La Rioja Alta, Viña Ardanza Reserva, 2010

La Rioja Alta, Viña Ardanza Reserva, 2010

  • icon-type Type

    Red

  • icon-year Year

    2010

  • icon-style Style

    Dry

  • icon-country Country

    Spain

  • icon-alcohollevel Alcohol level

    13.5%

  • icon-grapevariety Grape variety
    Tempranillo 80%, Grenache 20%
  • Rating

    JS 95, RP 94

2010 is widely regarded as one of the finest vintages in recent memory for Rioja. The head winemaker at La Rioja Alta S.A., Julio Saenz, declared this wine as a Seleccion Especial a title of the highest praise from winemakers, only awarded to wines and vintages that they rank among the best ever made.

Ardanza has long been a wine trade favourite, offering unrivalled value for money for immediate drinking or cellaring. 2010 is only the fourth vintage of Ardanza to win the title in 77 years, alongside the legendary 1964, 1973, and 2001.

Medium-high intensity, garnet–red with a cherry rim. The nose stands out for its fresh, spicy character, with hints of sweet cherries, red currants and ripe strawberries assembled with notes of black pepper, sweet liquorice, nutmeg, coffee, mocha and cinnamon. Intense and well-balanced in the mouth, with a soft freshness, nice structure, and delicately elegant tannins. Silky finish, with a good aftertaste, where sweet red fruit and balsamic notes give it a broad ending.

One of the best in recent years. The reasons why: very favourable weather, vines in excellent condition, both in terms of development and health-wise, and very moderate production due to some shatter during flowering. So, La Rioja enjoyed very loose, medium-sized clusters with smaller berries than in previous years. This was particularly the case with the Garnacha in finca La Pedriza, which produced highly aromatic wines thanks to greater varietal expression from this terroir. The official vintage rating was Excellent.

About La Rioja Alta

La Rioja Alta is one of the foremost estates in the Rioja region, formed in 1890 by five Riojan and Basque families. It is particularly known for its classically-styled, spicy Gran Reserva reds that can age gracefully for many decades. The winery shares its name with the Rioja Alta (Upper Rioja) subregion in which many of its operations are based.

The estate consists of around 400 hectares (1000 acres) of vineyards around Rioja, planted predominantly to Tempranillo, but with a wealth of other varieties including Graciano, Garnacha and Mazuelo. La Rioja Alta's original winery is in Haro, but there is a second site in Labastida in Rioja Alavesa that was built in 1996. The Haro winery includes a cooperage, where barrels are made from American oak.

La Rioja Alta's top wine is the Gran Reserva 890. It is made from selected clusters and is aged for around six years in first-use barrels. The Gran Reserva 904, the second wine, is aged for four years in oak and has a similar proportion of Tempranillo than the 890 – around 90 percent. La Rioja Alta also makes a range of wines at Reserva level, and the Viña Ardanza, which has a higher proportion of Garnacha. Two other wines, the Viña Arana and the Viña Alberdi, complete the range.

The Sociedad Vinícola de La Rioja Alta was founded in 1890, and in 1904, the Ardanza winery joined La Rioja Alta. The estate's two top wines are named for these dates. Grupo La Rioja Alta also owns the Torre de Oña estate in the Alavesa subregion of Rioja, Áster in Ribera del Duero, and Lagar de Cervera in the Rias Baixas region of Galicia.

Grape variety
Grenache

Grenache or Garnacha is one of the most widely planted red wine grape varieties in the world. It ripens late, so it needs hot, dry conditions such as those found in Spain, where the grape most likely originated. It is also grown in the Italian isle of Sardinia, the south of France, Australia, and California's Monterey AVA and San Joaquin Valley.

It is generally spicy, berry-flavoured and soft on the palate and produces wine with a relatively high alcohol content, but it needs careful control of yields for best results. Characteristic flavour profiles on Grenache include red fruit flavours (raspberry and strawberry) with a subtle, white pepper spice note. Grenache wines are highly prone to oxidation, with even young examples having the potential to show browning (or "bricking") coloration that can be noticed around the rim when evaluating the wine at an angle in the glass. As Grenache ages the wines tend to take on more leather and tar flavours. Wines made from Grenache tend to lack acid, tannin and colour, and it is often blended with other varieties such as Syrah, Carignan, Tempranillo, and Cinsaut.

In Spain, there are mono-varietal wines made of Garnacha tinta (red Grenache), notably in the southern Aragon wine regions of Calatayud, Carinena and Campo de Borja, but it is also used in blends, as in some Rioja wines with tempranillo. Grenache is the dominant variety in most Southern Rhône wines, especially in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, where it is typically over 80% of the blend. In Australia it is typically blended in "GSM" blends with Syrah (commonly known as Shiraz in that country) and Mourvèdre with old vine examples in McLaren Vale. In Italy, the Sardinian D.O.C. wine Cannonau di Sardegna is by law 90% local Grenache (Cannonau). Grenache is also used to make rosé wines in France and Spain, notably those of the Tavel district in the Côtes du Rhône and those of the Navarra region. And the high sugar levels of Grenache have led to extensive use in fortified wines, including the red vins doux naturels of Roussillon such as Banyuls, and as the basis of most Australian fortified wine.

Grenache is often used as a blending component, adding body and sweet fruitiness to a wine. The grape can be troublesome for the winemaker due to tendency to oxidize easily and lose colour. To compensate for the grape's naturally low tannins and phenolic compounds, some producers will use excessively harsh pressing and hot fermentation with stems to extract the maximal amount of colour and phenols from the skins. This can backfire to produce green, herbaceous flavours and coarse, astringent wine lacking the grape's characteristic vibrant fruitiness. To maintain those character traits, Grenache responds best to a long, slow fermentation at cooler temperatures followed by a maceration period. To curb against oxidation, the wine should be racked as little as possible. The use of new oak barrels can help with retaining colour and preventing oxidation but too much oak influence can cover up the fruitiness of Grenache.

The high levels of sugars and lack of harsh tannins, makes Grenache well adapted to the production of fortified wines, such as the vin doux naturels (VDN) of the Roussillon region and the "port-style" wines of Australia. In these wines, the must ferments for three days before grape spirit is added to the must to halt the fermentation and the conversion of sugar into alcohol. The high alcoholic proof grape spirit brings the finished wine up to 15–16% alcohol. These wines can be made in a rancio style by being left outside in glass demi-johns (or carboys) or wooden barrels where the wine bakes in the sun for several years until it develops a maderized character and flavours of sour raisins, nuts and cheese. These fortified VDNs and port-style wines have longevity and can be drinkable well into their third decade.

Alternative Names: Alicante, Cannonau, Garnacha, Garnacha Tinta, Garnatxa, Granaccia, Grenache Noir, Lladoner, Tinto Aragones, Tocai Rosso

Tempranillo

Tempranillo is a black grape variety widely grown to make full-bodied red wines in its native Spain. Its name is the diminutive of the Spanish temprano ("early"), a reference to the fact that it ripens several weeks earlier than most Spanish red grapes. Tempranillo has been grown on the Iberian Peninsula since the time of Phoenician settlements. It is the main grape used in Rioja, and is often referred to as Spain's noble grape. The grape has been planted throughout the globe's wine regions.

In 2015, Tempranillo was the fourth most widely planted wine grape variety worldwide with 232,561 hectares (574,670 acres) under vine, of which 87% was in Spain where it is the most planted red grape variety.

Unlike more aromatic red wine varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese and Pinot Noir, Tempranillo has a relatively neutral profile so it is often blended with other varieties, such as Grenache and Carignan (known in Rioja as Mazuelo), or aged for extended periods in oak where the wine easily takes on the flavour of the barrel. Varietal examples of Tempranillo usually exhibit flavours of plum and strawberries.

Tempranillo is an early ripening variety that tends to thrive in chalky vineyard soils such as those of the Ribera del Duero region of Spain. In Portugal, where the grape is known as Tinto Roriz and Aragonez, it is blended with others to produce port wine.

Tempranillo wines are ruby red in colour, while aromas and flavours can include berries, plum, tobacco, vanilla, leather and herb. Often making up as much as 90% of a blend, Tempranillo is less frequently bottled as a single varietal. Being low in both acidity and sugar content, it is most commonly blended with Grenache (known as Garnacha in Spain), Carignan (known as Mazuela in Spain), Graciano, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Blending the grape with Carignan makes a brighter and more acidic wine. Tempranillo is the major component of the typical Rioja blends and constitutes 90-100% of Ribera del Duero wines. In Australia, Tempranillo is blended with Grenache and Shiraz, also known as Syrah. In Portugal, where it is known as Tinta Roriz, it is a major grape in the production of some Port wines.

Alternative Names: Aragones (Spain), Aragonez (Spain), Arinto Tinto (Spain), Cencibel (Portugal), Ojo de Liebre (Portugal), Tinta Aragoneza (Spain), Tinta de Santiago (Spain), Tinta Roriz (Spain), Tinto de Toro (Portugal), Tinto del Pais (Portugal), Tinto Fino (Portugal), Tinto Madrid (Portugal), Ull de Llebre (Portugal)

About Rioja Alta

Rioja Alta is one of three sub-regions of Spain's celebrated Rioja wine region, along with Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Baja. It occupies the westernmost portion of the region, with the majority of its vineyards lying south of the Ebro River. Rioja Alta centres on the historic town of Haro, where a number of well-known wineries are located. The town also plays host to an annual wine festival in June.

The climate is largely similar to that of Rioja Alavesa and, as in Alavesa, the vineyards here are located at higher altitudes than in Rioja Baja, assisting in the accumulation of acidity, colour and moderate alcohol levels. (Not so coincidentally, the name Rioja Alta translates to 'high Rioja'.) The soil, although less rich in limestone than in Rioja Alavesa, has a healthy mix of clay, iron and alluvial components, giving it a redder colour than its northern neighbour's sandy white soils.

Tempranillo thrives in these conditions, producing signature 'Rioja-style' wines. As a result, the local wines form the backbone of most Rioja blends. Other important grape varieties include Graciano and Garnacha. When compared with Rioja Alavesa, these wines tend to be lighter in body and lower in acid, with the emphasis on elegance. Rioja Alta's wines have a particular affinity with oak barrels and extended aging (including bottle maturation).

A new set of geographic designations were introduced across Rioja in 2018, to begin with the 2017 vintage. These are Viñedo Singular (single vineyard), Vino Municipio (named single village) and Vino de Zona (i.e. Rioja Alta).

Among the most notable producers here are Bodegas Muga, Bodegas Marqués de Murrieta, La Rioja Alta and Bodegas Marqués de Cáceres.

Regular price $789.00

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