2010 La Rioja Alta Gran Reserva 890
Grape
95% Tempranillo, 3% Graciano, 2% Mazuelo
Its Origins
La Rioja Alta’s history starts along with Rioja’s own early-modern period, when Bordeaux was ravaged by phylloxera and Spain's complex and structured reds jumped into the international market vacuum. It was a group of Basque and Riojan families who in 1890 created the Sociedad Vinícola de La Rioja Alta, which merged with the later-established La Rioja Alta winery in Haro - the heartland of many top Rioja houses, such as Cune and Muga. By remaining faithful to tradition while at the forefront of market practice and technology, La Rioja Alta has not only sustained a pre-eminent Rioja identity but like many of the best companies in Spain has more recently diversified - beyond their acquisition Torre de Ona in Rioja Alavesa - into other promising regions of Spain. In the late 1980s it was decided to abandon the production of white wines at La Rioja Alta, so the Lagar de Cervera winery was established in Galicia, to present mainly Albarino from this cooler Atlantic climate. In 1990 the winery Aster was established in Ribera Del Duero, working mainly with the Tempranillo grape in that hotter, more exclusively Mediterranean climate than Rioja. Today the winery of La Rioja Alta itself is noted for its balance of technology and quality-focus with high productivity, though in stylistic terms they identify themselves as traditional Rioja producers - still seeking structure, complexity and age-worthiness over the easier virtues of plush fruit and drink-young appeal.
What The Critics Say
99/100 James Suckling
"This is really refined and complex, with dark mineral, savory berries, mussels, walnuts, sweet spices, truffles, dried oranges, forest floor and cocoa powder. Beautiful acidity with vertical and velvety tannins. Tense, dimensional and very long. Drink or keep holding!"
98/100 Decanter, Sarah Jane Evans MW
“I have no doubts that this wine will live longer than its ancestor. Indeed, I think that today’s 890s are the best ever. Since the magic 2001, these wines have acquired an extra layer of concentration, without losing any freshness, and an admirable mastering of oak ageing. The wines need many years in bottle to release their complex expression, and have an amazing capacity to keep an open fruit expression for very long time. Definitely a wine to keep, and a very likely victim of price speculation in the next years. Enjoy it while it is still affordable. Drink 2022-2090” - 98/100 Decanter, Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW. “I must confess that I find it hard to be objective about the 890, which is one of my all-time favourites, and 2010 is a particularly good vintage. With attention to detail in the vineyard and in the winery, the wine – named after the founding year, only made in the very best years - gets ever better. It is the very essence of fine Rioja, with succulent cherry fruits, sweet spices, mocha, supple and generously rounded. Aged for no less than six years in carefully selected American oak, and with no sign of weariness. This one is made for the long haul. Drink 2023-2080”. -98/100 Decanter, Sarah Jane Evans MW.
97/100 Robert Parkers Wine Advocate, Luis Gutiérrez
"They were eager to show me their 2010 Gran Reserva 890, their flagship wine from one of the most heralded vintages of recent times, the next vintage of this wine since 2005. It's 95% Tempranillo, 3% Graciano and 2% Mazuelo that fermented destemmed and crushed with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel vats for 18 days, the Tempranillo and Mazuelo together and the Graciano separately. After letting the wine settle for the winter, they selected the lots that would age for six years in used American oak barrels with 10 manual rackings. The wine epitomizes the classical style of Rioja Alta with long aging in barrel, developed and tertiary wines with a silky palate and a complex and decadent nose of forest floor, truffles, cigar ash and cedar wood. They need a very special selection of vineyards at higher altitude that take longer to ripen, and they don't do it fully every year. If they don't, the grapes go to Ardanza, but in 2010, the days were warm and the nights very cold and the grapes ripened thoroughly and could stand the long time in barrel without being oaky. They have stopped the last rackings to keep a little more freshness, and the wine feels phenomenal. This has to be one of the finest vintages for this wine. It's drinkable now but should also age for a very long time; it's intense, complex and elegant. A selection of 236 barrels were blended and bottled unfiltered in March 2017 into 61,643 bottles, 4,189 magnums and some larger formats. There will be a 2011 of this wine and then 2015 and possibly 2016 (but no 2012, 2013 or 2014). This is a very intense 890. Classicism in a bottle. Drink 2022-2040"
| Variety | Tempranillo |
|---|---|
| Region | Rioja |
| Closure | Cork |
| Volume | 750ml |
| Alcohol | 14.00% |
| Maturity | 2023 - 2035 |
This Wine Goes Well With
Taste
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If for any reason you are not entirely happy with your order or you suspect that they may be affected by a quality issue, please do not hesitate to contact us and we will remedy the problem straight away. Contact us on 0800 422 767.
