Home > Wine of the Week > La Rioja Alta Viña Ardanza Rioja Reserva 1999
La Rioja Alta Viña Ardanza Rioja Reserva 1999
Last week I was fortunate enough to be able to disappear to Spain for a
couple of days, travelling to Logroño via Santander. The purpose of my trip was
to visit the winery at Marqués de
Murrieta, an impressive establishment which is currently undergoing an
incredibly severe restoration in parts, and also to see the manufacture of oak
barrels at Logroño's leading coopers, Murua. This latter part turned out to be
the most fascinating aspect of the trip, something that surprised me a little.
The process of transforming weathered oak, with its rough and somewhat
dishevelled appearance, into a new and gleaming oak barrel which is without
doubt a thing of beauty, was remarkable. Although mechanised to a degree it is
still a labour-intensive process and the end result is close to a work of art.
It would be interesting to add a feature to this site looking at process in more
detail, and indeed I may well do that. In the meantime, I felt like cracking
open another bottle of Rioja on my return, and leaving my small stock of
Murrieta Castillo Ygay to one side, I chanced upon this bottle waiting in the
'drink me' pile. Perfect!
La Rioja Alta
is, alongside Murrieta,
CVNE and one or two others, one of my
favourite producers in what is perhaps Spain's most famous wine region. Although
best known for their Gran Reservas, the 904
and the 890, their are also three brands at the Reserva level, Arana,
Alberdi and Ardanza. These three wines are named after the founding
families of La Rioja Alta, and it is the latter I prefer. Typically selling for
about
the same price as Musar, it offers an excellent example of the classic Rioja
style, traditional and yet full of texture and interest, and certainly well
endowed with complex nuances. This particular vintage has a deep and vibrant
hue, and indeed the nose provides a lifted, complex array of aromas. There are
notes of roasted meats, oil of oranges, roasted berry fruit and rich spices,
with a touch of high-toned Balsamic character and some good quality oak too. The
palate is just delicious, fresh and broad, with plenty of style. Rich, round and
textured, creamy and meaty, but with a nice definition and well integrated
tannins. This wine has a lot of presence on the palate and is just excellent
value. And we have some great vintages - the 2001 in particular - to look
forward too in the next few years. 17.5/20 (11/6/07)
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