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Picture
Product Name
Vintage
Price
Varietal
Country
Region
Appellation
Size
Additional Discount
Original Item
2011
$64.69
Tempranillo
Spain
La Rioja
Rioja
750ml
N/A
Better Price, Same Score
2017
$50.75
Tempranillo
Spain
Castilla Y Leon
Toro
750ml
12B / $50.15
Closest Match
2018
$64.94
Tempranillo
Spain
Castilla Y Leon
Ribera Del Duero
750ml
12B / $63.64
Best QPR in Price range
2020
$46.94
Tempranillo
Spain
Castilla Y Leon
Ribera Del Duero
750ml
6B / $43.94
More wines available from La Rioja Alta
Pre-Arrival
La Rioja Alta Rioja Gran Reserva 890 2001
750ml - 1 Bottle
Bottle:
$188.95
2001 is a great vintage for all the wines from La Rioja Alta but the long-awaited 2001 Gran Reserva 890 is...
Pre-Arrival
La Rioja Alta Rioja Gran Reserva 904 1997
750ml - 1 Bottle
Bottle:
$110.45
The current release is the 1997 Gran Reserva 904, still densely colored and alluringly perfumed. Aromas of dried...
Pre-Arrival
La Rioja Alta Rioja Gran Reserva 904 2001
750ml - 1 Bottle
Bottle:
$119.28
This is a very complete wine with such beautiful length and intensity. It’s compact and very driven with a great...
Pre-Arrival
La Rioja Alta Rioja Gran Reserva 904 2005
1.5Ltr - 1 Bottle
Bottle:
$177.78
The 2005 Gran Reserva 904 is a superb blend of Tempranillo from the villages of Briñas, Labastida and Villalba with...
Pre-Arrival
La Rioja Alta Rioja Gran Reserva 904 2007
750ml - 1 Bottle
Bottle:
$74.28
Wonderful purity of fruit with a strawberry, currant and plum character. Full and velvety body with ultra-fine...
More Details
Winery
La Rioja Alta
Vintage: 2011
The year 2011 was an interesting year for many northern and central European countries, as the weather was more than unpredictable in the spring and summer. However, in most countries, the climatic conditions thankfully settled down in the late summer and fall. The result of this slightly difficult year of weather in France was a set of surprisingly small yields, but overall, these yields were of a higher quality than those harvested in certain previous years. A fantastic set of wines was also made in Italy and Spain, and the Rioja wines - when released - are set to be very good indeed. Austria also had superb year in 2011, with almost fifty percent more grapes being grown and used for their distinctive Gruner Veltliner wines than in the year before. Possibly the European country which had the finest 2011, though, was Portugal, with wineries in the Douro region claiming this year to be one of the best in decades for the production of Port wine, and the bright, young Vinho Verdes wines.
In the New World, the Pacific Northwest saw some of the best weather of 2011, and Washington State and Oregon reportedly had a highly successful year, especially for the cultivation of high quality red wine grapes. Chile and Argentina had a relatively cool year, which certainly helped retain the character of many of their key grape varietals, and should make for some exciting drinking. South Africa had especially good weather for their white wine grape varietals, particularly Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, and many South African wineries are reporting 2011 as one of their best years in recent memory.
Varietal: Tempranillo
Without any doubt, the flagship grape varietal of Spain is the Tempranillo. This fine grape varietal has since been grown in several other countries around the world, and continues to be respected and admired for its deep ruby red color, its strong tannins, and the complex and delicious flavors it carries so well. Plum, vanilla, leather, tobacco and herb are just some of the characteristic flavors found in this black skinned grape varietal, and its power and fullness of features makes it a common grape for use in blended wines of exceptional quality. Tempranillo grapes thrive best in regions with a combination of bright, hot sunshine, and cooling breezes, where they can ripen fully and then be aged in oak barrels to mellow, become more rounded and allow their fascinating nature to come forward.
Region: La Rioja
The wines of La Rioja have been famed throughout the world for many centuries, due to their excellence of flavor and deep, complex character. La Rioja is a green and fertile region of Spain, situated on the north of the country, yet sheltered from the cold and wet Atlantic oceanic influences by the expansive Cantabrian mountain range near the coast. La Rioja's most famous and widely loved grape varietal is the Tempranillo, which is grown in the majority of the vineyards in the region. However, many of the best wines of La Rioja are blended varieties, often featuring the aromatic Garnacha varietal for added perfume. The region also produces several extremely fine white wines, usually made from the Viura varietal grape, which are aged in barrels for extra flavor and aroma.
Country: Spain
From the deep and intense Rioja wines, or the dry and refreshing Ruedas, from Tempranillos to Verdejos, the range and quality of Spanish wines is always going to impress and fascinate. With several thousand years of traditions and expertise leading the way, Spanish wineries are currently producing some of the most flavorful and interesting wines to come out of Europe, striving to overcome the reputation problems the country suffered in the mid to late twentieth century. Despite being one of the largest producers of wine in the world, with billions of bottles being filled each year, Spanish wine producers are more interested in quality over quantity than ever before. The results of this are some truly world class wines rivaling even the finest produce of France in regards to balance, character and flavor, gaining new fans and enthusiasts every day.