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NEW RELEASE: 2005 Gran Reserva 904, La Rioja Alta - 96pts WA

La Rioja Alta Gran Reserva
"La Rioja Alta celebrates its 125th anniversary in 2015... The quality is as good as ever, with superb wines from the almost-perfect 2005 vintage coming into the market. Great Rioja, as traditional as it gets, in good quantity and moderate (and often plain great) prices."  
Luis Gutierrez, erobertparker.com

Following on from the roaring success of the brilliant 2001 & 2004 vintages of top-drawer Rioja Alta Gran Reserva 904, we are delighted to offer the newest release: the 2005 - another great success for this Rioja winery.

"This is usually my favorite wine from La Rioja Alta and 2005 is one of its best showings, going back to the quality of the vintages of the 1950s and 60s... Together it is balanced, subtle, truly elegant and classical.......At this quality level this is a bargain"
Luis Gutierrez, erobertparker.com

We have also been able to secure a small parcel of extra stock of the Rioja Alta 2004 in bottles & magnums (96 pts WA).   The beauty of these Gran Reserva Riojas is that the winery only releases them when they are starting to drink. This is a fantastic opportunity, therefore, to buy perfectly stored, aged and complex wines, without either having to wait or pay a fortune for the privilege.  These wines offer truly exceptional quality and are brilliant value.

 

"I have admired their wines for many years, Rioja that speaks so eloquently and with such clarity of their place...Quite simply, these are some of finest Riojas that can grace your cellar: complex, refined, classic but without compromising fruit intensity"

Neal Martin

 
 
Wine offered In Bond (IB) excluding duty and VAT.  For enquiries please email the team
Offer subject to final confirmation. E&OE.

 

VintageWineGrowerConditionSizeCasesBottlesPrice 
2005 Rioja Gran Reserva 904 Rioja Alta - Bottles 14 6 250 per Case Add to shopping cart
"The 2005 Gran Reserva 904 is a superb blend of Tempranillo from the villages of Briñas, Labastida and Villalba with 10% Graciano from Briones and Rodezno. The grapes were destemmed and crushed and fermented in stainless steel for 18 days at 25 C. Malolactic fermentation was spontaneous and lasted 38 days. These wines are marked by a long aging in used American oak barrels following the most strict Riojan tradition; four years during which time the wine was manually racked eight times. This is usually my favorite wine from La Rioja Alta and 2005 is one of its best showings, going back to the quality of the vintages of the 1950s and 60s. The nose is very balsamic with notes of camphor, hints of mint, leather and hung game wrapped around a core of cherries in liqueur. Together it is balanced, subtle, truly elegant and classical. The palate is only medium-bodied but with great concentration of flavors that are very tasty, mineral, almost salty and framed by ultra-fine tannins and smashing balance. A great classic. This wine will be released in October 2015, a full ten years after the vintage. At this quality level this is a bargain."
Luis Gutierrez 96 pts, erobertparker.com April 2015

VintageWineGrowerConditionSizeCasesBottlesPrice 
2004 Rioja Gran Reserva 904 Rioja Alta - Bottles 7 3 250 per Case Add to shopping cart
"The 2004 Gran Reserva 904 is Tempranillo from Brinas, Labastida and Villalba balanced with 10% Graciano from Briones and Rodezno. The grapes were fermented and macerated in inox vats for 14 days at 28º C, and malolactic fermentation lasted 28 days. The wine aged for 4 years in used American oak barrels averaging 4 years old, during which time it was manually racked 8 times. 150,000 bottles were filled. This 2004, from a superb vintage shows a beautiful light red color with a brick rim and a superb nose redolent of balsamic woods, spices, leather, well-hung meat, incense and truffles. The light to medium-bodied palate shows fully resolved tannins, great acidity and pure, pungent flavors that linger in the mouth forever and that can only be Rioja. This is a wine to smell over and over again. It might sound like an exaggeration, but this wine is still too young and you should wait a little bit and drink the superb 2001 vintage which should still be available on the market while this one matures in bottle. At this quality level the price is superb especially considering that the wine is being released 10 years after the vintage. Drink 2016-2024."

Luis Gutierrez 96 pts, erobertparker.com Dec 2013