2016 Bodegas Manzanos Voche Rioja Reserva Rioja Spain

2016 Bodegas Manzanos Voche Rioja Reserva Rioja Spain

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BODEGAS MANZANOS

VOCHE RIOJA RESERVA
RIOJA SPAIN 2016

2016 Bodegas Manzanos Voche Rioja Reserva Rioja Spain
Five generations of the Manzano family dedicated themselves to making wines at the highest level from their vineyards in the Spanish regions of Rioja and Navarra. 
Brothers Víctor and David Fernández de Manzano raised the Estate to the next level by modernizing it with precise state-of-the-art winemaking equipment, moving it closer to being among the region’s top producers.
 
The family’s Voché Reserva comes from three of their best vineyards: El Barranco, Los Molinos, and José Leon. El Barranco is the oldest Graciano vineyard in Rioja, planted in 1940, and contributes depth and complexity to the wine, while Los Molinos’s younger Graciano vines give freshness. José Leon Vineyard’s 25-year-old Tempranillo vines contribute power and structure, completing the wine, which elevated with two years in French oak and two more years in bottle, seamlessly integrating the classic Rioja flavors.
 
BODEGAS MANZANOS
VOCHE RIOJA RESERVA
RIOJA SPAIN 2016
 
Your Price: $23
 
 
“Violet-red to the eye, this wine has a bouquet of cassis, saddle leather and clove. It feels good in the mouth, offering flavors of blackberry, strawberry, chocolate-covered coffee bean and vanilla. Satin tannins dissolve into a soft rose-petal finish.”
93 Points
 
“Sweet oak, vanilla, cherry and bitter almond flavors converge in this muscular, balanced red. The oak still needs time to integrate, with ample fruit to offset it. The finish is long and compact. Tempranillo and Graciano. Best from 2024 through 2033. 700 cases made, 350 cases imported.”
93 Points
2017 Marques De Murrieta Finca Ygay Reserva Rioja Spain

2017 Marques De Murrieta Finca Ygay Reserva Rioja Spain

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MARQUÉS DE MURRIETA

FINCA YGAY RESERVA
RIOJA SPAIN 2017

2017 Marques De Murrieta Finca Ygay Reserva Rioja Spain
Luciano Murrieta was one of the first winemakers to establish a winery in Rioja after his studies in Bordeaux in 1852. He achieved worldwide recognition for his signature style of producing powerful, complex, and elegant wines. The Marqués de Murrieta Reserva is a traditional Riojan wine that embodies Luciano’s passion and pays tribute to one of Rioja’s pioneers.
 
The vineyards are located in Rioja Alta at 320 to 485 meters above sea level and are rooted in a traditional, iconic history with modern innovation. The 2017 Reserva is 82% Tempranillo, 9% Graciano, 6% Mazuelo, and 2% Garnacha aged 16 months in a mixture of new and used American oak with a year and a half in the bottle before release for a balanced integration and sophisticated drinkability.
 
Notably, this winery also produces Castello Ygay Gran Reserva, ranked #1 on the 2020 Wine Spectator’s list of the Top 100 wines worldwide.
 
MARQUÉS DE MURRIETA
FINCA YGAY RESERVA
RIOJA SPAIN 2017
 
Your Price: $29.99
 
 
“Incredible depth and intensity on the nose with chocolate, walnut, blackberry and wet-earth aromas. Some iodine, too. All this follows through to a full body with very silky tannins that give the wine depth and length. It’s really framed beautifully. Reserved and tight at the finish. A terrific wine for the cellar. Give this three to five years to open.”
96 Points
2015 Marques De La Concordia Reserva Rioja, Spain

2015 Marques De La Concordia Reserva Rioja, Spain

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MARQUES DE LA CONCORDIA

2015 RESERVA RIOJA 
RIOJA, SPAIN

2015 Marques De La Concordia Reserva Rioja, Spain
Concordia is a Spanish word for an agreement, trust, or harmony between people or groups, in which the will and common goals of those involved become a reality. Marques de la Concordia’s dream to make the finest wines in Rioja is the “Concordia” the winery strives to achieve, exceeding expectations at their value price.
 
Located in the northern Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa, their vineyards are influenced by a higher elevation and closer proximity to the cold Atlantic Ocean, creating sophisticated wines with fresh acidity, lower alcohol levels, and promising aging potential. The 2015 Reserva was fermented in stainless steel for optimal temperature control and then aged in French and American barriques for 24 months, plus another year in bottle, producing a silky smooth, complex wine upon release.
 
MARQUES DE LA CONCORDIA
2015 RESERVA RIOJA 
RIOJA, SPAIN
 
Your Price: $24
 
 
Marques de la Concordia 2015
Reserva, Rioja, Spain
 
has been awarded a 
 
Gold Medal & 
95 Points
 
“The 2015 Marqués de la Concordia Reserva opens with a nose of incense, white pepper, and leather, followed by fruity notes of black raspberries, plums, wild strawberries, and a hint of milk chocolate. The palate is round but balanced by fresh acidity, smooth tannins, and flavors of black cherry, vanilla bean, and sweet spices. This wine is a classic, old-world style charmer that is enjoyable to drink now but has the structure to age for another decade.”
92 Points
2016 Bodegas Burgo Viejo Licenciado Rioja Reserva

2016 Bodegas Burgo Viejo Licenciado Rioja Reserva

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BODEGAS BURGO VIEJO

2016 LICENCIADO 
RIOJA RESERVA

2016 Bodegas Burgo Viejo Licenciado Rioja Reserva
A guiding principle at Bodegas Burgo Viejo is that only the best wines will gain complexity during contact with oak. To achieve this, they source their Licenciado Reserva from a single vineyard that also produces Gran Reserva wine. The 35-year-old vines yield powerful Tempranillo fruit capable of gaining complexity over the 18 months in French and American oak barrels, and the results are brilliant. Decanter calls it “beautifully balanced, very classy, effortless,” and with a 95 point score and $25 price point, don’t miss it. 
 
Bodegas Burgo Viejo embodies the pride of old-world tradition and enhances it with innovation. Six farming families founded this property, and they work together to ensure they harvest the fruit at the pinnacle of ripeness. 
 
Licenciado blends 100% Tempranillo, which is Spain’s signature grape. At the winery, the grapes are destemmed and lightly crushed and fermented in concrete tanks. The wine spends 18 months in French and American oak before bottling, resulting in a balanced wine with power, depth, and intriguing complexity.
 
BODEGAS BURGO VIEJO
2016 LICENCIADO 
RIOJA RESERVA
 
Your Price: $25
 
 
“Bodegas Burgo Viejo is the property of six farming families and comprises more than 200ha of vineyards in the Rioja Oriental region, from where the more full-bodied styles of Rioja are produced )…. Sarah Jane Evans MW: Distinctly pure, vivid reserva, precise style: limpid fruit, brisk acidity, notable but well balanced oak. Classic. Simon Field MW: Intense colour, powerful aromas of tar and blue fruit; minty savoury, rich, lifted and long; an impressive reserva statement of intent. Pierre Mansour: Classy, spicy black fruit, full, round, generous – depth yet beautifully balanced, very classy, effortless. Drinking Window 2020 – 2026.”
95 Points
02016 Muga Rioja Reserva

2016 Muga Rioja Reserva

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MUGA 

2016 RIOJA RESERVA
RIOJA, SPAIN 

02016 Muga Rioja Reserva
Leading the pack as one of Rioja’s top producers, Bodegas Muga’s flagship 2016 Rioja Reserva is one of the most stunning values from the old world. At $30, the 2016 earned a monster 95 Point score from James Suckling, who dubs it, “One of the top best-value, high-quality reds in Spain.” I recommend making some extra room in the cellar…
 
Bodegas Muga is a paragon producer in Spain’s iconic Rioja region, and it’s their philosophy of never losing touch with the authenticity of the wines that they’re making, and their constant use of traditional winemaking processes that’s kept them in the number one spot. 
 
Their wine team built the 2016 Rioja Reserva around a solid core of 70% Tempranillo and 20% Garnacha, then enhanced with other indigenous varietals. They aged this wine for 24 months in oak cask, and on the palate, it’s richly layered and powerfully intense. At $30, the value is nearly inconceivable.
 
MUGA 
2016 RIOJA RESERVA
RIOJA, SPAIN 
 
Your Price: $29.99
 
 
“This is really tight and powerful with gorgeous tannins and solid fruit. Full body. Tight and composed. Wet earth, smoked meat and hints of black truffles. Very long and powerful. Wonderful length. Real Rioja. One of the top best-value, high-quality reds in Spain. Drink or hold.” 95 Points
 
 
“…This has the Muga style and the imprint of the cool and fresh 2016 vintage, one of the best vintages of recent years… It has a mixture of red and black fruit with sweet spices that are very integrated and in harmony. The palate is silky and clean, and the tannins are round and gentle…” 93 Points