La Rioja Alta Vina Arana Gran Reserva 2017

Deep, savory nose of vanilla, mussels, graphite, iron and black pepper. Vibrant and juicy, with a medium to full body and fine-grained tannins. Lots of energy, with a long, long finish. 95% tempranillo and 5% graciano. Still quite young. Drink or hold.

The 2017 Gran Reserva Viña Arana is 95% Tempranillo and 5% Graciano from Rioja Alta. It presents a sun-kissed profile, with moderately intense red fruit and balsamic wood aromas complemented by toffee, mild mushroom and background oak before cherry emerges later. Dry and taut with a fine-grained texture, it delivers persistent flavor with a touch of tannic grip reflecting the vintage's short cycle following a spring frost.

In previous vintages of the 2017 Vina Arana Gran Reserva, the producer used to blend Tempranillo with 5% Mazuelo. Now it’s 5% Graciano with 95% Tempranillo, aged three years in older American oak. The process delivers refined tannins and a classic structure of integrated fruit, acidity, and medium-bodied power with a lasting, gravelly mineral profile. Age 15-20 years.

The 2017 Viña Arana Gran Reserva is their more classical bottling, produced with 95% Tempranillo and 5% Graciano, fermented in stainless steel for 16 days and matured in American oak barrels for three years, racked every six months, the two varieties separately and blended before bottling. It has contained ripeness and 14% alcohol, keeping good freshness and acidity in a challenging year. The oak is neatly integrated, and the wine is harmonious and serious, a triumph over the adverse conditions of the year, the year of the big frost. They didn't produce Viña Alberdi or GR 890 that year, and part of the 890 grapes are here. It's polished and elegant, quite gentle and easy to understand for a Gran Reserva. 85,000 bottles produced. It was a shorter crop in 2017. It was bottled in January 2022.

Fabulously classic gran reserva with coconut and vanilla sweet oak, match by intense red berry fruits. The tannins are soft and perfectly integrated, and the palate is fresh and juicy. A classic.