We’re thrilled to bring you a nine-year-old Gran Reserva from one of Rioja’s most iconic bodegas. Introduced as a Crianza in 1974, La Rioja Alta’s Viña Arana has seen a slow yet significant evolution, blossoming into a Gran Reserva in 2012. And with the 2016 vintage dubbed ‘the best vintage’ since 2010, or even 2004 (Wine Advocate), this was bound to be a brilliant release.
The Viña Arana is a blend of 95% Tempranillo and 5% Graciano that’s still showing ‘tons of freshness’ (JancisRobinson.com). It was aged in used, four-year-old American oak barrels for three years, allowing the wine to mature gracefully while preserving its vibrant fruit character. The 2016 opens with aromas of wild strawberry, cherry, vanilla, tobacco, forest floor and lilac, underpinned by vivid acidity and silky tannins that coat the palate.
La Rioja Alta was founded in 1890 by five families who are still involved in the winery. They continue to craft their wines with meticulous care, blending innovation and technology with age-old winemaking techniques. Today, the bodega is renowned for producing ‘some of the region’s best, most traditionally made wines, across the range’ (Vinous).
The Viña Arana offers a wonderful opportunity to experience Rioja’s speciality: mature wines released during their prime drinking window. While this red is approachable now, it has the fruit concentration and structure to develop over the next decade or more.
Tasting Notes:
La Rioja Alta Gran Reserva Viña Arana 2016
‘Beautiful transparency here with fresh flowers, green tobacco, pine needles, crushed stones and sandalwood. Dark fruits in the center. Full-bodied with a wonderful balance of fruit and fine tannins as well as mineral, fresh bark and delicate purple fruit. Subtlety with energy. Youthful now and drinkable, but even better in 2026.’ – James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, 95/100
‘Mature notes of coffee and black chocolate layer over the very savoury dark fruit; yet there is also tons of freshness, and the tannins are very elegantly integrated. The perfumed finish goes on forever.’ – Florencia Gomez, JancisRobinson.com, 17.5+/20
