La Rioja Alta Viña Arana Rioja Gran Reserva 2015

Aromas of dark plum, raspberry, mocha, mushroom, chocolate, mocha, coconut and cigar box. Full-bodied with ripe, fine tannins and bright acidity. Balanced and supple with a velvety texture. Coffee notes on the long, succulent finish.

Brilliant ruby. Energetic, spice- and smoke-accented black raspberry and candied cherry aromas are complemented by suggestions of rose oil, coconut and cured tobacco. Youthfully chewy and focused on entry, offering concentrated red and dark berry, cherry cola and candied licorice flavors that deepen steadily with air. Floral pastille and oak spice notes linger on the impressively long, smoke-tinged finish, which shows excellent clarity and polished tannins.

Supple, smooth tannins give this red an inviting texture, with dried dark cherry, balsamic, leather and smoke notes, layered together with anise, garrigue and black tea details. Complex, with good balance. Drink now through 2031. 6,200 cases made, 1,800 cases imported.

The 2015 Viña Arana Gran Reserva, which was a Reserva until 2011, wants to showcase a new Gran Reserva style that combines freshness and joy with intensity, sophistication and aging potential through a blend of Tempranillo from Rodezno with 5% Graciano from Fuenmayor. The grapes were put through optical sorting and fermented in stainless steel for 19 days, and the wine matured in American oak barrels for three years with rackings every six months. This is the classical Haro style of Rioja Claret. They found that some special vintages of this wine behaved like a Gran Reserva, with a style that was closer to their 904. So, they wanted to make this consistent from vintage to vintage, a new a style of Gran Reserva, easier to understand than the 904 or 890. From 2012, the wine changes and they replaced the Mazuelo that was used in the past with Graciano, which they think is a grape very apt for Gran Reserva wines. I saw the wine with the 2015 vintage, a more developed nose with tertiary notes and some funkiness. They don't want this to be the small brother of 904. It's the entry level for Gran Reserva wines, for a younger generation; it's fresher and less complex but with good aging potential. In a year when they don't produce 904, the grapes would go to Viña Arana. The palate reveals quite a lot of tannin and a dry finish. 80,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in December 2019.