100pts & 'Podium Award' Peñín Guide to Spanish Wine

Colour: cherry, garnet rim. Nose: balanced, complex, ripe fruit, spicy, fine reductive notes, cocoa bean, meaty notes. Palate: good structure, flavourful, round tannins, balanced, great length, elegant.

100pts GUÍA ABC | 100pts SOBREMESA | 100pts VIVIR EL VINO | 100pts LA SEMANA VITIVINÍCOLA

99pts James Suckling

This is really refined and complex, with dark mineral, savory berries, mussels, walnuts, sweet spices, truffles, dried oranges, forest floor and cocoa powder. Beautiful acidity with vertical and velvety tannins. Tense, dimensional and very long.

98pts Tim Atkin

The superlative 2010 release is the first 890 Gran Reserva since 2005, and it was definitely worth the wait. Partnering Tempranillo with 3% Graciano and 2% Mazuelo, it has a wonderful combination of structure, sweetness and focus. Aromatic spices, red berry fruit and top notes of tobacco and fresh leather are underpinned by age-worthy tannins and refreshing acidity. One to keep. 2023-35.

98pts Decanter

I must confess that I find it hard to be objective about the 890, which is one of my all-time favorites, and 2010 is a particularly good vintage. With attention to detail in the vineyard and in the winery, the wine – named after the founding year, only made in the very best years - gets ever better. It is the very essence of fine Rioja, with succulent cherry fruits, sweet spices, mocha, supple and generously rounded. Aged for no less than six years in carefully selected American oak, and with no sign of weariness. This one is made for the long haul. Drinking Window: 2023-2080.

97pts Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

They were eager to show me their 2010 Gran Reserva 890, their flagship wine from one of the most heralded vintages of recent times, the next vintage of this wine since 2005. It's 95% Tempranillo, 3% Graciano and 2% Mazuelo that fermented destemmed and crushed with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel vats for 18 days, the Tempranillo and Mazuelo together and the Graciano separately. After letting the wine settle for the winter, they selected the lots that would age for six years in used American oak barrels with 10 manual rackings. The wine epitomizes the classical style of Rioja Alta with long aging in barrel, developed and tertiary wines with a silky palate and a complex and decadent nose of forest floor, truffles, cigar ash and cedar wood. They need a very special selection of vineyards at higher altitude that take longer to ripen, and they don't do it fully every year.

95pts Wine Spectator

Aging gracefully, this red is traditional in the best sense of the word, integrating notes of tobacco and loamy earth with firm, sculpted tannins. Shows an expressive core of plum sauce, dried raspberry, red licorice and espresso flavors. The interplay on display is enticing and deft through the long, plush finish.

Winemaker Notes

The 2010 Gran Reserva 890 stands out for its medium garnet red color, with an incipient iodine tinge on the rim of the glass. The nose reveals the characteristic notes of Rioja classicism: cherry jam, black plum compote, tobacco leaf, cinnamon, vanilla, pepper and chocolate powder. The refinement of its tannins and its gentle freshness lend this wine an elegant and pleasant mouthfeel. Classic Rioja bouquet, broad, complex, round and with an elegant finish. This wine has a long life ahead of it.

Blend: 95% Tempranillo, 2% Mazuelo, 3% Graciano

Winery Notes

Always evolving quality, elegance, innovation, evolution... They are the pillars on which the five founding families erected our winery in 1890 and built a way of living, feeling and producing wines of the highest quality that continue to evolve subtly, perfectly adapting to new tastes. This is how the permanent pursuit of excellence started; a pursuit that continues into the 21st century with identical enthusiasm. We draw the best from our winemaking tradition and wisdom —our own cooperage, manual racking, long ageing periods, etc.— and combine it with the most modern winemaking technology. Today, our wines are an international exemplar of the great wines of Rioja and our brands are present in the best restaurants across all continents.