Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A rich and round red with lots of dried fruits such as cherries and strawberries. Full with velvety tannins and a long, flavorful finish. Broad shouldered and dynamic plus flamboyant fruit.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Going one step up in the quality ladder, the Viña Real 2010 Reserva plays with the advantage of being cropped from a quite balanced, fresh vintage, a blend of 90% Tempranillo and 10% Garnacha, Mazuelo and Graciano from Rioja Alavesa fermented in stainless steel and matured in barrel for 22 months, during which time it was racked every four months. This wine has all the classical aromas of an old time Rioja, cherries, vanilla, some coconut, dill, leather, cured meat, incense, old furniture and cold bonfire. The palate is medium-bodied and very balanced with great acidity and fine tannins that make it easy to drink. Pop or keep. It has good freshness, and with time in the glass it develops beautiful aromas of orange peel that transmit very good freshness.
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.