2007 La Rioja Alta "904" Gran Reserva Rioja
SKU #1288024
97 points
James Suckling
Wonderful purity of fruit with a strawberry, currant and plum character. Full and velvety body with ultra-fine tannins and a delicious fresh and fruity finish. Classic Rioja style. Que lindo! Drink now.
(10/2016)
95 points
John Gilman
The 2007 Rioja “904” Gran Reserva from La Rioja Alta is truly an exceptional bottle of Rioja in the making, but at age eleven, this is still patently a young wine and deserves several more years in the cellar to allow it to really blossom completely and show all of its multi-layered levels of complexity. The nose today is complex and very promising of greatness down the road, as it offers up scents of raspberries, cherries, cloves, cinnamon, a touch of nutskin, salty soil tones, toasted coconut and a bit of cedar. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and tangy, with a plush core of fruit, excellent soil signature, ripe, buried tannins and a very long, complex and still youthful finish. The 904 Gran Reserva continues to be aged solely in American oak casks, but they were only four years old for the 2007 and this has imparted a bit of cedary oak spice to the wine. This needs plenty more time in the cellar to reach its apogee, but it will be a great wine when it is truly ready to drink. (Drink between 2025-2075)
(5/2018)
95 points
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
If Viña Ardanza seems to be going fast, the Gran Reserva 904 is even faster and we're now on the 2007 Gran Reserva 904. This wants to be the classic Gran Reserva--polished, silky and elegant, with aging potential. It is a blend of Tempranillo with 10% Mazuelo aged for four years in well-seasoned American oak barrels, with eight manual rackings. I found that the freshness of the vintage and its relatively young age gave the wine a youngish character that I loved, combining developed notes of meat, spices, leather and balsam with almost cherry-like aromas. The palate feels balanced and elegant, with fine-grained and fully resolved tannins and great acidity. This vintage of 904 surprised me! (LG)
(8/2016)
93 points
Wine Spectator
This supple red delivers bright, focused flavors of dried cherry, orange peel, vanilla, sandalwood, tobacco and spice, with light tannins and fresh acidity. An elegant rendering of the traditional style. Drink now through 2022. (TM)
(12/2016)
91 points
Decanter
Withdrawn at first, this eventually shows its American oak through coconut, vanilla and cedar characters. Despite a humble start, sweet fruit blossoms through backed by lively acidity. Ready now, but still plenty of life left. Drinking Window 2017 - 2026.
(12/2016)
90 points
Wine & Spirits
A mature, old-fashioned Rioja, this wine needs decanting to move past its oak tannins toward notes of red fruit and dried figs. It’s warm and savory, and would come to life with roast lamb.
(12/2017)
Jancis Robinson
Bulges with dark fruit, rich spice and vanilla scent. Very concentrated, but retains the rioja structure of medium body, high acid and rounded tannin. Hits the spot – a top-hole Gran Reserva. 17.5/20 points. (RH)
(10/2017)
K&L Notes
Founded in 1890, La Rioja Alta is arguably - among the traditional Rioja bodegas - the one whose entire range of wines is the most consistent, the most readily available, and the most delicious. Their "904" bottling contains Tempranillo and Graciano (no Garnacha) and is every bit as traditional. It sees aging in used American oak barrels for 48 months, racking twice a year, and then further aging in bottle. The wine always has a sumptuous, velvety texture, with more bass notes in place of Ardanza's higher-toned, red-fruited profile. Does Gran Reserva Rioja get any better than this? (Joe Manekin, K&L Spanish Wine Buyer)