We have been fans of this producer ever since the '95 graced our lips…tasted the '98 last year and it was decent, though maybe a little too much American oak…Last week for my wifes 40th we popped this while dining at the infamous ‘K’ restaurant here in O town…what we found in this bottle was a disappointment…the fruit had faded considerably from the previous yr. It appears all the bottle had left was nothing but vlasic pickle juice…enough to make a pregnant woman stalk u…made the '01 ardanza taste lush and fruity!! Big fail here…but I am sure there r probably better bottles out there…still enough to turn me off to question future purchases, especially since faustino is much more affordable and of better quality.
O-town? Orlando? Oshkosh? (I always wonder about these cryptic letters with no reference.)
I love a good Rioja, but sometimes have trouble with that American oak: some years it seems more prominent than others, not sure if that is a blending decision or what?
They tend to age them for a considerably long time in Am. oak…it appears as if the oak is winning more often than I desire…O’town is Bore’lando
I bought some from the 90’s–94 and 95 Ardanza gran riserva and 904 because I remember liking the wines when I used to buy them in the 70’s and 80’s. Unfortunately I’ve found them undrinkable pickle juice, despite nice fruit. I wonder if they’ve changed their oak regimen a bit since them, since folks seem to be able to drink the 2001.
John '01 ardanza was rough '98 la rioja 904 was worse…even a good bottle would be too much dill 4 me…go with faustino…much btr. bang 4 the buck…even their $10 supermarket brand is fantastic.
I’ve had LRA 904 gran reserva '98 - '00 - '01. The '98 was disappointing however the others were very good with the '01 being consistently very good to excellent. Have had a case of the '01 already.
I had a bottle of this in 2013 and liked it better than Marc did–giving it 89 points. It was at a church fundraiser so I had only a small taste but have one bottle remaining. I also have one bottle of the 1995 and some from the next decade.
I also went long on the '01, and haven’t been disappointed in that wine. I’ve found interesting olive and licorice notes, not pickle juice.
I also picked up a couple of '94’s, base on strong CellarTracker reports.
Disclaimer; I remember drinking a fairly horrid mid '90’s Rioja in December. It might well have been one of those '94 LRA 904’s that I forgot to log into CT. I’ll check my cellar and update.
Cheers,
Warren