Winemaker Notes
A decadent nose, bristling with fresh cherry and vanilla, belies a palate of equally pristine fruit. Balance between the acidic and tannic structures is harmonious, playing gently yet firmly off one another for a refined experience.
Professional Ratings
-
Vinous
The 2017 Reserva from Remírez de Ganuza was hit by the spring frost. It was aged for 25 months in oak and includes Tempranillo, Graciano and Viura. Balsamic and camphor notes frame aromas of red fruit and subtle hints from the aging process. Balanced and compact, with fine-grained tannins and subtle grip, this offers a composed interpretation of the vintage. “Amid the chaos, we harvested with precision,” notes winemaker Jesús Mendoza.
-
Jeb Dunnuck
Along the same continuum as the 2012, the 2017 Reserva is fresh and juicy, five years younger in this case, and supple in tannin. It’s full-bodied but not overly intense, made in a refined style that should drink well now through 2037.
-
Wine Spectator
The tang of plum skin–infused acidity enlivens a dark and creamy range of crème de cassis, medicinal herb, milled white pepper and tarry smoke notes. This shows good concentration and length, with chewy tannins emerging on the finish. Drink now through 2035.
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.