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: 2007 La Rioja Alta "904" Gran Reserva Rioja

2007 La Rioja Alta "904" Gran Reserva Rioja

SKU #1288024 97 points James Suckling

Outer quote mark 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. Inner quote mark (10/2016)

95 points John Gilman

Outer quote mark 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) Inner quote mark (5/2018)

95 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Outer quote mark 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) Inner quote mark (8/2016)

93 points Wine Spectator

Outer quote mark 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) Inner quote mark (12/2016)

91 points Decanter

Outer quote mark 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. Inner quote mark (12/2016)

90 points Wine & Spirits

Outer quote mark 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. Inner quote mark (12/2017)

Jancis Robinson

Outer quote mark 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) Inner quote mark (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)

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2007 La Rioja Alta "904" Gran Reserva Rioja

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Product Reviews:

By: Andrew Whiteley | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: 7/20/2017 | Send Email

This wine holds a special place in my heart. I recently returned from a trip to Spain on which my wife and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary with a tremendous meal at Taberna Herrerias in Logrono (at the suggestion of one of our direct import producers, Miguel Merino. Thank you Miguel!). While we typically sought out new wines to try on our trip, this was a special night that called for sure fire wine choices. I was thrilled to see this 2007 vintage on the menu. A stunningly classic wine the 904 Gran Reserva is a perfect example of old school Rioja with a touch of modern sensibilities. The sweet black fruits are pure and bright - full of black cherries and wild plums. But the fruit perfectly complements, never overshadows, the savory bass tones of the wine. There are tons of wet stones and rich healthy compost notes here. The oak integrates perfectly offering vanilla and baking spices. High acidity gives excellent freshness and lift to wine which finishes on long and silky smooth tannins. Everything is in perfect balance now and while there will certainly be lots of development to come, it is likely to remain that way for at least a couple of decades in the cellar. I've added several magnums to my cellar for future celebrations already.

By: Joe Bruno | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: 7/18/2017 | Send Email

This 2007 Gran Reserva ‘904’ is one of my favorite wines that I’ve had to pleasure of tasting this year. Mostly Tempranillo (90%) with Graciano additionally (10%), this wine only improves with more time decanted or in the glass. At first, this wine exudes a multitude of savory notes, especially root vegetables and demi-glace. As you go in once more, cherry liqueur, stewed red fruit, vanilla and sweet tobacco are revealed as well. The balance on the palate is exquisite, with a wonderful freshness and juicy acidity that is quite delightful coming from a wine that is over 10 years old. The tannins are well-integrated and play off nicely with the cherry clafoutis, dried herb, dust, and Valrhona cocoa flavors that permeate the palate. This wine is a classic Rioja that will see a great deal of evolution if one desires to age 10-20 years longer; this wine can also be enjoyed without further cellaring

By: David Driscoll | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: 7/18/2017 | Send Email

La Rioja Alta is where you start if you want to get serious about Spanish wine. However, it's also a great starting point for anyone who wants to understand the merits of aged reds of any kind. Getting the chance to taste serious wines like the 2007 904 Gran Reserva, a wine with ten years of bottle age at this point, were what catapulted me into this industry and lit the fire under my feet as a budding wino. Simply put: there are few wines that offer such a seamless transition between the soft and supple fruit of youth and the rustic complexity that comes with time, and it's that quality that shines in this wine. The red fruits are plush on the palate, but they're subdued rather than juicy. About halfway through they begin to slowly morph into hints of oak, earth, and leather with a bit of a roasted note towards the finish. Those are the secondary flavors of maturation coming through, but they're incredibly nuanced and graceful. Beware that polished profile, newcomers to La Rioja Alta; they're a gateway drug. And once you're addicted to the beauty of old Rioja, there's no going back.

By: Joe Manekin | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: 7/17/2017 | Send Email

This is another fantastic vintage of 904. It may be the most utterly delicious and versatile traditional Rioja in our stock. I say versatile particularly in terms of the drink or cellar question: while I love how this is tasting now, I can say with a good amount of confidence that this will be even better at 20 years old in 2027 than it is at 10 years old today. Currently, the 904 shows it's classic combination of dark cherries, cocoa powder and leather on the nose, leading to a palate that is supple, elegant, perhaps fresher and more fruit forward than the nose would suggest, though of course at 10 years young there are lovely developed notes emerging. Given all the fawning press, this wine was not nearly as plentiful as I had hoped it would be and our original order quantity was cut back, so be sure to grab what you want before it sells out!

Additional Information:

Varietal:

Tempranillo

- A very important red grape varietal that's native to Northern Spain, grown across the north and central regions of the country. Low in acid and alcohol, with subtle strawberry, leather and tobacco notes, the grape responds well to oak aging and plays particularly well with others. Tempranillo is an important component, when combined with Garnacha, Mazuelo, Viura and Graciano, of Rioja, with the best examples coming for the cooler, higher-elevation regions like Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa. It is also grown in significant quantities in the Ribera del Duero where it is called Tinto Fino and Penèdes where it is called Ull de Llebre o Ojo de Llebre. Tempranillo hasn't gained a particularly strong foothold outside of Spain, achieving some success under the name Tinto Roriz in Portugal. There it is used as a component of Port and in the table wines of the Ribera del Duero and the Dão.

Country:

Spain

- With more land under vine than any other country in the world, Spain is the great sleeping wine giant. In recent years, a great deal of money and passion has been poured in the burgeoning Spanish wine industry, helping to improve quality among its vast array of wines from sparkling Cava to Sherry to Rioja Gran Reserva. The most important red-wine-producing regions are Rioja, Ribera del Duero and Navarra in the north and Priorat and Penedes in the northeast.

Sub-Region:

Rioja

Alcohol Content (%):