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La Rioja Alta S.A., Rioja Wine Region, Spain
TEMPRANILLO, 13.50%, Drinking 2020-2040La Rioja Alta S.A., Rioja Wine Region, Spain
TEMPRANILLO, 13.50%, Drinking 2020-20402010 was a great vintage in Rioja in general and seems to be exceptional here, with a 2010 Viña Ardanza Selección Especial (what used to be Reserva Especial) that can challenge any of the recent vintages and hopefully can develop in bottle to reach the heights of years like 1973 or 1964. The wine is expressive, aromatic, very elegant and clean, with classical Rioja aromas of long aging in barrel and slow oxidation through the years in wood. The palate is polished and sleek but shows plenty of energy, with very fine, mostly resolved tannins and very good harmony and persistence. There is great complexity, and you could start smelling spice and smoke to move to earthy tones, hints of beef blood, cherries in liqueur, curry, diesel, old furniture and forest floor. A great Viña Ardanza!
Drink 2019-2035, 95 points, Luis Gutiérrez, The Wine Advocate
Dried cherries, cedar, sandalwood, tar, treacle tart, cinnamon and vanilla. Medium body, fine-grained and very silky tannins for a wine of almost 10 years of age, bright and transparent acidity and a long, very spicy finish. Like going back in time and touching an ornate tapestry. The texture is mesmerizing.
96 points, James Suckling
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Formed by five families in the late 19th century, the La Rioja Alta S.A. winery is one of the most iconic names in Fine Wine, and a benchmark for the traditional style of Rioja. Their Tempranillo-led reds are aged for remarkably long periods in barrels from the producer’s cooperage, and they are one of the last remaining producers to rack their wines by hand and by candlelight – which they do every six months. While they always upheld standards and tradition, La Rioja Alta S.A. never stopped experimenting and pushing for better quality, offering some of the purest, more precise expressions of Tempranillo in the world.
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