2016 La Rioja Alta Vina Ardanza Reserva

Region: Rioja, Spain

Grape: Tempranillo, Garnacha

Culinary Suggestions: Roasted Meats, Grilled Lamb Chops, Charcuterie, Mushroom Dishes, Hard Cheeses

Vineyard Practice: Sustainable

About

Few would dispute that La Rioja Alta is the leading quality focused producer in Spain's most famous wine region. Since the coming together of five growers to form the estate 130 years ago, they have produced some of the most highly regarded and longest-lived examples of Rioja. Their wines are ready for consumption on release, but will keep and evolve for many more years in bottle - decades in some cases. A situation so rare in the world of wine! - Importer Note

Tasting Notes

The 2016 Viña Ardanza Reserva was produced with 80% Tempranillo and 20% Garnacha that matured in used American oak barrels for three years, where it was hand-racked from barrel to barrel six times in the case of Tempranillo and five times for the Garnacha, as it had a slightly shorter élevage of 30 months. Against all odds, I found the 2016 to be fresher than the 2015 and less developed, despite the fact that winemaker Julio Sáenz told me he considers it a warmer year. But I have found many wines I like in 2016, and the wine feels very clean and quite harmonious, younger and less developed, with more primary notes and a velvety mouthfeel. 600,000 bottles produced. The wine was bottled in June 2020.

94+ points - Luis Gutierrez, Wine Advocate July 2022

Drink: 2022 - 2032