Wine & Spirits - December 2017 - 72

YEAR'S BEST RIOJA
93 | Conde de Hervías

$48

2011 Rioja Torre del Conde de Hervías ^
Íñigo Manso de Zúñiga Ugartechea makes
this wine from his family's ancient vines
in Torremontalvo, the parcels bordering
the Ebro River in Rioja Alta, where there's
enough sand in the clay and limestone soils to
have protected the vines from phylloxera. He
believes some of the plants are more than 140
years old. He named this wine for his father,
the Conde de Hervías, and makes Torre from
those same vines in lesser vintages. This is
pretty great for a lesser vintage, an elegant
Rioja with tension in its velvet cushion of
tannins, a cool, clean wine with focus and
shape. A spicy note brings to mind roasted
tomatoes and grilled eggplant, adding to the
wine's savory richness. Decant it for lamb. § De
Maison Selections, Chapel Hill, NC

supple tannins and black raspberry flavors
are sure to make you smile. Fragrant in its
rose-scented length, vertical in its structure,
this makes a youthful imprint on the palate
and lasts. § Saranty Imports, Stamford, CT
225551

tomato skin and beetroot earthiness. But it's
also bright, spicy and savory, a generous red
that's soft to the touch and ready to decant
for roast duck. § Olé Imports, New Rochelle, NY
224296

$33

2011 Rioja Reserva (Best Buy) ^ A selection
from 40-year-old vines in Rioja Alavesa, this
is a classical Rioja taken in the direction of
fruity ripeness. It tastes like a lamb chop with
tomato jam and rosemary, the flavors wrestling between black- and blue-fruit density
and savory elements. While oak leads, there's
a lot of brisk flavor that follows, powerfully
tannic in a way that may become grand with
bottle age. § Kysela Père et Fils, Winchester, VA
224772

93 | Ostatu

2011 Rioja Reserva ^ Íñigo Sáenz de Samaniego selects this wine from some of his
family's oldest parcels in Rioja Alavesa, the
vines more than 50 years old. It's 100 percent
tempranillo, grown in stony clay-limestone
soils, fermented in small vats, then moved
to new French oak barrels to complete malolactic fermentation. The oak ups the richness quotient, turning the wine's volume up
to ten. It's dark fruited, velvety and dense,
yet the structure has enough power to cut
through all that richness and point up the
spice-think grilled piquillo peppers-leaving a classical Rioja impression in the end. § De
Maison Selections, Chapel Hill, NC

225102

93 | CVNE

$88

2011 Rioja Gran Reserva Imperial ^ Imperial focuses on CVNE's bush vines in the
Rioja Alta town of Villalba, including fruit
from some mature parcels nearby in Briones and Montalvo. A blend of tempranillo
(85 percent), graciano and mazuelo, it ferments in French oak vats, then ages three
years in French and American oak barrels,
followed by long aging in bottle before
release. In fact, it needs more bottle age, as
the wine is reduced, with a rubber scent when
first poured. That reduction doesn't get in
the way of the tense, purple-black fruit or
the mineral power of the tannins. And by
the next day, the reduction is gone, leaving
a luxurious red wine in its wake, deep and
silken, smoky and refined, while still tough
in its structure. Built for long development
in bottle, the top vintages of Imperial live for
decades. § Europvin USA, Van Nuys, CA
224101

93 | Latitud 42

$35

2005 Rioja Gran Reserva (Best Buy) ^ Total
Wine, the national retail chain, imports this
wine directly from Bodegas Ontañón, offering a fresh, graceful Rioja from a great vintage at an astonishing price. If you love Rioja,
and even if you don't, its brisk, bright spice,
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WINE & SPIRITS

DECEMBER 2017

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93 | Vinícola Real

$68

2001 Rioja Gran Reserva 200 Monges ^
Intensely concentrated, this 2001 is still
bright and youthful; in fact, several tasters wondered if it had been topped up with
younger wine. One way or the other, it's
pretty great: with detailed tannins and supple, succulent fruit, it's a wine with stature
and staying power. Give it plenty of time in
a decanter to show its best. § Classic Wines,
Stamford, CT
225465

92 | Compañía Vinos
del Atlántico

$17

2011 Rioja VSL Graciano ^ This is 100 percent graciano from old-vine parcels in Rioja
Alta, some of it from the red clay and sandy
limestone of Briones, some from the sands
of Arenzana, all of it organically farmed.
It gains three-dimensional intensity from
a long maceration on the grape skins, five
cold days before and ten after fermentation.
The espresso scent comes from a short three
month in three-year-old French oak barrels.
What's not clear is how a wine this good
could cost $17. Sure, it's rustic, with some

92 | Luis Cañas

$27

92 | Bodega Classica

$29

92 | CVNE

$47

92 | Latitud 42

$70

2009 Rioja Gran Reserva López de Haro
(Best Buy) ^ This is a project from Vintae, creating a brand based on old bush vines in San
Vicente de la Sonsierra. Though the label is
designed to look classical, there's nothing
old-fashioned about this 2009, a bright Rioja
with generous, plummy freshness that lasts
for days. The fruit has a cool gaminess and
the smoky character of Turkish tobacco. It's
a spicy, sexy wine to pour with braised lamb
shank. § Askari O.H. Fine Wine Imports & Distribution, Austin, TX
225095
2011 Rioja Gran Reserva Viña Real ^ A selection from CVNE's vineyards in Alavesa, Viña
Real is ripe and chocolate-rich in 2011. Aged
in both French and American oak, the influence of the oak is prominent at the moment,
but there's plenty of ripe raspberry warmth
to fill it. The wine tastes like a savory version
of chocolate-dipped raspberries, and it's hard
to argue with its deliciousness, especially if
there's a seared duck breast nearby. § Europvin
USA, Van Nuys, CA
224103
2005 Rioja Gran Reserva Colección
Especial ^ This is rounder and fuller than
the Latitud 42 Gran Reserva, also recommended here. The wine's cumin-like spice
cuts through some of the weight of the ripe
cherry flavors, leaving an impression that's
juicy, firm and gentle. The tannins have some
harder edges, providing tension that lasts. §
Saranty Imports, Stamford, CT
224343

92 | La Rioja Alta

$150

2005 Rioja Gran Reserva 890 ^ This elegant
Rioja has the grandeur and eroticism of a
Goya nude lying on a plush couch. The tart
cherry notes and rich fruit tannins flesh out
a dark, oak-influenced structure, leaving

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - December 2017