2012 Valenciso Rioja Reserva

Winemaker Notes: Highly polished, tightly wound and elegant wine with refined aromatics. Fine tannins provide a silky texture, leading to a persistent finish of red berries and sweet oak. Blossoms both in body and flavor with decantation and will age gracefully for years, in the manner of top Burgundy. CRITICAL ACCLAIM


Robert Parker - "2012 was a warm and dry year, when some vines were blocked and stopped ripening the grapes. Surprisingly enough, many wines have retained more freshness than what the natural conditions of the year anticipated. Valenciso's 2012 Reserva has more stuffing and power than the 2011 and comes from a year that was saved by some rains in September and big temperature contrasts between day and night. It's very tasty, almost salty (the words of Jean Gonon from St Joseph saying "our wines are salty, to be enjoyed with food. There is no room for sweetness in our wines," comes to my mind). It's a modern classical Rioja in the making, still young but showing some development and incipient complexity. These wines develop slowly and nicely in bottle and seem to hit the spot after some eight years after the harvest. Rating: 93+"


James Suckling - "Iron and iodine are infused with licorice, cassis, vanilla and cherry liqueur. The tannins chisel out a layered approach of subtle dark fruit on the palate, the bold acidity being the driving factor throughout. Delicious and mouthwatering on the finish. Drink in 2021."

Shop By Region: Rioja, Spain

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