Winemaker Notes
Medium-depth, cherry-red; clean and bright. Very intense to the nose, with a pleasant balsamic bouquet. Almonds, mint chocolate, vanilla and roasted coffee lead to notes of jammy fruit. Good, balanced structure in the mouth, with a pleasant acidity and very sweet, round tannins which provide a long, complex finish. Excellent to enjoy now, although it will continue rounding off its fine bouquet in the bottle over time.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Wonderful purity of fruit with a strawberry, currant and plum character. Full and velvety body with ultra-fine tannins and a delicious fresh and fruity finish. Classic Rioja style. Que lindo!
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
If Vina Ardanza seems to be going fast, the Gran Reserva 904 is even faster and we're now on the 2007 Gran Reserva 904. This wants to be the classic Gran Reserva--polished, silky and elegant, with aging potential. It is a blend of Tempranillo with 10% Mazuelo aged for four years in well-seasoned American oak barrels, with eight manual rackings. I found that the freshness of the vintage and its relatively young age gave the wine a youngish character that I loved, combining developed notes of meat, spices, leather and balsam with almost cherry-like aromas. The palate feels balanced and elegant, with fine-grained and fully resolved tannins and great acidity. This vintage of 904 surprised me!
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Wine Spectator
This supple red delivers bright, focused flavors of dried cherry, orange peel, vanilla, sandalwood, tobacco and spice, with light tannins and fresh acidity. An elegant rendering of the traditional style. Drink now through 2022.
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.