La Rioja Alta : Gran Reserva 890 2010

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. Drink now through 2035. 2,000 cases made, 300 cases imported.

True to itself – and the character of the 2010 vintage – this combines lovely purity of fruit, sweet spiciness and elegant smokiness. Plum, ripe red cherries and redcurrant jam are infused with vanilla, toasted coconut, cinnamon, nutmeg and cocoa nibs. The powdery, firm tannins fold and widen the mid-palate but there's lovely focus and sharp linearity throughout. Tempranillo with 2% Mazuelo and 3% Graciano fermented separately, with the best batches selected and left to rest in American oak barrels, 20% new, for six years; the best 236 barrels were bottled, unfiltered, in March 2017.

A fragrant nose of blackberries, plums, earth, dried flowers, leather, cloves, sweet tobacco and cigar box. Full-bodied with seamless tannins and fresh acidity. Balanced and layered with great tension. Elegant, with a velvety texture and a long finish. Such length and beauty now with so much age. Drink or hold.

The 2010 Gran Reserva 890 is a blend of 95% Tempranillo, 3% Graciano and 2% Mazuelo from Rioja Alta. Aged for six years in American oak, this light garnet wine with a brick sheen unfolds a bouquet of leather and cigar box, along with caramel, licorice, dried fruits and a faint balsamic note. On the palate, it is dry and silky, with a nimble and juicy flow that soars with a light, flavorful, nervously lasting note. A classically styled Rioja in the midst of its evolution, its intricate bouquet offers a glimpse into its promising future over the next decade.

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. If they don't, the grapes go to Ardanza, but in 2010, the days were warm and the nights very cold and the grapes ripened thoroughly and could stand the long time in barrel without being oaky. They have stopped the last rackings to keep a little more freshness, and the wine feels phenomenal. This has to be one of the finest vintages for this wine. It's drinkable now but should also age for a very long time; it's intense, complex and elegant. A selection of 236 barrels were blended and bottled unfiltered in March 2017 into 61,643 bottles, 4,189 magnums and some larger formats. There will be a 2011 of this wine and then 2015 and possibly 2016 (but no 2012, 2013 or 2014). This is a very intense 890. Classicism in a bottle.