2017 La Rioja Alta "Viña Ardanza" Reserva Rioja

2017 was not an easy harvest, but it produced some beautiful and classical wines, like the 2017 Viña Ardanza Reserva, which shows a little more advancement and polish and is ready to drink. It was produced with 80% Tempranillo and 20% Garnacha from their vineyard La Pedriza in Tudelilla. It fermented in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts and matured in American oak barrels, 36 months for the Tempranillo and 30 for the Garnacha (that was harvested 15 days later), with six rackings. It's ripe and aromatic, tertiary, with 14.5% alcohol and mellow acidity, a medium-bodied palate and sleek tannins. It has a pungent note of clove and pepper, some licorice and ink and the cherries in liqueur from the Garnacha. An updated classical Ardanza. (LG)

It is hard not to get excited about a wine that smells this good! Great Rioja smells like nothing else; it exists in a category all by itself. The aromatic complexity of this wine is off the charts. I challenge everyone to find a bottle with this much aromatic complexity at this price point. The nose has depth and breadth, and this has a subtlety that the last two vintages did not exhibit. The range of spices, both baking and savory, the dried herbs, an exotic balsam with a high note of something like Frankincense and a low of Myrrh. All of that over a clean dusty leathery quality that speaks of the reserve sections in Libraries with the white gloves and the hushed tones. With all of that overlaid on top of a restrained mix of dark berries that are at the perfect transition point between fresh and baked. But it is not pungent nor overwhelming, it is composed and settled, and every component feels like they are working to enhance all of the others. All of that on the nose! It makes me very happy smelling this wine. On the palate that composed quality carries over. The texture of this Ardanza is spectacular, there is a seamlessness to the wine, the tannins are already integrated and delicately polished. There is a freshness that pulls the wine across the palate, but it feels like it is gliding. Thai is a medium full-bodied wine, that might not be as powerful and muscular as the previous vintages but the balance and gracefulness more than makes up for that. It makes me think more of a panther compared to a tiger. The fruit is at the fore on the palate. Those dark red fruits have just transitioned from fresh to baked but without and over concentration or sweetness. The layers of spices play against an earthy leathery tone and then linger on the finish. The complexity of the aromatics doesn’t quite carry over to the palate but the texture more than makes up for that. This is another great Ardanza, showing us why this is such an important wine. It is so delicious right now, that I am already thinking about holiday meals. However, with a little more time I feel that flavors will only deepen, and we will see even more complexity.