The 890 Gran Reserva 2010 from La Rioja Alta S.A. is ‘the very essence of fine Rioja’, says Decanter. This flagship red from one of Spain’s benchmark bodegas is only made in the very best years, and the superb 2010 vintage took the wine to new heights, earning it a perfect score in the Peñin Guide (Spain’s equivalent of Platter’s).
The 2010 is a blend of 95% Tempranillo, 3% Graciano and 2% Mazuelo. It’s dark-fruited and savoury, with ‘a background freshness that will allow it to grow with elegance and complexity’ (Peñin Guide). Although already 15 years old, the 2010 is only just entering its drinking window and has finesse and concentration that signal decades of graceful development ahead – up to 2080! This may be your last chance to secure a bottle of this vintage.
Also available, yet in extremely limited quantities, is a vertical 3-pack of the 890 Gran Reserva from 1995, 1998 and 2001. Please contact jack@winecellar.co.za to reserve a pack.
Sourced from very old vineyards, only the best batches of Tempranillo, Mazuelo and Graciano are selected for the 890 – an investment-grade release. The wine is blended and aged in barrel for six years, after which further selection is made. Selection after selection, no effort is spared.
Founded in 1890 by five families, La Rioja Alta has helped ‘define the standards of classic Rioja’ (Decanter). The region’s tradition of releasing mature wines to market is one of their greatest gifts to the wine world.
Tasting Notes:
La Rioja Alta Gran Reserva 890 2010
‘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.’ – James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, 99/100
‘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.’ – Sarah Jane Evans MW, Decanter, 98/100
‘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.’ – Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate, 97/100
