La Rioja Alta, 890 Gran Reserva, 2004

La Rioja Alta, 890 Gran Reserva, 2004

  • icon-type Type

    Red

  • icon-year Year

    2004

  • icon-style Style

    Dry

  • icon-country Country

    Spain

  • icon-alcohollevel Alcohol level

    13.5%

  • icon-grapevariety Grape variety
    Tempranillo 95%, Graciano 3%, Carignan 2%
  • Rating

    RP 94

Medium-depth cherry-red with a pale pink rim. Very intense, clean aromas, with dominating balsamic and spicy notes —vanilla, caramel, chocolate mint and spices against a fruity background of prunes and dried apricots. Well balanced in the mouth, with an elegant acidity, good structure, round, polished tannins and an oily finish. The aftertaste is ample and very long, with notes of sweet fruit and marked liquorice. A wine that represents the elegance and classicism of Rioja Gran Reservas.

Abundant winter rainfall provided the necessary water reserves for proper vine development. Favourable weather throughout the growing cycle meant that grapes arrived at the onset of ripening in the best condition. In this last stage there were temperature differences - sunny days with moderate temperatures and cold nights - this lead to a very slow and balanced ripening process. All these conditions particularly benefited the oldest vineyards with their very limited production. A selective harvest yielded grapes of exceptional quality, used to make this wine.

The 2004 vintage was officially rated 'Excellent' by the D.O.Ca. Rioja's Control Board.

It follows a very meticulous selection process. Only the best clusters were taken to the winery in small refrigerated boxes. After painstaking destemming and crushing, the grapes were transferred to tanks and fermented at controlled temperatures. After the winter, the estate carried out a new selection process and the wine was aged for 6 years in American oak barrels. The barrels were manufactured in the estate's cooperage, with wood imported from the USA and dried at in-house facilities for three years.

During the 10 rackings, a further selection of the barrels to be used was carried out for the final blend, which was bottled in March 2011. 38.000 numbered bottles. In order to preserve all the aromatic components, this wine has not been filtered.

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
Carignan

Carignan is a red grape variety of Spanish origin that is more commonly found in French wine but is widely planted throughout the western Mediterranean and around the globe. Along with Aramon, it was considered one of the main grapes responsible for France's wine lake and was a substantial producer in jug wine production in California's Central Valley but in recent years, it has been reborn as a flagship wine for many cellars in the south of France as well as in Catalonia.

Ampelographers believe that the grape likely originated in Cariñena, Aragon and was later transplanted to Sardinia, elsewhere in Italy, France, Algeria, and much of the New World. The variety was historically a component of Rioja's red wine blend. The grape's prominence in France hit a high point in 1988 when it accounted for 167,000 hectares (410,000 acres) and was France's most widely planted grape variety. That year, in a drive to increase the overall quality of European wine and to reduce the growing wine lake phenomenon, the European Union started an aggressive vine pull scheme where vineyard owners were offered cash subsidies in exchange for pulling up their vines. Out of all the French wine varieties, Carignan was the most widely affected dropping by 2000 to 95,700 ha (236,000 acres) and being surpassed by Merlot as the most widely planted grape.

The popularity of Carignan was largely tied to its ability to produce very large yields in the range of 200 hl/ha (11 tons/acre). The vine does face significant viticultural hazards with significant sensitivity to several viticultural hazards including rot, powdery mildew, downy mildew, and grape worms. Carignan is a late budding and ripening grape which requires a warm climate in order to achieve full physiological ripeness. The vine also develops very thick stalk around the grape clusters which makes mechanical harvesting difficult. It has an upright growth habit and can be grown without a trellis.

In winemaking, the grape is often used as a deep colouring component in blends, rather than being made in a varietal form with some exceptions. Carignan can be a difficult variety for winemakers to work due to its naturally high acidity, tannins, and astringency which requires a lot of skill to produce a wine of finesse and elegance. Some winemakers have experimented with carbonic maceration and adding small amounts of Cinsault and Grenache with some positive results. Syrah and Grenache are considered its best blending partners being capable of yielding a softer wine with rustic fruit and perfume. In California, Ridge Vineyards has found some success with a varietal wine made from Carignan vines that were planted in the 1880s.

Alternative Names: Cariñena, Carignan Noir, Carignane, Carignano, Mazuelo, Gragnano, Pinot Evara, Samso

Graciano

Graciano is a Spanish red wine grape that is grown primarily in Rioja. The vine produces a low yield that are normally harvested in late October. The wine produced is characterised by its deep red colour, strong aroma and ability to age well. Graciano thrives in warm, arid climates.

Alternative Names: Graciana, Morrastel, Tinta Miuda, Tintilla de Rota, Minustello, Parraleta

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 $1,340.00

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