La Rioja Alta, 890 Gran Reserva, Rioja 2010

A fragrant nose of blackberries, plums, earth, dried flowers, leather, cloves, sweet tobacco and cigar box. Full-bodied with seamless tannins and fresh acidity. Balanced and layered with great tension. Elegant, with a velvety texture and a long finish. Such length and beauty now with so much age.

They were eager to show me their 2010 Gran Reserva 890, their flagship wine from one of the most heralded vintages of recent times, the next vintage of this wine since 2005. It's 95% Tempranillo, 3% Graciano and 2% Mazuelo that are fermented, destemmed and crushed with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel vats for 18 days, the Tempranillo and Mazuelo together and the Graciano separately. 

After letting the wine settle for the winter, they selected the lots that would age for six years in used American oak barrels with ten manual rackings. The wine epitomizes the classical style of Rioja Alta with extended ageing in barrel, developed and tertiary wines with a silky palate and a complex and decadent nose of forest floor, truffles, cigar ash and cedar wood. 

They need an exceptional selection of vineyards at a higher altitude that takes longer to ripen, and they only do it partially every year. If they don't, the grapes go to Ardanza, but in 2010, the days were warm and the nights very cold, and the grapes ripened thoroughly and could stand a long time in barrel without being oaky. They have stopped the last rackings from keeping a little more freshness, and the wine feels phenomenal. 

This has to be one of the finest vintages for this wine. It's drinkable now but should also age for a very long time; it's intense, complex and elegant. A selection of 236 barrels was blended and bottled unfiltered in March 2017 into 61,643 bottles, 4,189 magnums and some larger formats. There will be a 2011 of this wine and then 2015 and possibly 2016 but no 2012, 2013 or 2014). This is a very intense 890—classicism in a bottle.

Drink 2022 - 2040

The 2010 Gran Reserva 890 is a blend of 95% Tempranillo, 3% Graciano and 2% Mazuelo from Rioja Alta. Aged for six years in American oak, this light garnet wine with a brick sheen unfolds a bouquet of leather and cigar box, along with caramel, licorice, dried fruits and a faint balsamic note. On the palate, it is dry and silky, with a nimble and juicy flow that soars with a light, flavorful, nervously lasting note. A classically styled Rioja in the midst of its evolution, its intricate bouquet offers a glimpse into its promising future over the next decade.

Drink 2024 - 2040

Medium garnet, deeper at the core. Classic nose of tobacco leaf, mocha, wild strawberry and soft spice, all richly evocative. Hints of iodine, hearthside and balsam betray the lengthy elevage, but the acidity is pure, without the slightest hint of volatility. Dried fruit on the palate, with bitter chocolate and crushed plum and an impressive energy, far too refined to be described as ‘raw’ but not lacking for the tension of a very fine wine finally emerging from a highly decorated adolescence.

Drink 2024 - 2050