2004 Spain

It feels very young and primary, impossible to guess its age. The Viura is similar to the one from Gravonia, old and on clay and limestone soils; the white grapes always on whiter, stonier soils. Fermentation was carried out in their 140-year-old oak vats with natural yeasts (a constant here), where it goes through malolactic fermentation. The nose seems less developed than in the 2007 Gravonia, younger and livelier. Even after six years in oak, the wine is not oaky, but the aromas are subtle and even a little shy. The palate is austere and it feels a little stiff, with lively acidity and pungent flavors. This feels like a superb year for this bottling, it's clear that it's a great vintage. 35,000 bottles produced.
Luis Gutiérrez, The Wine Advocate. 31st August 2016. 

Tondonia’s extended ageing process results in a wine that is not about fruit but has so much complexity, so much character that it is impossible to put down. The excellent 2004 vintage has brought additional concentration and personality to the wine, which is still unbelievably fresh.

Classic notes of leather, cured meat and spice mingle with warm, macerated red fruits on the nose. The palate is mid-weight, but the true beauty of the 2004 lies in the luxurious mouth-feel and intense core of flavour in the wine.
This freshness, combined with the mouth-coating flavours, suggest that, although a joy to drink now, this is a wine that will hold for at least a decade more. It is, put simply, glorious, traditional, elegant Rioja.

Priorat is in the grip of a revolution with the terraced slate hillsides of this rugged north-eastern enclave now producing world-class wines. In the front ranks of these revolutionaries is Costers del Siurana where proprietor Carles Pastrana has built an outstanding reputation for his Clos de l’Obac family of wines over the last 35 years. The Carthusian monastic heritage of this distinctive and stark terroir is in good hands with Sr Pastrana.

Tempranillo makes up nearly 30 percent of this vintage, the balance dominated by Garnacha and Cabernet Sauvignon. Slate plots surrounding the village of Gratallops have hosted vines for over half a century and the 2004 repays the effort stylishly. The broad and dense fruit is powerful but never cloying; it cedes to a finely sculpted finish, with graphite, soft spice and wood smoke all evidenced.

Priorat is in the grip of a revolution with the terraced slate hillsides of this rugged north-eastern enclave now producing world-class wines. In the front ranks of these revolutionaries is Costers del Siurana where proprietor Carles Pastrana has built an outstanding reputation for his Clos de l’Obac family of wines over the last 35 years. The Carthusian monastic heritage of this distinctive and stark terroir is in good hands with Sr Pastrana.

A blend of Grenache and Cabernet Sauvignon first and foremost, then 10 percent each of Syrah, Merlot and Cariñena, this is an archetype of Priorat: floral, rich, long and refined, with myrtle, cassis and dark chocolate to the fore. This 2004 is a great vintage here, as elsewhere in Spain, and this will continue to evolve over many years.

A perfect ambassador for new-wave Rioja from a memorable recent vintage. There are truffles and wild herbs on the nose and a full, richly textured palate with excellent length. A wine for keeping.
The 2004 Aurus is 85% Tempranillo and 15% Graciano from 60-year-old vineyards with tiny yields. It was barrel fermented and aged in 100% new French oak. The wine is still a baby, with lots of fat, sweet, layered, mouth-filling fruit, plenty of structure, and a pure, super-long finish. It merits... bottle age and should still be drinking well two decades from now. Kudos to Finca Allende for a magnificent set of 2004 Riojas! J. Miller in e-RobertParker.com (Feb 07)

Winemaker Javier Ausas likens the 2004 to the legendary 1970 and it’s easy to see why.  The nose is very perfumed, elegant and pure with heady florals, raspberry and mulberry fruit and well-integrated sweet spice of oak. In the mouth the wine displays flavours of liquorice, strawberry and black cherry chocolate accompanied by exquisite textural, velvety tannins and ends on an almost ethereal finish of wild herbs (thyme and heather) that just goes on and on. This is a wine for the long run, it’s still tight and very young and has the structure to go the long mile. 
Simon Field MW - Wine Buyer

From the magnificent 2004 Contino Rioja Gran Reserva vintage, a rare parcel of magnums, kindly offered to BBR by Jesus Madrazo. Although still relatively youthful, every aspect of the wine betrays pedigree, from the rich and still somewhat foursquare nose all the way through to the seamlessly silky tannins, which enrobe the wine with an almost maternal indulgence. To be laid down for a special dinner party.
(Simon Field MW , BBR Buyer)

Another great success from Rioja Alta.  The nose is full of leather and all spice, very attractive and alluring notes that keep making me go back for more and more.  The palate is very fresh and tightly wound and even though the wine is deceptively juicy and flowing across the palate.  This effortlessness belies the fact that one should keep for at least another 3 – 5 years.  There is a real finesse here added to the understated richness and complexity from the barrel aging. A truly lovely wine.
Simon Field, MW - Wine Buyer

Alion is now entering superstar territory; 2004 in Spain is being re-appraised in a up-ward direction. It should therefore not come as a syllogistic surprise that Alion 2004 is an exceptional wine. The benevolent conditions of 2004 were characterised by Spring rainfall and a very lengthy and warm ripening season all the way up to the late September harvest; the wine is appropriately dark of hue, with a nose of aniseed, spice, sousbois and blackcurrant. On the palate the tannins are fine but powerful, the fruit is dark, velvety and rich. The edifice is powerful and young, but finely wrought in its architectural complexity. The key things that have struck me in the 2004 are firstly how complimentary the wine is to its Vega siblings, secondly how much more polished it is stylistically than in previous vintages. Created in 1991 to be the modern more Francophile face of Vega Sicilia, Alion ages its wines entirely in new oak barriques ( 225 ltrs) sourced in Nevers, but crafted in the internal cooperage. Located 11 km from Vega, in the village of Palidda de Duero, the winery sits in a carefully managed natural environment, its tapestry of forests and scrubland manicured to ensure the integrity of the microclimate.

Along with 2001, 2004 is proving itself as a great recent Rioja vintage, an excellent backdrop for the famous Prado Enea Gran Reserva. Made from 80% Tempranillo, 7% of both Garnacha and Mazuelo and 6% Graciano, the wine has already enjoyed 12 months in vat, three years in barrel and another 36 months in bottle, bringing us pretty much up to date. Garnet to blood red of hue, the wine is savoury, fat and indulgent, with a whiff of gentle decay which is far from unattractive, drawing the taster into a den of tobacco and leathery sapidity. The wine finishes strongly with firm acidity and a baroque crescendo.
Simon Field MW, Fine Wine Buyer

Pago de Los Capellanes’ top cuvée is made from 100% Tinto Fino and is aged in new French oak barrels for 16 months. It is convincing proof of Ribero del Duero's phenomenal potential, with fruit, tannin and acidity entwined with consummate skill.
(Simon Field MW, BBR Buyer, January 2011)

When lamb is slow-cooked and the meat feels melty, nothing goes quite so well as a silky rioja. This is a prince among riojas, just easing its way into the tobacco and autumn leaves spectrum of flavours. Delicious.
Victoria Moore - What to drink at Easter - Daily Telegraph - 25-Mar-2015

The blend is typically dominated by Tempranillo, however a quarter of the cepage is given over to Garnacha, an idiosyncrasy of this particular cuvée but one which lends weight and ripeness, engendering immediate appeal. Tobacco, leather & red fruit are all present on the nose & the palate has the characteristic, if difficult to imagine, ‘creaminess’ which great full bodied red wines are famous for. There is a real depth to the wine, shrouded in its initial up-front appeal.

Vivid red. The nose displays an array of ripe red fruits, pungent flowers and exotic spices, with vanilla bean and coconut accents building with air. Sweet, broad and luscious, offering intense cherry-vanilla and raspberry liqueur flavors that deepen on the back half. Shows excellent depth as well as finesse, with velvety tannins adding shape to the very long, gripping finish. This suave, seamless Rioja spent six years in American oak barrels. Drink 2019 - 2026
93/100 points, Josh Raynolds, vinous.com, Nov 2015

A more traditional style of Priorat, this has a very serious density and depth of dark, brooding fruit. The tannins are substantial; they should be, but they are also fine and elegant. Combined with dark chocolate and touches of coffee this has lots of detail in the mid-palate, it is a wonderfully enjoyable and, dare I say, feminine Priorat – a bargain to drink over the coming years. Drink 2012-2016.
(Gary Owen, Private Account Manager)

The legendary Ygay property is located at an altitude of 500m in the heart of the Rioja Alta. The 2004 Gran Reserva Especial is a blend of 93% Tempranillo and 7% Mazuelo. After fermentation in stainless steel the wine has been allowed to age in barrique for 29 months, of which nearly a third has been spent in new barrels. To complement this generous intervention is the natural benevolence of the vintage; 2004 is now lauded in the same way as 2001 and 1994.

This is borne out by the quality of the fruit, the pedigree of the aromas and the impressive length. Earth, spice and black cherry dance with dexterity over the palate, and there is great finesse and charm on the finish. Just starting to drink, good for a decade or more.
Simon Field MW, Fine Wine Buyer