About this WINE
Tempranillo/Tinto Fino
A high quality red wine grape that is grown all over Spain except in the hot South - it is known as Tinto Fino in Ribera del Duero, Cencibel in La Mancha and Valdepenas and Ull de Llebre in Catalonia. Its spiritual home is in Rioja and Navarra where it constitutes around 70% of most red blends.
Tempranillo-based wines tend to have a spicy, herbal, tobacco-like character accompanied by ripe strawberry and red cherry fruits. It produces fresh, vibrantly fruit driven "jovenes" meant for drinking young. However Tempranillo really comes into its own when oak aged, as with the top Riojas where its flavours seem to harmonise perfectly with both French and American oak, producing rich, powerful and concentrated wines which can be extraordinarily long-lived.
In Ribera del Duero it generally sees less oak - the exception being Vega Sicilia where it is blended with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot and then aged for an astonishing 7 years in oak and is unquestionably one of the world`s greatest wines.
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Description
A classic Gran Reserva Rioja from a superlative year, this is a blend of 85% Tempranillo, 10% Mazuelo and 5% Graciano. The wine has been aged for 30 months in barrel (60% American and 40% French) and then a further seven years in bottle. After such patience, the results are impressive indeed, with beautiful terracotta colouring, a fine gently truffly nose and a wonderfully integrated palate, rich yet subtle; old money, with real pedigree.
Simon Field MW, BBR Buyer
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