Winemaker Notes
Lovely, deep cherry red, with a marked pink rim. The nose stands out for its aromatic intensity, with notes of ripe dark fruit leading to an elegant range of balsamic notes, tobacco leaves, caramel, vanilla and chocolate. This new Viña Arana stands out in the mouth for its freshness and balanced acidity. Soft tannins and a pleasant structure provide an elegantly joyful mouthfeel. Over time, the bottle will endow it with an elegant, complex bouquet.
Recommended with appetizers, rice and vegetables, domestic and game fowl, fish stews, creamy and lightly-aged cheeses.
Blend: 95% Tempranillo and 5% Mazuelo.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A rich and very creamy wine with vanilla and toasted oak. Very flavorful, rich and beautiful. Full body, round tannins and a delicious finish. Decadent. Traditional Rioja style.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The sleek and polished 2011 Viña Arana is mostly Tempranillo with 5% Mazuelo from vineyards in Rodezno and Labastida. The destemmed and crushed grapes fermented in stainless steel followed by a slow malolactic. The wine matured in used, neutral American oak barrels for three years. It's very balsamic, possibly from the extended élevage, with aromas of cigar ash, incense, noble woods, vanilla and cocoa. The palate is polished, with resolved tannins and nice, integrated acidity. 150,000 bottles produced. It's been in bottle since July 2015. They uncorked a bottle of the 1985, and the wine was lively with a developed nose, great complexity and a velvety palate. It's a wine that ages very well.
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.