La Rioja Alta Seleccion Especial Gran Reserva 904 2015 (750ml)
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Description
La Rioja Alta's Selección Especial Gran Reserva 904 is a Rioja Alta blend of 90 percent Tempranillo and 10 percent Graciano from the 2015 vintage. The wine spent four years in used American oak before bottling, and the garnet color with brick-edged rim signals its maturity and evolved character.
The nose is perfumed and layered, offering plums and mulberries alongside darker, more savory notes of mushroom, cola, licorice, and tobacco leaf. Cedar and dried florals add complexity. On the palate, the wine shows a creamy, velvety texture with fine-grained tannins that have softened with age but still carry presence and structure. The acidity remains lively and bright, carrying the wine toward a long, polished finish marked by hints of spice (cinnamon, nutmeg), leather, and herbs. This is a classical expression of Rioja, balanced and precise, with enough substance to improve further with a few more years in bottle.
Expert Reviews
A perfumed nose of plums, mulberries, mushrooms, caramel, sweet tobacco and sweet spices. Full-bodied with velvety, fine tannins and lively acidity. Balanced and supple with a creamy texture. Delicate and precise with a long, polished finish.
The 2015 Gran Reserva 904 is a blend of 90% Tempranillo and 10% Graciano from Rioja Alta, aged for up to four years in American oak barrels. This garnet red wine with a brick sheen features an evolved and complex nose. It offers notes of cola, licorice, sour cherry and dried flowers, accompanied by hints of leather and herbs. On the palate, it is dry, silky and juicy, with fine-grained tannins and a chalky texture that lead to a nimble flow and a lingering finish. This is an old-school, precise Rioja that sets the standard for the region and will delight many a consumer.
I tasted again the 2015 Gran Reserva 904 Selección Especial, a blend of 90% Tempranillo from their vineyards in Villalba, Briñas and Rodezno, with 10% Graciano from the Montecillo Vineyard in Fuenmayor that was picked 23 days later than the Tempranillo that I had already tasted in mid-2022 before the wine was released. Time in bottle has done it some good, polishing the strong tannins that are the signature from 2015, though they are still not fully resolved, and a few more years in bottle will do it good. It's tasty, very classical, balanced and fresh. Impressive for such a powerful year. It was bottled in March 2020 after it matured in used American oak barrels for four years.