A heavenly, full-bodied dry Riesling with forceful minerality from 100-year-old vines grown in the blue slate soil of Graach.
Graach is a small village in the Mosel valley. It’s steep slate slopes produce wines that combine elegance with rustic strength. Grosses Gewächs (GG) is the designation for an estate’s best dry wine from a Grosse Lage (grand cru) vineyard. This limited-production wine was fermented with indigenous yeasts and kept in the barrel, on the full lees, for a year before bottling. The extended maturation time allows the wine to develop greater texture and a deeper natural harmony. This is a fully ripe wine, with vibrant aromatics and a pronounced acidity that gives it a brilliant structural precision.
Review:
Convincing proof that 2020 is an excellent vintage for dry GG on the Mosel! Cool and stony with delicate white-peach and white-currant aromas. Really takes off at the intensely slatey and racy finish.
-James Suckling 95-96 Points
A deep powerful Gran Reserva from one of Rioja Alavesa’s most enduring family run wineries. The hillside terraced vineyards are sheltered by the Sierra Cantabria Mountains to the north from harsh weather extremes. Small plot production is utilized in this region of infertile chalky clay soil to produce clusters of excellent quality. Almost 900 plots are needed to complete the approximately 400 hectares of estate-owned or cellar-controlled vineyards, some with vines more than 100 years in age.
Tasting notes
Ruby red color with earthy tones. The wine shows finesse, elegance and complexity with good concentration of black fruit, thyme and rosemary with secondary aromas of leather and tobacco leaves. In the palate it is polished and rounded, making it pleasant and easy to drink. Fleshy with both elegance and power. It has touches of black fruit jam and liquorice. A long, delicious and persistent finish.
Suitable for pairing with a long, copious meal where it can accommodate braised vegetables, cold cuts, peppers stuffed with hake and shrimp, mushroom omelettes, cod Rioja style, both red and white meat... and so on.
Review:
"Lastly, the 2017 Rioja Gran Reserva checks in as 95% Tempranillo and 5% Graciano aged 24 months in French and American oak. It's another deeply hued red from this producer that has a complex, impeccably made style. Cedary red and black fruits, smoky tobacco, vanilla bean, and charcoal notes giveway to a rich, powerful Rioja that has ample structure, medium to full body, building tannins, and a great finish. This smoky, complex, satisfying effort will evolve for another 10-15 years."
- Jeb Dunnuck (Importer Highlight: Fran Kysela ; July 2024), 94 pts