La Rioja Alta, Ardanza Reserva Especial, Rioja 2010

Dried cherries, cedar, sandalwood, tar, treacle tart, cinnamon and vanilla. Medium body, fine-grained and very silky tannins for a wine of almost ten years of age, bright and transparent acidity and a long, very spicy finish. Like going back in time and touching an ornate tapestry. The texture is mesmerizing.

Drink now

This is a finely crafted and irresistible Rioja Reserva from one of the region’s best producers, and frankly, I will not taste a bottle that represents better value for money than this.

The 2010 Viña Arda Selección Especial Rioja Reserva is an absolute blinder. The blend comprises 80% Tempranillo from the La Cuesta and Montecillo vineyards and 20% Grenache from the La Pedriza vineyard in Rioja Baja. It was picked in mid-October, aged 36 months in four-year-old American oak six months less for the Grenache) and bottled in 2015. The team at La Rioja Alta so highly regarded it that they deemed it “Selección Especial” instead of “Reserva Especial.”

The bouquet is like an old friend inviting you into their home. Crushed strawberry, leather and a touch of game are all beautifully defined, and after an hour, the nose became increasingly Burgundy in style. That Burgundy theme translates across to a palate that is supremely well-balanced and so harmonious that it was almost too easy to drink. There are hints of chestnut and shavings of black truffle on a finish that fans out gently.

Drink 2020 - 2040

2010 was a great vintage in Rioja in general and seems to be exceptional here, with a 2010 Viña Ardanza Selección Especial what used to be Reserva Especial) that can challenge any of the recent vintages and hopefully can develop in bottle to reach the heights of years like 1973 or 1964. The wine is expressive, aromatic, very elegant and clean, with classical Rioja aromas of long ageing in barrel and slow oxidation through the years in wood.

The palate is polished and sleek but shows plenty of energy, with very fine, mostly resolved tannins and very good harmony and persistence. There is great complexity, and you could start smelling spice and smoke to move to earthy tones, hints of beef blood, cherries in liqueur, curry, diesel, old furniture and forest floor. A great Viña Ardanza! They have managed to produce 600,000 bottles of this—and apparently in one single lot.

Drink 2019 - 2035

Dark garnet. Smoke-tinged red currant, dried cherry, exotic spice and floral aromas take on notes of liquorice, pipe tobacco and vanilla with air. It shows fine definition and thrust on the palate, displaying sweet red berry, bitter cherry, rose pastille and spice cake flavours that deepen through the back half. Finishes impressively long and silky, with resonating florality, well-knit tannins and a lingering hint of cola.

Drink 2021 - 2033