Do we ship to you?.
More wines available from La Rioja Alta
Pre-Arrival
La Rioja Alta Rioja Gran Reserva 890 2001
750ml - 1 Bottle
Bottle:
$186.95
2001 is a great vintage for all the wines from La Rioja Alta but the long-awaited 2001 Gran Reserva 890 is...
Pre-Arrival
La Rioja Alta Rioja Gran Reserva 904 1997
750ml - 1 Bottle
Bottle:
$110.45
The current release is the 1997 Gran Reserva 904, still densely colored and alluringly perfumed. Aromas of dried...
Pre-Arrival
La Rioja Alta Rioja Gran Reserva 904 2001
750ml - 1 Bottle
Bottle:
$118.12
This is a very complete wine with such beautiful length and intensity. It’s compact and very driven with a great...
Pre-Arrival
La Rioja Alta Rioja Gran Reserva 904 2005
1.5Ltr - 1 Bottle
Bottle:
$177.78
The 2005 Gran Reserva 904 is a superb blend of Tempranillo from the villages of Briñas, Labastida and Villalba with...
Pre-Arrival
La Rioja Alta Rioja Gran Reserva 904 2007
750ml - 1 Bottle
Bottle:
$73.45
Wonderful purity of fruit with a strawberry, currant and plum character. Full and velvety body with ultra-fine...
More Details
Winery
La Rioja Alta
Vintage: 2010
2010 saw extremely high quality viticulture in many parts of the world, with an exceptionally long and hot summer providing huge benefits for wineries across many countries, especially in the southern hemisphere. The northern hemisphere and Europe saw something of a cooler summer and flowering period, but this was by no means as disastrous as it could have been. France, especially, had a fantastic year in 2010, with the world renowned Burgundy region proclaiming that their white wines of this year are ones to look out for, and despite yields being relatively small across much of the country, the quality was exceptionally high. Spain, too, received some cooler weather, but Rioja and the rest of central Spain are hailing 2010 as a very good year indeed, again as a result of smaller, finer yields. California also received similar climatic conditions, but again, wineries are highly positive about the overall effect this had on their produce, as the slightly challenging conditions resulted in smaller yields of much elegance and distinction.
2010 was really Australia's year, and in South Australia and across the Mornington Peninsula, Chardonnay vines produced good yields with a lower sugar level than in previous years. As such, the majority of South Australian white wines from 2010 are superb, and packed full of character. Shiraz also had a great year, and most Australian wineries have been proclaiming 2010 one of the great vintages. Both the Argentinian and Chilean wine industries benefited from some ideal climatic conditions this year, and are reportedly ecstatically pleased with the fact that their 2010 wines ended up with lower alcohol levels, and were beautifully balanced wines packed full of flavor.
Varietal: Tempranillo
For millennia, the Tempranillo grape varietal has been esteemed and revered by winemakers in their native Spain. These grapes are packed full of intense and fascinating flavors, often rewarding wine drinkers with notes of tobacco, leather, plum and herbs alongside their spicy and full bodied character. Their thick, black skins result in their wines being very deep red in color, and often high in tannins. As such, Tempranillo grapes are usually blended with other fine varietals to produce exceptionally balanced and delicious blended wines, such as those found in La Riot and other important wine regions around the world. Despite them being a notoriously tricky varietal to grow, their popularity continues to increase, and winemakers continue to impress the world with this excellent example of a red wine grape.
Region: La Rioja
Spanish wines have always been packed full of character and tradition, making Spain a fascinating country for any fan of Old World wines. By far the most beloved and well known wine region in Spain is La Rioja, a lush and fertile region in the north of the country, famed for its superb single variety and blended red wines, usually made from Tempranillo and Garnacha varietal grapes. These two key grape varietals have been cultivated in this part of Spain for centuries, and are capable of expressing not only the rich, delicious fruit flavors they carry, but also the finer features of their terroir. La Rioja's terroirs are fine ones indeed, with a range of mineral rich soils, and climatic conditions which are ideal for viticulture, resulting in wines of real character and distinction.
Country: Spain
From the deep and intense Rioja wines, or the dry and refreshing Ruedas, from Tempranillos to Verdejos, the range and quality of Spanish wines is always going to impress and fascinate. With several thousand years of traditions and expertise leading the way, Spanish wineries are currently producing some of the most flavorful and interesting wines to come out of Europe, striving to overcome the reputation problems the country suffered in the mid to late twentieth century. Despite being one of the largest producers of wine in the world, with billions of bottles being filled each year, Spanish wine producers are more interested in quality over quantity than ever before. The results of this are some truly world class wines rivaling even the finest produce of France in regards to balance, character and flavor, gaining new fans and enthusiasts every day.