So back when I had a core tasting group in Brooklyn NY, in the previous ‘normal’ state of affairs, a wise man said that the 2001 vintage of Rioja was stellar. Having purchased some of late, I was curious to see what other Beserkers thought about the vintage based on recent tastings that they might have had?
I’ve had the 2001 Pecina Reserva last year and it was memorably good
and a 2001 Campillo Reserva two years ago was similar
Both estates are a little harder to find (for me) than the best distributed Rioja houses out here.
Further back I recall a solid Bagordi reserva
And an ok, nothing special, Abel Mendoza
I don’t think I have any 2001 Rioja left at this point. Most of the mass market Mugas, Murietta were consumed in the first ten years. I think those were regular crianza/reserva level. I really remember one of the lower level Palacios bottlings being awesome in 2001, and drank a bunch. I don’t know if he’s withdrawn from the Rioja cosecha now, and he has a big lineup of wines as well, making it a little confusing.
If you are in Brooklyn, and can deal with PJ’s, I remember their Rioja selection being vast. At this point I’d rather put away 2010 Gran Reservas rather than look around for 2001s and taking a gamble on what the storage was like.
PS take a few min to look at GregT’s post on the region.
Gran Reservas from large, traditional houses that I’m familiar with will not be ready (Lopez Heredia, La Rioja Alta, Muga).
Some Reservas are good to drink with plenty of mileage to keep going (375ml of LdH Tondonia Reserva was in prime form, drank from decanter, 6 months ago).
Crianzas and Joven … drink away.
The better 2001 GRs will certainly outlive me. RLdH hasn’t even released their 2001 GRs yet. Put 'em all in the back of the cellar. I think the RLdH Reservas will age closer to the curve of the GRs, red and white. Also not going near any 2001 LRAs, or even Ontanons, any time soon. Drink the 2002s and 2003s instead.
It’s a wonderful vintage in overall great shape at the Reserva and Gran Reserva levels. We did a recent tasting of 16 wines and they all showed great. I’ll try to find my notes.
I went through 2 cases of the 01 Ardanzas in the first 3 years after release. They were so good but so cheap (in the UK) I treated them as mid-week drinkers. Wish I had saved some as they’re probably in great shape now.
Went through a bunch of Il Faustino Reserva 2001 and it was great.
I believe current release is 2006. I have read it is not as good so have not tried it, but 2009 and 2010 LRA are tremendous.
I had a 2001 Marqués de Murrieta Rioja Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial back in August of last year. In hindsight, I should have waited.
Note below:
On opening it was rich but rather monolithic and didnt start opening up until 2+ hrs. This will be a great wine, but needs alot of time open, or at least another 5 years. Probably 10-15 yrs to have a completely mature, tertiary palate.
Hope you’re good with all the craziness these days.
2001 La Rioja 904 Gran Riserva was oaky cherry juice last week.
Alan - that’s their style. It’s always going to be that way, even with another twenty years. A lot of people object, others love it. It’s not my fave of the older bodegas.
But you’re heading into 20 years now so if you’ve kept the wines in good storage, they should be really good. For me, that’s when they typically start becoming really mature but they still maintain some of the fruit character. And other vintages are bearing out my initial impression. We had a 2004 the other day and for me that vintage was not as approachable when it was young and it’s still not opening up like the 2001 and 2005 vintages.
I’ve got a couple of different ‘01s in slumber awaiting a 20 year debutante ball, including several mentioned above—most looking forward the the ‘01 CVNE Imperial GV.