The 10% Graciano in this wine (the rest Tempranillo) adds a perfumed lift to the beautiful aromas and extra freshness on the palate. Although low yielding, late ripening and prone to mildew interest in the grape and plantings have recovered in Rioja and there are some exceptional single varietal bottlings (see our note on Contino).

La Rioja Alta always far exceed the minimum aging requirements set by the DOCA (the highest of the protected origin denominations) in this case after fermentation the wine was matured in old American oak barrels for 5 years and then a further 2 years in bottle before release.

The traditional classification system has come under the criticism that simply aging a wine for successively longer periods, from Crianza to Reserva and finally Gran Reserva, does not necessarily mean that you are getting a higher quality of wine.  Also, there an increasing number of Chateau style wineries focusing on wines from a single place, vineyard or grape rather than the traditional approach of blending and barrel aging.  This approach is certainly producing some great wines for instance the single vineyard and varietal wines of Contino.

However, the Gran Reserva 904 exemplifies the beauty of the traditional approach.  10 years ago, upon release this wine was already drinking wonderfully with a rich array of primary fruit, secondary barrel flavours and complex tertiary notes from long aging. Today the wine has developed further into something extraordinary.

The nose is a heady concoction of plum, raspberry, cinnamon, and smoke along with dried fruits, leather armchair and moist earth. The tell for me on this wine are the characteristic notes of balsamic vinegar and coconut. On the palate fresh, a mid-weight agile body, fine grained tannins that dust your cheeks and underwrite the still intense fruit. The wine is complex and giving with a superb long finish of dried fruits and wet leaves.

Long may Rioja produce amazing traditional wines like this!

For more information see our visit to the winery.