2014 La Rioja Alta Gran Reserva Vina Arana, Rioja

To enjoy now, but with a long life ahead. Lots of mushroom and walnut aromas with plum and leather, too. It’s full-bodied, but very soft and creamy-textured with lots of old wood, mushroom and ripe fruit on the finish. Some chocolate and hazelnut. Complex and gorgeous. Drink or hold.

96 points jamessuckling.com Mar 2022

Tempranillo (94%) from Las Cuevas, El Palo and Las Monjas vineyards in Rodezno complemented with 6% Graciano from the Montecillo estate in Fuenmayor.

Lively, clean, medium depth, garnet–red with an incipient pink rim. Intense aromas with outstanding notes of redcurrants, raspberries, wild blackberries and ripe red plums creating a complex bouquet together with the balsamic notes from the barrel: vanilla, cloves, coffee, caramel and brioche. Very tasty in the mouth, evincing the brand’s distinctive classic texture. Fresh, vibrant and well-balanced, with amiable sweet tannins. Its long stay in the bottle rewards us with that great complexity and elegance typical of this style of Rioja wines.