Rioja Vina Ardanza Seleccion Especial 2019 - Jeroboam (300cl)

THE HOLY SPIRITS VIEWVina Ardanza is - alongside Vina Tondonia's Reserva - the best value classic Rioja out there and outperforms in quality at this price level. If you're looking for a Xmas centrepiece, this stunning Jeroboam is it! THE OFFICIAL BLURBEstablished in 1890 by five families with one common aim of producing the very best wines possible. La Rioja Alta has been for 129 years (and continues to be) the ultimate benchmark for traditional Rioja, renown worldwide for their sensational, age-worthy, and great value Reserva and Gran Reserva wines such as Vina Ardanza Reserva, Gran Reserva 904 and Gran Reserva 890. They also own estates in Galicia (Lagar de Cervera) and Ribera del Duero (Aster) producing a wonderful wines from each respective region. TASTING NOTESNo 2018 was produced, so after the 2017 I tasted last year, we jumped to the 2019 Viña Ardanza Reserva, produced with a blend of 80% Tempranillo and 20% Garnacha. It fermented destemmed in stainless steel and aged in American oak barrels, 36 months for the Tempranillo and 30 months for Garnacha, and was blended before bottling. 2019 is a very good year for them, a small crop of powerful and concentrated wines when they produced all their brands, an exception. This is spicy, structured, balanced and powerful in this warm year, reaching the customary 14.5% alcohol and keeping a pH of 3.54 and 5.5 grams of acidity. It's still very young and undeveloped, with the classical profile, generous in American oak aromas and flavors that should slowly integrate in the wine with years in bottle. For them, 2019 means a change in Ardanza, less spicy (but still quite spicy, with clove, vanilla and tobacco leaves) and with more fresh fruit from the Garnacha. But the year is a modern version of 2015.- 94 points, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate