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Named for an historical brand from 1930, the 2018 Vina Dorana Reserva is 60% Tempranillo and 40% Garnacha, from old bush vines in a single higher-elevation area where the phenolic and alcoholic ripeness happen at the same time. Finessed, long, and supple, it offers linear acidity and soft texture. Medium-bodied, it is classically flavored in rich red fruit and light baking spice, aged two years in American oak barrel.
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James Suckling
This wine is spiced and earthy, showing rich dark fruit, dried herbs and subtle nutty and balsamic undertones. Medium- to full-bodied, the palate is compact and firm while maintaining a round and polished mouthfeel. The richness is well balanced by a textural, finely grained character.
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.