1995 R. López de Heredia Rioja Gran Reserva Viña Bosconia- Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja (2/22/2020)
A superb and elegant wine, one of my favorites thus far this year. I can understand the “Burgundian” comparison based on its ethereal character, its lightness and the gorgeous texture. Be that as it may, the flavors and aromas were a far cry from Burgundy. Pipe tobacco and dried earthy cherry, exceptionally clean and pure. The wine captures you with the first breath and sip, but needs attention to fully appreciate the subtle greatness.
Yep. A stunner. Thanks for the lovely note, Warren.
I drank my lost bottle a couple years ago. Always on the lookout to backfill, but have not pulled the trigger lately. Such great wines.
One interesting point is that the 1995 is still the current release vintage (well, more correctly, the most recently released vintage). I’ve heard a rumor (but haven’t been able to corroborate it) that the next vintage for both GR reds will be 2001.
The winery tour is a must if you are even close to the region. Many of the tours seem to run together over the years, but not that one. I will never forget it.
The tour is super indeed. You must set it up by email in advance. After doing so we received a 2.5 hour tour (lovely cobwebs and mold!) with about 6 others, and a full tasting (including the rosado), all free. From what we could tell, the many others who simply showed up without a reservation received a far less extensive tour, and paid a fee.
Yep. Back in the first few years of this century, local bottle shops in our neck of the woods had bottles of the late '90s and 2000 vintage sitting on the retail shelf collecting dust all the time. When I first found out that there would be big gap between 2000 and the next vintage release (which ended up being the 2008), I went around and “hoovered” up every bottle I could find (at about $22/bottle).