Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Rock-solid aromas of berry fruits, graphite and olive are compact and holding plenty in reserve. A racy and packed palate is bold and shows the stuffing, acidity, tannins and overall balance to age for many years to come. Flavors of black plum, olive and cassis are mildly chocolaty on a firm finish. Drink at any point over the next 40 years. Cellar Selection.
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James Suckling
Rioja hardcore! Dark herb and pine nose, then a bold and tannic palate with a lot of power driving the long finish. There’s nothing sweet or supple about this. Rather, it is crisp and straight on the dry finish.
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.