Brad Jensen

9.3

Great anniversary wine at La Cuchara in Baltimore. Beautiful old nose of suede, rich leather, licorice and fig spread, with a silky body, a pale brick red, brown, deep maroon color, a nice acidic tinge, and prominent rich cranberry jam, fresh plum, and leathery notes. — 14 days ago

Roberto Carli

9.2

Crazy to say but…too young! Balanced and dark but has yet to develop the spice rack subtleness and tannins can still evolve further — 2 months ago

Jody Wycech

9.0

Enjoy this wine. Full bodied, very dry. Lots of dark fruit, tobacco. Paired well with pasta in a red sauce but would be great on its own as well. — 3 months ago

with Ethan, Peter and 1 other

Victor Charcan

9.2

Expressive nose, a bit reduced at first, then on ti ripe cherries, cocoa, liquorice , plums. Ample bodied, son of a dry and hot vintage, acidity that holds the alcohol and hood length and youth for a 2012. Remarkable, unexpected village, Albelda, must be the high land on the way to Clavijo. — 5 months ago

K L

9.0

Great cheap buy from Total Wine. Pleasantly surprised how good this was and would get again. — 10 days ago

with Matt

Tony D

9.0

Light rioja. But I honestly don’t know much about the wines. Going to Spain next week should be better to describe next time. Not very tannins. Not very dry. Medium oak. Like it especially on a beautiful night after playing soccer with my kid. 17$. Totally worth it. Would recommend. — a month ago

Richard Portes

9.4

18-. Very sophisticated wine. Smooth, deep, long. The epitome of serious Rioja. Not spectacular, but give me more. — 3 months ago

Chris Buggy

8.9

Rabo del toro (oxtail stew) needs some fuel, and this is it! — 5 months ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Popped and poured; enjoyed over an extended, 10 hour period. The 2009 Reserva pours a deep garnet with a nearly impenetrable, translucent core. I say nearly because some light is just barely able to find its way through. The rim shows a slightly more orange color. Viscosity is medium+ with moderate staining. On the nose, the wine is developing and initially was a bit reminiscent of a damp horse stable. With time, it relaxes to show a heady, balanced mix of ripe and desiccated red and black fruits: both morello and black cherry with leather, anise, dill, cumin, cigar box, toasted coconut, cocoa, and vanilla. On the palate, the wine is dry. Tannin and acid are both medium+. There is noticeable density. Confirming the notes from the nose however I would say the fruit is showing a bit more freshness than the nose; slightly more tart and ripe than ripe and desiccated. The finish is long and sapid.

This is an outstanding Reserva with remarkable class. This is drinking so well right now, even on the pop and pour but I would suggest decanting a couple of hours if you want to get past the more feral stage. Expect a long, long life; 2039+ — a month ago

Jay Kline

9.4

Popped and poured; enjoyed over three days; consistent throughout with very little evolution. The cork basically disintegrated when trying to open. The 2009 Gran Reserva pours a deep garnet color with an opaque core, moving gradually towards a rust colored rim. Medium+ viscosity with moderate staining of the tears and some signs of sediment. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of ripe and desiccated red fruits: Bing cherry, mulberries, spiced plum, cumin, dill, Balsamico, chocolate chip banana bread, toasted coconut, leather, cigar box, dry earth and exotic spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannins and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and savory and super delicious. What a drop dead gorgeous Gran Reserva from Hermanos Pecina. This drinks well from the pop and pour opens up considerably with air so decanting 30min before would be advisable. Enjoy through 2039+. The cork was doing its job as it was only partially saturated, it just came apart in little pieces. I have several remaining bottles and I’ll plan on using an Ah-So or Durand with the next bottle. A stunning, ultra-traditional Rioja Tinto. — 3 months ago