Winemaker Notes
"Ruby-red. Potent bouquet of almost exotic floral and dark fruit aromas, accented by sweet underbrush and sexy oak spices. Densely packed and concentrated, boasting an abundance of cherry and dark berry flavors joined by rose and violet pastille, vanilla, mocha and red licorice. Wonderfully silky tannins give a structural underpinning to the finish of this rich, densely packed beauty. This could be enjoyed now or stashed away for another decade."
-International Wine Cellar
"The 1995 Gran Reserva 904 exhibits an aged appearance belying its vibrant perfume of cedar, pencil lead, mineral, leather, black cherry, and blackberry liqueur. The epitome of elegance and style, on the palate the wine is silky and seems to dance across the palate. The tannins are unresolved but this wine has enough balance to drink well through 2015. La Rioja Alta continues to be one of the benchmarks for traditionally produced Rioja. What the wines may lack in power, they make up for in finesse and complexity."
-Wine Advocate
Professional Ratings
Always evolving quality, elegance, innovation, evolution... They are the pillars on which the five founding families erected our winery in 1890 and built a way of living, feeling and producing wines of the highest quality that continue to evolve subtly, perfectly adapting to new tastes. This is how the permanent pursuit of excellence started; a pursuit that continues into the 21st century with identical enthusiasm. We draw the best from our winemaking tradition and wisdom —our own cooperage, manual racking, long ageing periods, etc.— and combine it with the most modern winemaking technology. Today, our wines are an international exemplar of the great wines of Rioja and our brands are present in the best restaurants across all continents.
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.