1996 Rioja Reserva
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Tasting notes
The 1996 Reserva was also the product of a challenging vintage, “? an average year for less meticulous producers”. It is a fragrant, fruit-driven wine that has ample savory fruit and a forward personality. It should drink well over the next 10 years. Bodegas Fernando Remirez de Ganuza is one of Rioja’s benchmark estates. It encompasses about 132 acres located in four regions of Alava Rioja planted to approximately 90% Tempranillo and 10% Graciano. The winery itself is located in the village of Samaniego. Upon my arrival at the Bodega in May 2010, I discovered a surprise. In addition to a vertical tasting of all the Reservas, Senor Remirez had prepared a similar vertical of Trasnocho, a wine that has never been exported to the USA. With all due respect, the greatest vintages from Bodegas Fernando Remirez de Ganuza in my opinion are 2004 and 2001. Trasnocho is Fernando Remirez de Ganuza’s take on a more contemporary style. Importer: Jorge Ordonez, Fine Estates from Spain, Dedham, MA; tel. (781) 461-5767
Critic scores
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
Jay S Miller, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
Bright medium ruby. Knockout nose combines wild blackberry, plum, leather, minerals, lead pencil, smoke and meat; vibrant and extraordinarily complex. Then amazingly concentrated and intense in the mouth; not especially fleshy today owing to its brisk acidity but has terrific underlying density, great flavor expression and verve, and impeccable balance. Intriguing notes of game and white pepper add complexity. Utterly vibrant, firmly tannic and extremely long and subtle on the aftertaste. A couple of earlier bottles of this wine showed slightly more roasted fruit character (and merited scores in the 92 to 94 range), but this sample was without question one of the greatest bottles of new-wave Rioja I've tasted to date: true to its Rioja roots but with the density and verve to stand up to, if not surpass, the richest wines from Ribera del Duero.