What a great older thread, with lots of contributions from a poster I don’t see/hear much from nowadays! In the last few years some of the better Western retailers/importers like K&L, WineAccess, Garagiste et al. have been bringing over bottlings from Olarra. I picked up a few but only finally opened the 2011 Bodegas Olarra ‘Laztana’ Gran Reserva [Rioja], drinking it over the last couple of nights. This 14% abv tempranillo dominated blend was very strong in the rosemary, pine needle, resin aspect on the first night - so much so that I recorked it and put it away - slinking back to my safe space of an old St Emilion. A day later this GR had sort of rounded out, showing more olive / balsalmic elements, with sour cherry fruit shining better. But it’s hard to understand the Decanter 95 rating, as well as retailer enthusiasm; my example seems in line with the collective tepid CT experience, so it doesn’t seem like an outlier. In the end this 2011 was ok, and probably true to the old school Riojanes styles, but I also used half the bottle for a sauce, which I don’t think I have ever done with a Gran Reserva. I’ll give it a B on my card, and would suggest decanting, or lots of slow oxygenation, for holders.