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Villota Selvanevada Rioja Tinto 2020
Villota Selvanevada Rioja Tinto 2020
Regular price Regular Price: $21.99 Sale priceYour Price: $18.97
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Available: 21
Baked black cherries, olives, baking spices and herbs here, following through to a tactile, medium-to full-bodied palate with juicy black cherries and dusty tannins. Drink or hold.
Tempranillo (86%), Graciano (8%), Mazuela (4%), Garnacha (2%)
PJ00130
Spain
Rioja
Red
2020
.750L
La Rioja Alta Vina Alberdi Reserva Rioja 2016 1.5L
La Rioja Alta Vina Alberdi Reserva Rioja 2016 1.5L
Regular price Regular Price: $51.99 Sale priceYour Price: $46.97
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Available: 23
Vina Alberdi is a 100% Tempranillo that was hand-harvested, destemmed, and vinified in tank. The wine was then aged for two years in American oak barrels manufactured in-house; the first year in new oak and the second in barrels averaging three years in age. The wine was then manually racked four times by the light of a candle; it doesn?€?t get more old school than that!
La Rioja Alta was formed in 1890 as a partnership of 5 quality-conscious growers keen to exploit the export potential for well-made Rioja. At this time, French vineyards were ravaged by phylloxera, and connoisseurs were having to look elsewhere for supplies of fine wine. Rioja, with its excellent climate and soils, had already attracted attention, and experiments with Bordeaux-style vinification and barrique-aging were proving very successful.
La Rioja Alta?€?s wines are still crafted in the traditional Rioja manner. The bodega is adamant about not using French oak, keeping the unique Rioja style which has been developed since the end of the 19th century. In spite of the varying amount of time in cask and bottle, the wines all display a wonderful rich ruby color, gorgeous aromas of oak, spices, and fruit followed by a sensational feel on the palate, with a wonderfully smooth texture, clean rich oaky/fruity flavors, and a long lingering finish.
W21777
Spain
Rioja
Red
2016
.750L
Anza Diego Magana Rioja 2021
Anza Diego Magana Rioja 2021
Regular price Regular Price: $34.99 Sale priceYour Price: $29.97
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Available: 42
The 2021 Anza wants to show the typicity of Laguardia and Elvillar with freshness, precision and no makeup. It's a blend of grapes from different vineyards that were fermented by plot with some full clusters and a significant amount of white grapes. It matured in 500-liter barrels and oak vats of different sizes. It has 13.5% alcohol and a little more depth and clout compared with the 2022, and it's fine-boned and has very elegant tannins. Precision, my friends
92 points Tim Atkins
Diego Magana uses grapes from five parcels in Laguardia and two in neighboring Elvillar to produce this higher-altitude Tempranillo. Chalky, concentrated and subtly reduced, with smooth tannins, vibrant fennel, thyme, blueberry and black cherry flavors and supporting acidity.
• Mostly Tempranillo with some Garnacha, Graciano, Mazuelo, Viura and Malvasía Riojana
• 30 to 50+-year-old bushvines in pure limestone soils
• Fermented with indigenous yeast in open-top wood vats with whole bunches as vintage allows
• Raised for about a year in one 4,000L tina and 225L barrels, all used
PJ00495
Spain
Red
2021
.750L
MacRobert & Canals La Nave Rioja Tinto 2020
MacRobert & Canals La Nave Rioja Tinto 2020
Regular price Regular Price: $17.99 Sale priceYour Price: $14.97
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Available: 12
The red 2020 La Nave mixes grapes and zones, approximately one-third each Garnacha, Tempranillo and Mazuelo, and has moderate ripeness and 13.5% alcohol. It fermented in concrete with indigenous yeasts, where it matured for a few months. It's serious, austere and a bit reductive/flinty, in need of some air, with a medium-bodied palate and fine and chalky tannins. 8,550 bottles were filled in August 2021.This is one very interesting young project that deserves attention. It's young South African winemaker Bryan MacRobert and his father in law here.
PJ00420
Spain
Red
2020
.750L
Bodega Contador Benjamin Romeo Alma Rioja 2020
Bodega Contador Benjamin Romeo Alma Rioja 2020
Regular price Regular Price: $114.99 Sale priceYour Price: $99.97
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Available: 9
It wasproduced with grapes from three vineyards in San Vicente de la Sonsierra at different altitudes and is a blend of Tempranillo with 8% Garnacha with limited yields because of mildew. It matured in new French barriques for 20 months. He wanted a more classical image and perhaps a more classical profile of wine. It's perfumed and floral, with notes of aromatic herbs, a little balsamic and quite showy, with very fine tannins and freshness, as he used more grapes from the higher-altitude zones. It's powerful and elegant, and in a way it reminds me of the style of the initial vintages of La Cueva de Contador; it's clean and elegant. It's 14.5% alcohol with a pH of 3.55. It's very young but still drinkable, as the quality of the tannins is very good. I think this is the one wine I'd buy from their portfolio if I could only buy one. It transported me to the wines from the early 2000s. 10,000 bottles produced
PJ00411
Spain
Red
2020
.750L
Jose Gil San Vincente de la Sonsierra Village Rioja 2021
Jose Gil San Vincente de la Sonsierra Village Rioja 2021
Regular price Regular Price: $51.99 Sale priceYour Price: $45.97
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Available: 17
93+ points Wine Advocate
The village 2021 Viñedos en San Vicente de la Sonsierra was produced with 75% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha and the rest white grapes, mostly Viura from vineyards in the middle and higher part of the village. It fermented partly with full clusters and matured 50/50 in concrete and 500- and 600-liter barrels in their cave. This feels quite serious, with ripeness and power, slowly revealing more elegant notes and some floral hints, with an earthy touch. It feels like the grapes ripened thoroughly in the longer cycle and developed plenty of nuances. It has 13.9% alcohol and is medium to full-bodied, serious and balanced, with the stuffing to develop in bottle. 16,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in September 2022. Drinking Window 2023 - 2030
These are some of the most exciting new Riojas in the market.
Before modern or traditional Rioja, there was a simpler style of whole-cluster, co-fermented, and shortly-aged wines that were as naked and honest an expression of Rioja as one could find. So it's no surprise that José Gil followed in his ancestors' footsteps with focus in the vineyard rather than the cellar - which happens to be a cave in the outskirts of San Vicente.
Jose currently farms 5 hectares of vines located in the villages of San Vicente, Labastida, and Briones. Practices are manual and organic although he is not certified. The vines range in age from 5 to 130 years old with the majority Tempranillo, a small percentage of Viura. The oldest vineyard plots are co-planted with tiny percentages of other grape varieties which include Garnacha and Palomino. When the grapes reach the cellar after being harvested by hand, they are fermented either whole-cluster, or partially destemmed. All fermentations are by indigenous yeasts and extraction is gentle. After pressing the wines are racked into 225-300L French oak barrels and transported to the aging cellar in San Vicente.
PJ00369
Spain
Red
2021
.750L
La Rioja Alta 890 Gran Reserva Rioja 1981
La Rioja Alta 890 Gran Reserva Rioja 1981
Regular priceYour Price: $399.97
Available: 22
This is an exceptional example of an old school Spanish Rioja that was aged in different-sized oak vessels, and not released until it had reached full maturity. If readers think the price is high, consider the fact that this bodegas has aged the wine for the consumer, rather than asking you to buy it as a "future" in 1982 and hold it for 15 years before drinking it.
The traditionally made Spanish wines from this bodega are successful. However, readers looking for more internationally-styled Spanish reds that have saturated ruby/purple colors, and grapy personalities are advised that this bodega emphasizes the more mature, aged character of Spanish Rioja, with mature garnet colors with rust at the edge, and fragrant, intense, evolved aromatic profiles.
The Bodega was formed in 1890 as a partnership of 5 quality-conscious growers keen to exploit the export potential for well-made, ?????modern????? Rioja. At this time, French vineyards were ravaged by phylloxera, and connoisseurs were having to look elsewhere for supplies of fine wine. Rioja, with its excellent climate and soils, had already attracted attention, and experiments with Bordeaux-style vinification and barrique-aging were proving very successful. The region?????s only real disadvantage was its remoteness, cut off from the lucrative markets to the north by the same mountains that ensured its favorable climate. This problem was solved by construction of the rail link to Bilbao, and it is no coincidence that Bodegas La Rioja Alta was established next to the Haro railway station in the same year it opened. In 1904, La Rioja Alta absorbed Bodegas Ardanza, and gained access to some of the finest vineyards in the Rioja Alta district. The luxury 904 bottling commemorates this important milestone in the company?????s development. Since then Rioja has seen more bad times than good, and many producers have harmed the reputation of the region and its production methods, releasing sloppily-aged wines which were never good enough to support a long time in cask. But La Rioja Alta has never let standards slip, and continues to this day the tradition of careful long-aging that gives Rioja its unique character. These wines offer a wonderfully complex bouquet, rich flavours, a seductively smooth texture, and are all ready to drink on release.
Few dispute that La Rioja Alta S.A. is the leading quality orientated producer in the Rioja. With more than 50,000 casks and 6.4 million bottles stored at any one time, the equivalent of about 8 years sales, La Rioja Alta S.A. is unique in its ability to supply large quantities of fully mature wines of world class quality. The company owns 300 hectares of vineyards in different parts of the best zones of the Rioja Alta region. La Rioja Alta S.A. is specialized in red wines. The leading grape variety is the Tempranillo with small doses of Mazuelo and Graciano. The Vina Ardanza differs from the other wines with some 25% Garnacha in the blend. After vinification in the new ultra modern vinification plant near Haro, aging is in traditional Bordeaux casks, all made from American oak. Racking is by hand every 6 months with 8 teams working full time racking the 51,000 casks. There is no filtration prior to bottling and further long aging in bottle before release. In short the wines are made in the traditional Rioja manner. The company is adamant about not using French oak, keeping the unique Rioja style which has been developed since the end of the 19th century. In spite of the varying amount of time in cask and bottle the wines all display a wonderful rich ruby colour, gorgeous aromas of oak, spices and fruit followed by a sensational feel on the palate, with a wonderful smooth texture, clean rich oaky/fruity flavours and a long lingering finish. All the wines are ready for consumption on release but will keep for many more years in bottle. This situation is almost unique in the world of wine and is the reason why so many restaurants list La Rioja Alta?????s outstanding range of truly classic Rioja wines.
W04951
Spain
Rioja
Red
1981
Tempranillo
.750L
yes
Senorio de San Vicente Rioja 2019
Senorio de San Vicente Rioja 2019
Regular price Regular Price: $67.99 Sale priceYour Price: $59.97
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Available: 33
The 2019 San Vicente was produced with Tempranillo Peludo, a special strain of Tempranillo planted from a massale selection in 1985 in the village of San Vicente de la Sonsierra. Like all their reds (except the carbonic maceration ones), the destemmed grapes fermented in French oak vats, and the wine matured in new oak barrels (90% French, 10% American) for 20 months. This wine is quite regular, and I found similar wines in 2019 and 2018, the two vintages that I tasted together, combining power and elegance and juicy fruit with good ripeness but without excess and good acidity and balance and fine-grained tannins. - Luis Gutierrez,
One finca and one 18-hectare vineyard supply the Tempranillo fruit for this ultra modern, 90% new oak-aged red from clay-limestone soils at 580 metres. - Tim Atkin
PJ00813
Spain
Rioja
Red
2019
.750L
La Rioja Alta Vina Ardanza Reserva Rioja 2016 (1.5L)
La Rioja Alta Vina Ardanza Reserva Rioja 2016 (1.5L)
Regular priceYour Price: $77.97
Available: 6
95 points James Suckling
Savory and complex with dried orange peel, cedar and plenty of sweet spices, walnuts, caramel, dried mushrooms and pine needles. Shows maturity here, with a medium body and superb freshness. Incredibly long finish with lots of truffle and walnut. Lasts over a minute. Very complete now, but you can still hold it.
94+ points Wine Advocate
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.
PJ00743
Spain
Red
2016
1.5L
Vina Ilusion Rioja Blanco 2021
Vina Ilusion Rioja Blanco 2021
Regular price Regular Price: $16.99 Sale priceYour Price: $13.97
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Available: 14
100% Tempranillo Blanco, a unique light skinned clone of Tempranillo. Hand harvested, fermented with native yeasts in stainless steel. A few short months in Stainless tanks before bottling.
W21790
Spain
Red
2021
.750L
Marques de Murrieta Dalmau Reserva Rioja 2004
Marques de Murrieta Dalmau Reserva Rioja 2004
Regular priceYour Price: $134.99
Available: 8
"The 2004 Dalmau Reserva is sourced from a single 50+ year old plot within the 300 hectare Ygay estate. Made from a blend of 86% Tempranillo, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Graciano, the wine was aged for 21 months in new French barriques. Dark ruby/purple-colored, it reveals an aromatic array of toasty new oak, spice box, mineral, blueberry, and black currants. Considerably more powerful than its traditionally made siblings, on the palate if is full-bodied, firm, layered, and quite concentrated. The spicy flavors fall on the dark side of the spectrum with blackberry, plum, and black currant in the forefront. The wine has at least a decade of aging potential and will be at its peak from 2015 to 2030 although it can be enjoyed now with a charcoal-grilled ribeye."
W-00003195
Spain
Rioja
Red
2004
Tempranillo
.750L
yes
La Rioja Alta 890 Gran Reserva Rioja 1982
La Rioja Alta 890 Gran Reserva Rioja 1982
Regular priceYour Price: $399.97
Available: 5
"The flagship wines of this bodega are their 904 and 890 Gran Reservas. These wines spend 8-10 years in cask and are then bottle aged even longer. They are beautifully made wines with a complexity not unlike a mature vintage of a top class Bordeaux Graves. Except for its strong vanillin component, the 1982 Gran Reserva 890 could easily be mistaken for a 25-year old Haut-Brion. The 1982 Gran Reserva 890 reveals a lead pencil, charcoal smoke, hot bricks, cedar, strawberry, cherry, and fruitcake-scented nose that is one of the most complex aromatic profiles anyone could suck in past their olfactory senses. In the mouth, the wine is medium-bodied and elegant, with delicate, intense, but light flavors. This is a gorgeous, complex, old style Rioja the likes of which are impossible to find from other producers in this renowned Spanish appellation." 92pts WA
W04946
Spain
Rioja
Red
1982
.750L
yes
Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia Gran Reserva Rioja 1976
Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia Gran Reserva Rioja 1976
Regular priceYour Price: $499.97
Available: 27
"Thirty years after the vintage the two 1976 Gran Reservas still fully express the qualities of their unique terroirs. The outstanding 1976 Vina Tondonia Gran Reserva offers a multitude of tertiary nuances in its suggestions of leather, licorice, coffee beans, earthiness and dried prunes on a medium-bodied frame of notable elegance. It is sweeter and riper than the Bosconia Gran Reserva, with a resonating note of alcoholic warmth that frames the long, lingering finish. 92/Anticipated maturity: 2006-?" 92pts WA
W-00003165
Spain
Rioja
Red
1976
Tempranillo
.750L
yes
Lopez de Heredia Vina Bosconia Gran Reserva Rioja 1976
Lopez de Heredia Vina Bosconia Gran Reserva Rioja 1976
Regular priceYour Price: $379.97
Available: 25
"The seductive 1976 Vina Bosconia Gran Reserva is another ethereal beauty, revealing an expressive nose along with notes of earthiness, sweet perfumed fruit, cocoa, flowers and an occasional hint of white truffle that floats out of the glass. Fresher and more vibrant than the Tondonia Gran Reserva, it offers outstanding length and notable structure in an understated yet profound expression of Rioja. It is that rare wine that invites contemplation by engaging all of the taster?????s senses. A great effort. 95 Anticipated maturity: 2006-?" 95pts WA
W-00003161
Spain
Rioja
Red
1976
Tempranillo
.750L
yes
CVNE Vina Real Gran Reserva Rioja 1978
CVNE Vina Real Gran Reserva Rioja 1978
Regular priceYour Price: $229.97
Available: 74
I think context is very important in wine, and when I drink old bottles I always think how the world was when they harvested the grapes: what happened that year, how people lived and how they made the wine. It's sometimes mind boggling to drink some very old wines, a real privilege which, I often say, is as close as you can get to time travel. So I've given some context to all these wines. I'm told nobody reads the tasting notes and people only look at the scores, let's see if we get some reaction on these. Even though the tasting was excellent, I expected even more; we had too many corked wines and some vintages had shown better on other occasions. But such is the case with old wines, there are no great vintages anymore, only great bottles. Highlights of the tasting were 1959, 1947 and 1938. On top of those, there was one outstanding and perfect wine that day, and, as I might not find better excuse to publish a note on it than now, I've included it here. It's an historical wine, a one-off, semi-sweet white produced at the end of the Spanish Civil War, a wine impossible to replicate, fruit of impossible circumstances, a wine I've had the luck to drink and share with many people on a number of occasions and which never fails to impress everyone.
W-00003342
Spain
Rioja
Red
1978
Tempranillo
.750L
yes
Benjamin Romeo Contador Rioja 2007
Benjamin Romeo Contador Rioja 2007
Regular priceYour Price: $299.97
Available: 8
"The flagship 2007 Contador receives the same elevage as the Cueva cuvee, the difference is based entirely on selection. Deep purple in color, it surrenders an already multifaceted perfume of sandalwood, truffle, Asian spices, incense, black cherry, and blackberry. On the palate it exhibits a satin texture, intense flavors, loads of spice, impeccable balance, and an elegant personality in combination with its power. It demands 6-8 years of cellaring at the minimum and its drinking window will extend from 2016 to 2042." 98pts WA
W-00003348
Spain
Rioja
Red
2007
Red Blend
.750L
yes