La Rioja Alta appears like a area but it surely’s really a broad model which spans three totally different labels, all after all centered on basic Spanish Rioja. At the moment we check out 4 high-end wines from the model — three with a distinct title on the label, and from three totally different vintages. Let’s drink!
2015 Vina Ardanza Rioja Reserva – Hearty and well-structured, this Rioja perks up from a beefy, peppery assault shortly, bringing spiced cherries, plums, and a few orange peel into focus. Lingering hints of cloves and allspice give the end a festive really feel, and the spicier components add some vital depth. Properly-rounded and, finally, surprisingly versatile. A- / $32 [BUY IT NOW FROM TOTAL WINE]
2016 Vina Ardanza Rioja Reserva – The 2016 expression of this wine cuts a considerably comparable profile because the 2015, although it’s much less clearly meaty up prime, letting extra dense cassis and darkish berry notes dominate. Peppery and spicy, once more with cloves and allspice, late within the sport — with hints of violets on the end. Highly effective, however with a sure delicacy. My favourite wine within the lineup. A / $32 [BUY IT NOW FROM TOTAL WINE]
2018 Vina Alberdi Rioja Reserva – Some austerity right here. This wine might use a bit extra time in bottle earlier than ingesting. Notes of turned earth, leather-based, and dried berries dominate on a moody palate that evokes notes of gauchos with cigarillos and toasted cereals. Loads of black fruits on the again finish, however the expertise feels underdeveloped and a contact inexperienced. Give this one some cellar time. B+ / $26 [BUY IT NOW FROM TOTAL WINE]
2015 Finca Martelo Rioja Reserva – The darkest and most austere wine in a lineup of darkish and austere wines, this bottling up entrance pours on notes of bittersweet chocolate and licorice, leather-based and punchy, dried spices to enrich basic notes of raspberry and cherry. Earthy and leathery because it develops on the palate, the bitterness that creeps in helps to supply some stage of stability, culminating in a end that’s brightly acidic, evoking notes of Amontillado sherry, dried figs, and (very) darkish chocolate. A- / $35 [BUY IT NOW FROM TOTAL WINE]
2015 Finca Martelo Rioja Reserva
$35
About Submit Writer
