Events

97 points James Suckling
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.

95 points Wine Advocate
They used the words subtlety, elegance, finesse, delicacy and silk to define the 2015 Gran Reserva 904 Seleccion Especial, a blend of 90% Tempranillo from their vineyards in Villalba, Brinas and Rodezno with 10% Graciano from the Montecillo vineyard in Fuenmayor that was picked 23 days later than the Tempranillo. The grapes were sorted optically for the first time, and they fermented in stainless steel where the wine went through malolactic too. The wine was put in barrel in January 2016?used American oak barrels built by their own coopers?where it matured for four years, during which time it was racked every six months. 2015 was a healthy vintage with balanced ripeness that delivered wines with good aging potential. They thought the wine needed a little more time in bottle to polish those tannins and have decided to hold it and release the wine around March 2023; it will be marked Seleccion Especial, the first 904 to do so, as they have very high hopes for this year and believe it's one of the finest vintages. They think it will develop the sophistication in the palate with a little more time and that is should achieve the silkiness that is the signature of 904. This is very 2015; I saw quite strong tannins in all the 2015 wines I tasted from Rioja Alta. Drink Window 2024-2025

94 points Wine Advocate
The Contino vineyards escaped the frost from 2017, and the 2017 Gran Reserva, from a warm and dry year, is a blend of 82% Tempranillo, 5% Mazuelo, 10% Graciano and 3% Garnacha, the selection of the best grapes from different plots in the estate. This is 100% from the new team and from a vintage they consider very good for their property, different than the majority of Rioja. The idea is to follow the long aging in oak to continue with the tradition and keeping the freshness and controlling the power from the place. This is hedonistic and flattering, spicy after maturing in French barrique for 24 months. They harvested earlier than ever, in early September, and the wine reached 13.52% and has very good freshness with a pH of 3.47. It's round and enjoyable, fresher than the last vintage I had tried. 29,483 bottles and 1,000 magnums produced. It was bottled in June 2020