2010 Remirez de Ganuza, Reserva Tinto, Rioja

The phenomenal 2010 Reserva is produced with 90% Tempranillo, 5% Graciano and some 5% of the skins of Malvasía and Viura grapes used for the white wine after it finished fermenting. Here, they select the grapes from some of their best and oldest vineyards, put them in cold storage for 24 hours and then exclusively select the grapes from the top half of the bunches. It fermented in 7,000-liter oak vats and small stainless steel tanks followed by malolactic and 25 months aging in new French barriques. This is a vintage that deserves to be laid down in the cellar, as it has all the components and the balance to develop into a superb classical Rioja with a few more years in bottle. Everything seems to be in its place, and all components show high quality: the tannins, the acidity, the oak, the fruit... Highly recommended. One for the cellar. 72,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in May 2013.

The winemaking characteristic of this reserva is the fact that 5% of the wine was fermented with the skins of the white varieties Viura and Malvasía. Stylistically the wine shows attractive maturity from the excellent vintage. Over the years it has become smooth, supple and well integrated, with dark cherry fruit and toasty oak, refreshed by lively freshness.