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La Rioja Alta Rioja Vina Ardanza Reserva 2004

750ML ~st st 92 points

Sku: 040330

Review

The highly anticipated release of Vina Ardanza Reserva Especial 2001 is finally here! A blend of 80% Tempranillo and 20% Garnacha. Most of the Tempranillo use for this blend comes from 30 years old vines in Fuenmayor; the Grenache is from the lower Rioja, from Ausejo and Tudelilla. The wine is aged for 36 months in American oak barriques.

Rating

2001: 94 Points - Jay Miller, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: "The current release is the 2001 Reserva Especial, a deeply colored wine with a lovely perfume of cinnamon, lavender, incense, balsamic, and black cherry. Medium-bodied, velvety-textured, and already complex, it will continue to evolve for another 5-10 years and offer a drinking window extending from 2016 to 2036. For those seeking immediate gratification, it has the virtue of being approachable now."

2009: 92 Points - Josh Raynolds, Steve Tanzer's International Wine Cellars: "Deep red. Sexy, intensely perfumed bouquet of ripe raspberry and cherry with suggestions of potpourri, sandalwood and vanilla. Shows more power and darker fruits on the palate, picking up a touch of singed plum that adds a serious quality to the sweet black raspberry and cherry flavors without costing the wine any of its vibrancy. The long, sweet finish hangs on with very good tenacity."

Technical notes

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.

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Country: Spain
Region: Rioja
Sub-Region: Rioja Alta
Grape Varietal: Tempranillo
Type: Still wine

Reg. 34.99
On Sale $29.99

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