La Rioja Alta
About La Rioja Alta
La Rioja Alta traces its roots back to 1890 when five growers from Rioja and the Basque Country founded the Sociedad Vinicola de La Rioja Alta in Haro Station District. One of the growers, Daniel-Alfredo Ardanza y Sanchez, subsequently merged the group with his winery in 1904. The La Rioja Gran Reserva 890 and Gran Reserva 904 serve to commemorate these two significant events, with the “1” is omitted to avoid confusion with the vintage. The group currently owns 425 hectares of vineyard and 4 wineries - 2 in Rioja and 1 each in Ribera del Duero and Rias Biaxas. The La Rioja Alta Gran Reserva 904 is produced in the original winery in Rioja.
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Prices:
| Product Name | Region | Qty | Score | Price | |||||
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Rioja | 6 | 98 (TA) |
Inc. VAT
£979.24 |
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Tim Atkin MW (98)The superlative 2010 release is the first 890 Gran Reserva since 2005, and it was definitely worth the wait. Partnering Tempranillo with 3% Graciano and 2% Mazuelo, it has a wonderful combination of structure, sweetness and focus. Aromatic spices, red berry fruit and top notes of tobacco and fresh leather are underpinned by age-worthy tannins and refreshing acidity. One to keep. |
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Rioja | 1 | 95 (DC) |
Inc. VAT
£1,076.47 |
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Decanter (95)This vintage of La Rioja Alta’s 904 highlights its difference as a producer. A ‘good’ rated vintage didn’t stop this quality-conscious winery from producing a superb wine. With its 400ha of vines, La Rioja Alta is almost self-sufficient: unusual among Rioja producers. This blend of 90% Tempranillo and 10% Graciano has seen four years in cask, and a few more in bottle prior to its release. The company imports American oak from Ohio and Pennsylvania, in order to supply the huge requirements of its in-house coopering operation. Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW: An amazing, classic style with unique aromas, round tannins and a velvety texture, finishing suave and gorgeous. Sarah Jane Evans MW: Gloriously smoky American oak. The palate is all about American oak too, but the blend of vanilla and berries is irresistible. Pierre Mansour: Lovely sweetness and vigour here, with the acidity supporting the mellow texture and fruit. A superb classic Rioja. |
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Rioja | 3 | 96 (WA) |
Inc. VAT
£494.34 |
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Wine Advocate (96)The 2005 Gran Reserva 904 is a superb blend of Tempranillo from the villages of Briñas, Labastida and Villalba with 10% Graciano from Briones and Rodezno. The grapes were destemmed and crushed and fermented in stainless steel for 18 days at 25 C. Malolactic fermentation was spontaneous and lasted 38 days. These wines are marked by a long aging in used American oak barrels following the most strict Riojan tradition; four years during which time the wine was manually racked eight times. This is usually my favorite wine from La Rioja Alta and 2005 is one of its best showings, going back to the quality of the vintages of the 1950s and 60s. The nose is very balsamic with notes of camphor, hints of mint, leather and hung game wrapped around a core of cherries in liqueur. Together it is balanced, subtle, truly elegant and classical. The palate is only medium-bodied but with great concentration of flavors that are very tasty, mineral, almost salty and framed by ultra-fine tannins and smashing balance. A great classic. This wine will be released in October 2015, a full ten years after the vintage. At this quality level this is a bargain. 150,000 bottles produced. |
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Rioja | 2 | 97 (JS) |
Inc. VAT
£374.44 |
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James Suckling (97)This is a driven and super tight Gran Reserva with dark berries and hints of spice and cedar. A spicy red-pepper undertone and some dried flowers. Full to medium body, integrated tannins and a superb finish. A great wine. Available in September 2018. A wine for the cellar, but why wait? |
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Rioja | 21 | 96 (JS) |
Inc. VAT
£300.04 |
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James Suckling (96)Lovely dried red fruit, such as plums with just a hint of prunes. Cedar, walnut and leather undertones. Full-bodied with lots of fruit, considering its age, as well as hints of smoke, tobacco, bark and black tea. Some balsamic at the finish. Traditionally styled with lovely results. Drink or hold. |
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Rioja | 4 | 97 (JS) |
Inc. VAT
£399.64 |
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James Suckling (97)A perfumed nose of plums, mulberries, mushrooms, caramel, sweet tobacco and sweet spices. Full-bodied with velvety, fine tannins and lively acidity. Balanced and supple with a creamy texture. Delicate and precise with a long, polished finish. 90% tempranillo and 10% graciano. Drink or hold. |
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Rioja | 1 | 93 (VN) |
Inc. VAT
£313.24 |
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Vinous (93)Dark ruby. A deeply perfumed bouquet evokes spice-tinged dark fruit preserves, potpourri, vanilla and incense, and a smoky mineral overtone builds as the wine opens up. Sappy and broad on the palate, offering weighty blackberry, cherry-vanilla and spicecake flavors that turn spicier with air. Shows excellent precision on the persistent finish, which features sweet dark fruit liqueur and floral elements and harmonious tannins. |
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Rioja | 1 | 94 (TA) |
Inc. VAT
£332.44 |
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Tim Atkin MW (94)La Rioja Alta is one of the most traditional wineries in Haro’s Barrio de la Estación, famous for producing wines that are good to drink on release, but also age beautifully in bottle. This new Gran Reserva, made from Tempranillo with 6% Graciano for added backbone, is very much a reflection of the cooler, more “Atlantic” 2014 vintage. La Rioja Alta didn’t make its top two Gran Reservas – 904 and 890 – in 2014, so all of its best grapes were used for Viña Arana. Fine and elegant, with vibrant acidity, notes of coconut and cinnamon from the American oak and a core of savoury, refreshing tobacco leaf and red berry flavours framed by fine, caressing tannins. Old-fashioned Rioja at its glorious best. |
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Rioja | 1 | 96 (DC) |
Inc. VAT
£246.04 |
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Decanter (96)Beautiful nose coconut cream, vanilla and mocha nose. Smooth and mellow on the rich and velvety palate with lots of sweet spices, dates and chocolate-covered currants. Long-lasting and utterly delicious. |
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Rioja | 2 | 95 (WAN) |
Inc. VAT
£520.87 |
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Wine Anorak (95)This is wonderfully aromatic and completely classic, with sweet strawberry and cherry fruit with some coconut and vanilla blending in well. There’s a sweet core of fruit on the palate with red and black cherry, some stewed plum and strawberry, as well as fine spices and a slight chalkiness to the layered texture. Mellow and refined, this is benchmark Gran Reserva Rioja, and is drinking perfectly now although it will develop beautifully over the next couple of decades. The balance is perfect. |
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Rioja | 10 | 95 (WAN) |
Inc. VAT
£225.64 |
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Wine Anorak (95)This is wonderfully aromatic and completely classic, with sweet strawberry and cherry fruit with some coconut and vanilla blending in well. There’s a sweet core of fruit on the palate with red and black cherry, some stewed plum and strawberry, as well as fine spices and a slight chalkiness to the layered texture. Mellow and refined, this is benchmark Gran Reserva Rioja, and is drinking perfectly now although it will develop beautifully over the next couple of decades. The balance is perfect. |
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Rioja | 2 | 94 (WA) |
Inc. VAT
£602.47 |
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Wine Advocate (94)The 2007 Viña Ardanza Reserva is a blend of Tempranillo with 20% Garnacha, the Tempranillo from 30-year-old vineyards La Cuesta and Montecillo in the villages of Fuenmayor and Cenicero, and the Garnacha from old head-pruned vines at 600 meters altitude in Tudelilla, in Rioja Baja, from plots next to their Finca La Pedriza. Those should soon be mature enough to go into the wine (they were planted in 2004 and they will make it into the Ardanza blend from 2007-2008). The grapes are fermented separately with natural yeasts and the Tempranillo then matured in American oak barrels averaging four years old for 36 months, while the Garnacha matured in second- and third-use American oak barrels for 30 months. The nose is very fresh, with notes of beef blood, iron, cherries in liqueur, some subtle leather and spices plus notes of autumn forest and truffles. The palate is more lively and has some tannins that would feel better integrated with some food or a little bit of time in bottle It was bottled in November 2011. This will be released around September/October 2015, so by the time it hits the shelves it will be more polished. Great value for money. 600,000 bottles were produced. |
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Rioja | 2 | 96 (VN) |
Inc. VAT
£550.87 |
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Vinous (96)The 2010 Viña Ardanza Selección Especial Rioja Reserva is an absolute blinder. The blend comprises 80% Tempranillo from the La Cuesta and Montecillo vineyards and 20% Grenache from the La Pedriza vineyard in Rioja Baja. It was picked mid-October, aged for 36 months in four-year-old American oak (six months less for the Grenache) and bottled in 2015. It was so highly regarded by the team at La Rioja Alta that they deemed it “Selección Especial” instead of “Reserva Especial.” The bouquet is like an old friend inviting you into their home. Crushed strawberry, leather and a touch of game are all beautifully defined, and after an hour the nose became increasingly Burgundy in style. That Burgundy theme translates across to a palate that is supremely well balanced and so harmonious that it was almost too easy to drink. There are hints of chestnut and shavings of black truffle on a finish that fans out gently. This is a finely crafted and irresistible Rioja Reserva from one of the region’s best producers, and frankly, I will not taste a bottle that represents better value for money than this: cases of 12 at just over £200 in bond. |
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Rioja | 1 | 94 (VN) |
Inc. VAT
£307.27 |
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Vinous (94)Deep magenta. An intensely perfumed bouquet evokes ripe black raspberry, cherry cola, potpourri, tobacco and exotic spices, plus a smoky mineral flourish. Sweet and broad in the mouth, offering lush red and blue fruit, spicecake, mocha and coconut flavors that firm up on the back half. Finishes extremely long and spicy, with resonating florality, gently chewy tannins and lingering oak spice notes. |
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Rioja | 24 | 94+ (WA) |
Inc. VAT
£178.84 |
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Wine Advocate (94+)The 2016 Viña Ardanza Reserva was produced with 80% Tempranillo and 20% Garnacha that matured in used American oak barrels for three years, where it was hand-racked from barrel to barrel six times in the case of Tempranillo and five times for the Garnacha, as it had a slightly shorter élevage of 30 months. Against all odds, I found the 2016 to be fresher than the 2015 and less developed, despite the fact that winemaker Julio Sáenz told me he considers it a warmer year. But I have found many wines I like in 2016, and the wine feels very clean and quite harmonious, younger and less developed, with more primary notes and a velvety mouthfeel. 600,000 bottles produced. The wine was bottled in June 2020. |
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Rioja | 19 | 94 (WA) |
Inc. VAT
£180.32 |
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Wine Advocate (94)No 2018 was produced, so after the 2017 I tasted last year, we jumped to the 2019 Viña Ardanza Reserva, produced with a blend of 80% Tempranillo and 20% Garnacha. It fermented destemmed in stainless steel and aged in American oak barrels, 36 months for the Tempranillo and 30 months for Garnacha, and was blended before bottling. 2019 is a very good year for them, a small crop of powerful and concentrated wines when they produced all their brands, an exception. This is spicy, structured, balanced and powerful in this warm year, reaching the customary 14.5% alcohol and keeping a pH of 3.54 and 5.5 grams of acidity. It's still very young and undeveloped, with the classical profile, generous in American oak aromas and flavors that should slowly integrate in the wine with years in bottle. For them, 2019 means a change in Ardanza, less spicy (but still quite spicy, with clove, vanilla and tobacco leaves) and with more fresh fruit from the Garnacha. But the year is a modern version of 2015. 500,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in December 2023. No 2023 or 2024 will be produced either. |
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| Product Name | Region | Qty | Score | Price | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Rioja | 6 | 98 (TA) |
In Bond
£800.00 |
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Tim Atkin MW (98)The superlative 2010 release is the first 890 Gran Reserva since 2005, and it was definitely worth the wait. Partnering Tempranillo with 3% Graciano and 2% Mazuelo, it has a wonderful combination of structure, sweetness and focus. Aromatic spices, red berry fruit and top notes of tobacco and fresh leather are underpinned by age-worthy tannins and refreshing acidity. One to keep. |
|||||||||
|
|
Rioja | 1 | 95 (DC) |
In Bond
£865.00 |
|||||
Decanter (95)This vintage of La Rioja Alta’s 904 highlights its difference as a producer. A ‘good’ rated vintage didn’t stop this quality-conscious winery from producing a superb wine. With its 400ha of vines, La Rioja Alta is almost self-sufficient: unusual among Rioja producers. This blend of 90% Tempranillo and 10% Graciano has seen four years in cask, and a few more in bottle prior to its release. The company imports American oak from Ohio and Pennsylvania, in order to supply the huge requirements of its in-house coopering operation. Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW: An amazing, classic style with unique aromas, round tannins and a velvety texture, finishing suave and gorgeous. Sarah Jane Evans MW: Gloriously smoky American oak. The palate is all about American oak too, but the blend of vanilla and berries is irresistible. Pierre Mansour: Lovely sweetness and vigour here, with the acidity supporting the mellow texture and fruit. A superb classic Rioja. |
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|
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Rioja | 3 | 96 (WA) |
In Bond
£394.00 |
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Wine Advocate (96)The 2005 Gran Reserva 904 is a superb blend of Tempranillo from the villages of Briñas, Labastida and Villalba with 10% Graciano from Briones and Rodezno. The grapes were destemmed and crushed and fermented in stainless steel for 18 days at 25 C. Malolactic fermentation was spontaneous and lasted 38 days. These wines are marked by a long aging in used American oak barrels following the most strict Riojan tradition; four years during which time the wine was manually racked eight times. This is usually my favorite wine from La Rioja Alta and 2005 is one of its best showings, going back to the quality of the vintages of the 1950s and 60s. The nose is very balsamic with notes of camphor, hints of mint, leather and hung game wrapped around a core of cherries in liqueur. Together it is balanced, subtle, truly elegant and classical. The palate is only medium-bodied but with great concentration of flavors that are very tasty, mineral, almost salty and framed by ultra-fine tannins and smashing balance. A great classic. This wine will be released in October 2015, a full ten years after the vintage. At this quality level this is a bargain. 150,000 bottles produced. |
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Rioja | 2 | 97 (JS) |
In Bond
£296.00 |
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James Suckling (97)This is a driven and super tight Gran Reserva with dark berries and hints of spice and cedar. A spicy red-pepper undertone and some dried flowers. Full to medium body, integrated tannins and a superb finish. A great wine. Available in September 2018. A wine for the cellar, but why wait? |
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|
|
Rioja | 21 | 96 (JS) |
In Bond
£234.00 |
|||||
James Suckling (96)Lovely dried red fruit, such as plums with just a hint of prunes. Cedar, walnut and leather undertones. Full-bodied with lots of fruit, considering its age, as well as hints of smoke, tobacco, bark and black tea. Some balsamic at the finish. Traditionally styled with lovely results. Drink or hold. |
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|
Rioja | 4 | 97 (JS) |
In Bond
£317.00 |
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James Suckling (97)A perfumed nose of plums, mulberries, mushrooms, caramel, sweet tobacco and sweet spices. Full-bodied with velvety, fine tannins and lively acidity. Balanced and supple with a creamy texture. Delicate and precise with a long, polished finish. 90% tempranillo and 10% graciano. Drink or hold. |
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Rioja | 1 | 93 (VN) |
In Bond
£245.00 |
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Vinous (93)Dark ruby. A deeply perfumed bouquet evokes spice-tinged dark fruit preserves, potpourri, vanilla and incense, and a smoky mineral overtone builds as the wine opens up. Sappy and broad on the palate, offering weighty blackberry, cherry-vanilla and spicecake flavors that turn spicier with air. Shows excellent precision on the persistent finish, which features sweet dark fruit liqueur and floral elements and harmonious tannins. |
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|
|
Rioja | 1 | 94 (TA) |
In Bond
£261.00 |
|||||
Tim Atkin MW (94)La Rioja Alta is one of the most traditional wineries in Haro’s Barrio de la Estación, famous for producing wines that are good to drink on release, but also age beautifully in bottle. This new Gran Reserva, made from Tempranillo with 6% Graciano for added backbone, is very much a reflection of the cooler, more “Atlantic” 2014 vintage. La Rioja Alta didn’t make its top two Gran Reservas – 904 and 890 – in 2014, so all of its best grapes were used for Viña Arana. Fine and elegant, with vibrant acidity, notes of coconut and cinnamon from the American oak and a core of savoury, refreshing tobacco leaf and red berry flavours framed by fine, caressing tannins. Old-fashioned Rioja at its glorious best. |
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Rioja | 1 | 96 (DC) |
In Bond
£189.00 |
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Decanter (96)Beautiful nose coconut cream, vanilla and mocha nose. Smooth and mellow on the rich and velvety palate with lots of sweet spices, dates and chocolate-covered currants. Long-lasting and utterly delicious. |
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|
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Rioja | 2 | 95 (WAN) |
In Bond
£402.00 |
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Wine Anorak (95)This is wonderfully aromatic and completely classic, with sweet strawberry and cherry fruit with some coconut and vanilla blending in well. There’s a sweet core of fruit on the palate with red and black cherry, some stewed plum and strawberry, as well as fine spices and a slight chalkiness to the layered texture. Mellow and refined, this is benchmark Gran Reserva Rioja, and is drinking perfectly now although it will develop beautifully over the next couple of decades. The balance is perfect. |
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|
|
Rioja | 10 | 95 (WAN) |
In Bond
£172.00 |
|||||
Wine Anorak (95)This is wonderfully aromatic and completely classic, with sweet strawberry and cherry fruit with some coconut and vanilla blending in well. There’s a sweet core of fruit on the palate with red and black cherry, some stewed plum and strawberry, as well as fine spices and a slight chalkiness to the layered texture. Mellow and refined, this is benchmark Gran Reserva Rioja, and is drinking perfectly now although it will develop beautifully over the next couple of decades. The balance is perfect. |
|||||||||
|
|
Rioja | 2 | 94 (WA) |
In Bond
£470.00 |
|||||
Wine Advocate (94)The 2007 Viña Ardanza Reserva is a blend of Tempranillo with 20% Garnacha, the Tempranillo from 30-year-old vineyards La Cuesta and Montecillo in the villages of Fuenmayor and Cenicero, and the Garnacha from old head-pruned vines at 600 meters altitude in Tudelilla, in Rioja Baja, from plots next to their Finca La Pedriza. Those should soon be mature enough to go into the wine (they were planted in 2004 and they will make it into the Ardanza blend from 2007-2008). The grapes are fermented separately with natural yeasts and the Tempranillo then matured in American oak barrels averaging four years old for 36 months, while the Garnacha matured in second- and third-use American oak barrels for 30 months. The nose is very fresh, with notes of beef blood, iron, cherries in liqueur, some subtle leather and spices plus notes of autumn forest and truffles. The palate is more lively and has some tannins that would feel better integrated with some food or a little bit of time in bottle It was bottled in November 2011. This will be released around September/October 2015, so by the time it hits the shelves it will be more polished. Great value for money. 600,000 bottles were produced. |
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|
|
Rioja | 2 | 96 (VN) |
In Bond
£427.00 |
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Vinous (96)The 2010 Viña Ardanza Selección Especial Rioja Reserva is an absolute blinder. The blend comprises 80% Tempranillo from the La Cuesta and Montecillo vineyards and 20% Grenache from the La Pedriza vineyard in Rioja Baja. It was picked mid-October, aged for 36 months in four-year-old American oak (six months less for the Grenache) and bottled in 2015. It was so highly regarded by the team at La Rioja Alta that they deemed it “Selección Especial” instead of “Reserva Especial.” The bouquet is like an old friend inviting you into their home. Crushed strawberry, leather and a touch of game are all beautifully defined, and after an hour the nose became increasingly Burgundy in style. That Burgundy theme translates across to a palate that is supremely well balanced and so harmonious that it was almost too easy to drink. There are hints of chestnut and shavings of black truffle on a finish that fans out gently. This is a finely crafted and irresistible Rioja Reserva from one of the region’s best producers, and frankly, I will not taste a bottle that represents better value for money than this: cases of 12 at just over £200 in bond. |
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|
|
Rioja | 1 | 94 (VN) |
In Bond
£224.00 |
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Vinous (94)Deep magenta. An intensely perfumed bouquet evokes ripe black raspberry, cherry cola, potpourri, tobacco and exotic spices, plus a smoky mineral flourish. Sweet and broad in the mouth, offering lush red and blue fruit, spicecake, mocha and coconut flavors that firm up on the back half. Finishes extremely long and spicy, with resonating florality, gently chewy tannins and lingering oak spice notes. |
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|
|
Rioja | 24 | 94+ (WA) |
In Bond
£133.00 |
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Wine Advocate (94+)The 2016 Viña Ardanza Reserva was produced with 80% Tempranillo and 20% Garnacha that matured in used American oak barrels for three years, where it was hand-racked from barrel to barrel six times in the case of Tempranillo and five times for the Garnacha, as it had a slightly shorter élevage of 30 months. Against all odds, I found the 2016 to be fresher than the 2015 and less developed, despite the fact that winemaker Julio Sáenz told me he considers it a warmer year. But I have found many wines I like in 2016, and the wine feels very clean and quite harmonious, younger and less developed, with more primary notes and a velvety mouthfeel. 600,000 bottles produced. The wine was bottled in June 2020. |
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|
|
Rioja | 19 | 94 (WA) |
In Bond
£131.00 |
|||||
Wine Advocate (94)No 2018 was produced, so after the 2017 I tasted last year, we jumped to the 2019 Viña Ardanza Reserva, produced with a blend of 80% Tempranillo and 20% Garnacha. It fermented destemmed in stainless steel and aged in American oak barrels, 36 months for the Tempranillo and 30 months for Garnacha, and was blended before bottling. 2019 is a very good year for them, a small crop of powerful and concentrated wines when they produced all their brands, an exception. This is spicy, structured, balanced and powerful in this warm year, reaching the customary 14.5% alcohol and keeping a pH of 3.54 and 5.5 grams of acidity. It's still very young and undeveloped, with the classical profile, generous in American oak aromas and flavors that should slowly integrate in the wine with years in bottle. For them, 2019 means a change in Ardanza, less spicy (but still quite spicy, with clove, vanilla and tobacco leaves) and with more fresh fruit from the Garnacha. But the year is a modern version of 2015. 500,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in December 2023. No 2023 or 2024 will be produced either. |
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