Marques de Caceres Gran Reserva
$51.99
Baron de Ley Gran Reserva
$43.99
93 points from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate! The review: "The 2004 Gran Reserva is a mouth-filling, opulent effort from the great 2004 vintage that straddles the line between traditional and modern-style Rioja. It offers up a soaring perfume of wood smoke, pencil lead, exotic spices, lavender, and blackberry that leads to a dense, impeccably balanced, lengthy effort that has the structure to evolve for 5-7 years."
Muga Rioja Reserva
$36.99
The red 2012 Reserva is always a blend of Tempranillo with some 20% Garnacha, 10% Graciano and 5% Mazuelo from the lower part of the valley of the Oja-Tirón river. 2012 saw good ripeness, and the wine shows it, but doesn't show any excess. The vinification is as classic as it gets: the grapes ferment with natural yeasts with a 'pied de cuve' and the wine matured in new barriques the first year; it was then transferred to well-seasoned barrels for a further year of upbringing. It still feels quite oaky with some smoky aromas and some notes of roasted sesame seeds. The palate is lush and round, with polished tannins. This is a textbook Rioja at a very good price for the quality it delivers. This wine should be readily available, as it's produced in good quantities, close to one million bottles, which for this quality is impressive. 91+ Robert Parker
Baron De Ley Reserva 7 Vignes
$54.99
92+ points from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate! The review: "7 Vinas gets its name from the fact that it uses all 7 permissible Rioja grapes (including the 3 white varieties) although Tempranillo (55%) forms the backbone of the wine. The enticing perfume gets a lift from the use of 8% white grapes in the blend. Violets, incense, leather, mineral, and savory black fruit aromas and flavors lead to a layered, dense, full-flavored wine with impeccable balance and plenty of volume."
Valenciso Rioja Reserva
$62.99
"Modern delicious Rioja," according to Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, which gives it a wonderful 93 points! The review: "The 2006 Reserva has a classic, very pure bouquet of warm leather, dried herbs and dark berry fruit, and it offers scents of melted tar with continued aeration. The palate is very harmonious with succulent red cherries, mulberry and dried fig, with subtle white pepper notes sprinkled over the finish. This constitutes a worthy follow-up to the superb 2005 and will have the same propensity to age. Drink now-2025."
Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia Reserva
$98.99
Lopez de Heredia is a family-run Spanish producer based in Rioja and regarded as one of the world’s greatest wine estates. It was founded in 1877 by Don Rafael Lopez de Heredia y Landeta. Four generations of the Lopez de Heredia family have devoted themselves to upholding their 140-year tradition of producing exceptional wines.
Tondonia, the winery’s most famous vineyard and product, was established between 1913 and 1914. It extends over 250 acres on the right bank of the River Ebro. In addition to Tondonia, the estate owns three vineyards (Cubillo, Bosconia, and Zaconia) covering a total area of 420 hectares. The soil is alluvial clay with a high proportion of limestone. Lopez de Heredia winery is the oldest in Haro and one of the first three houses in the Rioja region. They use completely natural and traditional methods of winemaking and their grapes are sourced exclusively from their own vineyards. They use typical Rioja varieties to produce the best wines: Tempranillo, Garnacha, Graciano and Mazuelo for reds, Viura and Malvasia for whites. The winery’s commitment to tradition is evident in their 131-year history of using American oak. They continue to have their own cooperage, making them the only bodega in Spain to hand-craft all the barrels used to age their wines.
Basilio Acodo Tinto
$51.99
Basilio Izquierdo is a prominent figure in the Spanish wine industry, having spent 32 years as the head winemaker at CVNE, a highly respected brand in Rioja. In 2007, he established Bodegas Basilio Izquierdo with a vision to craft wines that reflect a modern interpretation of Rioja. His mission focuses on sourcing grapes from unique vineyards that are over 40 years old, utilizing his four decades of expertise to create exceptional wines. This dedication has led to the creation of the “Basilio inventions” label, featuring small batches of exclusive wines that are seldom found outside of Spain.
In 2016, Basilio was recognized as one of the 50 exceptional winemakers globally, standing out among over 2,500 winemakers.
Lopez de Heredia Vina Bosconia
$72.99
The Bosconia vineyard, which has always been vinified separately at the winery, has more clay in the soil and tends to produce richer, plumper wines that are priced below Tondonia. This cuvée of Tempranillo with 10% Garnacha and 5% each of Graciano and Mazuelo boasts sweet fruit, dark plum, savoury herbs, black cherry, and silky tannins, almost Burgundian in style.
The 2013 Viña Bosconia Reserva, even in a cooler year, like 2013, has a rounder body and still 13.5% alcohol. They also insisted that "remember that we can use 15% of wine from another vintage, and perhaps we topped this one up with wine from 2015. We want consistency year after year." This matured in barrels for five years and was bottled unfiltered but fined with egg whites. It's expressive, elegant and subtle, clean and complex, with polished tannins and very good acidity (pH 3.3 and 6.7 grams of tartaric acid per litre of wine).
Olivier Riviere Ganko Rioja
$79.99
Cognac-born consultant winemaker and viticulturist Olivier Rivière was lured to Spain in 2004 by Telmo Rodriguez to convert his vineyards to biodynamics. He ended up falling in love with the traditions and grapes of the country, and now farms 25 hectares of owned and contracted vineyards in Rioja Alta, Rioja Baja, Rioja Alavesa, and the up-and-coming DO of Arlanza. He is a terroirist at heart, with a focus on biodynamics honed by time working at Elian da Ros, Domaine de Chassorney, and Domaine Leroy.