CellarTracker!™

Search: (advanced)


External search
Google (images)
Wine Advocate
Wine Spectator
Burghound
Wine-Searcher

Vintages
2008
2004
2001
2000
1999
1998
1996
1995
1994
1991
1987
1985

From this producer
Show all wines
All tasting notes
  Home | All Cellars | Tasting Notes | Reports | UsersHelp | Member Sign In 
  >> USE THE NEW CELLARTRACKER <<


 Vintage1994 Label 1 of 14 
TypeRed
ProducerUrbina (web)
VarietyTempranillo Blend
DesignationGran Reserva
Vineyardn/a
CountrySpain
RegionLa Rioja
SubRegionn/a
AppellationRioja
UPC Code(s)8421612100339

Drinking Windows and Values
Drinking window: Drink between 2012 and 2022 (based on 14 user opinions)
Wine Market Journal quarterly auction price: See Urbina Gran Reserva on the Wine Market Journal.

Community Tasting History

Community Tasting Notes (average 88.1 pts. and median of 90 pts. in 65 notes) - hiding notes with no text

 Tasted by Ben Christiansen on 2/23/2024: Wow, I think that is corked. Or just super funky. Kinda fresh on the palate. (341 views)
 Tasted by chatters on 6/18/2023: Sunday lunch (Porcine, Oxford Street): Savoury umami notes, slightly dried out red berry fruits, a little mushroom, earthy, touch of vanilla, quite elegant. Fleshy and juicy on the palate, silky tannins, quite elegant, long. Positively Burgundian some would say. Flavours as per the nose. Very nice. (673 views)
 Tasted by chatters on 1/14/2023: Spanish fun day one (N&J's place, Canberra): From Coravin. Mushroom, sous bois, garigue, earth. Leather, dried red fruits, dried flowers, tiny orange peel note, very slight vanilla, gets more meaty with time. Juicy, savoury, a little dilute, leathery, tannins are drying, fruit dried out and pretty a shadow of its former self, those earthy sous bois notes show through on the palate as well, touch of fruit tea and tobacco leaf on the long finish. At the end of it's life; needs a decant and consumption fairly soon...but interesting none the less (750 views)
 Tasted by StainedGlass on 10/27/2022 & rated 92 points: Such a complex, elegant wine. Has age but still going strong. Prior tasting note still applies:

“Medium to light ruby color with bricking. Saturated earthy nose. Red cherry, savory strawberry, earth, some mushroom, cured meat, spice. Perfect balance of fruit, earth and acidity; traditional, elegant and flat out delicious.” (596 views)
 Tasted by davidspieker on 12/13/2021 & rated 88 points: Cork in great shape with minimal sediment. Flavors are a bit muddy with soft tannins. (1340 views)
 Tasted by Ben Christiansen on 4/30/2021: Just amazing right now and finally living up to the potential I tasted so many years ago. Great wine. Drink away. (2034 views)
 Tasted by cdchapma on 10/16/2020 & rated 88 points: Cork and bottle were in perfect shape. Had some nice old wine funk (blue cheese/damp basement) but I didn't love the rest of the flavor profile. Saw another review describing it as lactic/sour cream flavors. I think that's dead on (without the creaminess). Maybe some tart cherry flavor as well. Tannins are very mellow, but the acid is still very present. Not bad - but not my favorite. (1974 views)
 Tasted by chatters on 10/9/2020: Riojan investigation (Frank's place in Matraville): From Coravin. Medium minus intensity aromas of savoury plums backed by sweet spice, vanilla and a touch of jubey fresh red strawberry. It grows richer and opens on the nose - the fruit gets riper, darker and more vanilla & sweet spice show. It's juicy with touches of black tea joining the spice, black and red fruits, slightly chalky tannins on the medium plus length. It's perhaps a little overdone but i think it's quite nice. (1966 views)
 Tasted by B & B on 9/20/2020 & rated 89 points: As others noted, seemed to be new bottle and cork. Took about 2 hours, including decant, until developed more complex flavors and lost annoying aromas. Doesnt meet Gran Reserva standards. (1881 views)
 Tasted by CLL on 7/3/2020 & rated 95 points: Rating transferred from Vivino in Jan 2021 and translated to 100 point scale. (1025 views)
 Tasted by MattTM on 5/26/2020: BC Tuesday Night Zoom Tasting (Vancouver, BC): Drank blind next to the 1994 Faustino Rioja I Gran Reserva. New cork and no sediment according to the one who supplied this bottle. A blast of lactic/sour cream dominates the nose along with some floral notes and sweet caramel. The lactic profile carries through on the palate along with some rich dark cherry and a touch of blue cheese. Really interesting. The gentleman who provided this bottle tried another one recently and didn't get that lactic profile on the other bottle so not sure if this is representative of what this wine usually displays. Not as enjoyable as the Faustino but still quite tasty. I have a few of these in my cellar so will pop one soon to compare. (1722 views)
 Tasted by iahviahv on 5/19/2020 & rated 92 points: Bought at Hi-Time Wine Cellars in Costa Mesa, CA. The bottle and cork as NEW. This wine still has potential. Very, very nice. (1422 views)
 Tasted by jonboy74 on 5/16/2020 & rated 91 points: In a nice spot now. Unfortunately my bottle had a bit of musty smell but it didnt impact the taste. (1379 views)
 Tasted by paintinginacave on 3/1/2020 & rated 86 points: Three hour double decant. Medium ruby fading to a pale garnet outer edge. Not even coming remotely close to showing it’s true age with a bright, fresh, youthful nose of sour cherry and black plum skin. There’s vanilla pods and backing spices, dried earth and polished leather. Sour cherry and black plum skin are again the dominant forces this time on the palate, which lacks some complexity and displays more evidence of oak treatment. (935 views)
 Tasted by chatters on 2/28/2020: From Coravin. Richer than the other two wines in the bracket. Wild strawberry, leather, vanilla, cream, sweet spice, slight toasted notes with caramel. A little raisins and an almost saline/fishy quality. Grows more woody with time with a pleasing, though odd, stone fruit note. On the palate it's juicy and fleshy with talc textured tannins, flavours of leather, again that saline quality lends an odd savoury note to the fruits (strawberry and stone fruit), black tea and spice. The oak is less obvious here but still present. Long. Good (1558 views)
 Tasted by Javachip on 1/18/2020 & rated 93 points: San Diego WineSpectator.com Offline al tartufo, 1/18/2020 (Solare Restaurant, Liberty Station, Point Loma, San Diego CA): Popped and poured, not decanted. Clear dark blood-ruby-garnet color. Outstanding wine with notes of red cherries, barnyard, and leather. Undoubtedly would benefit from longer aeration. (1708 views)
 Tasted by StainedGlass on 7/24/2019 & rated 94 points: Pop, decant and pour at a local restaurant. Medium to light ruby color with bricking. Saturated earthy nose. Red cherry, savory strawberry, earth, some mushroom, cured meat, spice. Perfect balance of fruit, earth and acidity; traditional, elegant and flat out delicious. (2139 views)
 Tasted by michigan dogs on 4/27/2019 & rated 93 points: Two years ago I rated this wine 85 and stated that it was 10 years too old, not this bottle. I would never had guessed it was a 1994 vintage wine. Color was good, lively, really nice fruit, balanced , totally enjoyable. Bottle variation to an extreme, it is one of the reasons I love good wine, you never know what you will experience. (2350 views)
 Tasted by Tony Molester on 4/6/2019: Single piece cork in good condition. No seepage and minimally soaked.
Not decanted.
V: mature translucent garnet with orange meniscus.
N: Initially had a touch of asparagus or vegetal note behind the leathery nose. It eventually blew off.
P: The palate takes at least 60-90 minutes to open up. There is a sweetness that keeps amplifying, almost like a strawberry or cherry cordial, and a finish that is conversely moreish and savoury. Mrs Browne-Lyons was not as taken by it, but I enjoyed this once it opened up. Acidity is very balanced, no tartness and the finish has that aerial quality often found in mature rioja.
I reckon this would not hold up to a night in the fridge, so I suggest to open and consume in one sitting.

Drink up based on this bottle. (2166 views)
 Tasted by cannym on 1/4/2019 & rated 92 points: Still deep ruby. Takes a while to unfurl. Plenty of fruit but of the dark, bitter cherry and plum variety. Then a long list of complex flavours - woodsmoke, warm spices, cured meats, paprika, leather. Great acidity. medium plus length. Really enjoyable middle aged Rioja. (2196 views)
 Tasted by chatters on 12/19/2018: From Coravin. Vanilla, leather, earth, dill, dusty sweet spices, an impression of strawberry jam served on a wooden platter, a little tobacco leaf. In the mouth it's slightly volatile with strawberries over currants, leather, a little chocolate, mid palate scoop and a warm baked spice finish. Nice. (2233 views)
 Tasted by tgkswine on 11/11/2018 & rated 93 points: Smooth tannins and harmonious. Still drinking very well and not past it’s peak at all. (1470 views)
 Tasted by englishman's claret on 9/13/2018 & rated 90 points: Leads off with a cherry, cola, leather, and gamey notes picking up anise, cumin, cinnamon, and cedar as the cherry fruit fades. Reasonably sharp peak of optimal drinking - best from 30-60 minutes of air. Really drops off quite markedly after 2 hours in the decanter. Fairly typical Rioja profile. A bit hot on the nose, more noticeably on the palate (14%) which detracts from the package. Fully mature. 90 points for the first couple of glasses (thus the score), sliding down to 84 by hour 3. (1816 views)
 Tasted by Ben Christiansen on 5/21/2018: Delicious through and through. Darker and more together than I remember. Has a long road ahead! (2094 views)
 Tasted by ppandian on 5/11/2018 & rated 84 points: Decent wine. A little over the hill (1672 views)
 Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine...

CellarTracker Wiki Articles (login to edit | view all articles)

Urbina

Producer website

Tempranillo Blend

Tempranillo is the backbone of wines made ihvhhcn the best well-known Spanish regions Rioja and Ribera del Duero, but is also grown as far afield as Mexico and Australia.

As a flavor profile, red fruits like strawberries and cherries can predominate - but with a rustic edge. The Many wines made from Tempranillo will spend a few years in barrel and bottle before reaching the consumers . Many Tempranillo-based wines see a few years of oak - add that to a few years of bottle and the wine can give a subtle - and occasionaly not-so-subtle - leathery mouthfeel. The combination of the tart fruit and tannins make this wine very food friendly.

Gran Reserva

Tradition Ascendant in Rioja
By ERIC ASIMOV
August 11, 2009

One of my stops on my recent trip to Spain was Rioja, where I was able to spend quite a bit of time at the venerable winery López de Heredia, which is the focus of my column this week.

As those of you who have been reading this blog for a long time may guess, I’ve had a long love affair with the wines of López de Heredia. In fact, my second post ever was about its wonderful rosado, which, unusually for any wine, let alone a rosé, is generally released when it’s about 10 years old.

It’s almost reflexive when talking about López to describe it as classic or unyielding, because it is quite immune to the trend-following that so often guides decision-making in the world of wine. That is true. But it took me this visit to realize that in its own way, López de Heredia is now a cutting-edge winery.

It’s a case of what goes around comes around, as forward-thinking winemakers have in many ways come around to López de Heredia’s ways of doing things. This is particularly true in the vineyard, where its gentle, natural viticultural approach is now the preferred approach my many of the world’s great producers. In the winery, it’s harder to say, except that Lopez’s gentle handling, reliance on natural yeasts and overall artisanal methods are likewise an ideal today.

Of course, the fact that Lopez uses old barrels, including enormous wooden fermentation vessels that have been around almost as long as the 132-year-old winery itself, leaves a lot of room for debate. Very few producers use barrels that old, though one that comes to mind is Biondi Santi in Montalcino.

Still, styles oscillate over the years, and I believe we are now retreating from an era of overly oaky wines, back to wines where the barrel regimen is as much if not more about imparting texture as it is flavor.

In fact, oaky flavors can be important in López de Heredia wines. All you have to do is taste one of its wonderful older white wines, like the 1991 reserva, to taste the hazelnut, coconut flavors of American oak beautifully integrated with the wine. And if you ever get a chance to taste a rare 1964 white, as I did in Rioja, you will be rewarded with a rich, pure wine tasting almost entirely of minerals.

The strange thing about López de Heredia is that because its wines have never changed, people tend to think of the company as a dour, humorless, rigid sort of place, haunted by the imperative of adhering to tradition. Nothing could be further from the truth.

For instance, while the winery is largely a sturdy example of late 19th century architecture, the new boutique for visitors, designed by the Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid, is fully in keeping with the non-linear architectural look of modern Rioja. It was in the boutique that I watched one afternoon as Maria José López de Heredia, along with her sister, Mercedes, and father, Pedro, about to turn 81, regaled tourists with a boisterous Spanish drinking song.

Many people might be surprised, for example, at some of the winery’s plans for tourism. Maria José, who often takes the lead role in public but runs the winery with her sister, father and brother, Julio César, would like to build a little train line to take tourists back and forth between the winery and its most famous vineyard, Viña Tondonia, just across the Ebro River.

“Why not?’’ she said. “It’s very important to teach people, and it’s easier to teach them if you give them a good time.’’

Of course, she has a serious reason as well. “It’s impossible for people to understand the soul of a wine if they don’t know how the grapes are grown,’’ she told me.

For people who do have the opportunity to visit López de Heredia, doubtless the most striking moment is seeing the thousands of bottles of gran reserva wines, aging in a cellar covered in mold and cobwebs. For people who are used to the squeaky clean hygiene of New World cellars (or for somebody like my mother, for example, who did not permit dirt in her kitchen) such a sight might prove troubling.

But the mold and cobwebs are typical of more than a few old Old World cellars, where they are considered an intrinsic part of the terroir. Maria José, for example, insists that the mold and webs are absolutely beneficial to the wines, and that cleaning them out under the mistaken notion of pursuing hygiene would have many unintended consequences.

“It’s protection, not affliction!’’ she said, and I don’t doubt her. Her wines, at least, are paragons of purity.

Spain

Vinos de España - Wines of Spain (Instituto Español de Comercio Exterior) | Wikipedia
Wine Map on weinlagen-info

Spain is the third largest wine producing nation in the world, occupying the majority of the Iberian Peninsula with vast diversity in climate, culture, and of course, wine. From inky, dark reds of the [Priorat] to dry, white Finos from Andalusia, Spain can easily boast of elaborating a wide variety of notable styles. Within Spain there are currently 62 demarcated wine regions, of which a handful have gained international recognition: [Rioja], Priorat and [Ribera del Duero]. Yet these regions are only a small sample of the high quality wines Spain produces. Regions such as Cava, Penedes, Somontano, Galicia, Rueda and Jerez are only a few of the numerous regions worthy of exploration throughout Spain. Spain can also lay claim to having the most land under vine in the world, growing up to, by some accounts, 600 indigenous varietals of which Tempranillo is their most well known. Other popular varietals include [Garnacha], Bobal and Monastrell for reds and for whites; the infamous [sic] Palomino Fino grape which is used in the production of sherry wine, Pedro Ximenez in Montilla Morilles, Albarino used in the creation of the bright, effervescent wines of Galicia, and Verdejo in Rueda. - Source: - Catavino.net

Spain is not in the forefront of winemaking for its dessert wines, other than for its sweet wines from Sherry country including the highly revered Olorosos (when sweetened). But apart from Sherry Spain has a range of styles of dessert wines, ranging from the those made from the Pedro Ximenez grape primarily in Jerez and Montilla-Moriles) to luscious, red dessert wines made in the Mediterranean from the Garnacha (Grenache) grape. Some good Moscatels are made in Mallorca, Alicante and Navarre. The northwest corner of Spain, Galicia, with its bitter Atlantic climate, is even making dessert wines, called “Tostadillos” in the village of Ribadivia (similar to France’s “Vin de Paille”). The Canary Islands have made interesting dessert wines for centuries (they are mentioned by Shakespeare, for example) and in recent years the quality of winemaking has been improved and the Canary Islands wines are being better marketed now. The winemaking styles for “Vinos Dulces” are also diverse, from “Late Harvest” (Vendimia Tardía) to “Fortified Wines” (Fermentación Parcial). Based on in-spain.info.

La Rioja

Consejo Regulador DOC Rioja - Control Board of the D.O.Ca. Rioja
Map on weinlagen-info

Rioja

Consejo Regulador DOC Rioja - Control Board of the D.O.Ca. Rioja

HISTORY
The wine region of La Rioja in Spain was first demarcated by the area's governing body, the Consejo Regulador, in 1926. The region extends for approximately 120 kilometres along both sides of the Ebro River and is, at its widest point, bounded by mountains on either side. In fact, the word 'Rioja' is a derivation of the two words 'Rio' (River) and 'Oja (the name of a tributary of the Ebro that runs right through La Rioja creating a series of microclimates and providing much needed water for the vines).

La Rioja has always been a vital part of Spain's history. Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Moors, and finally, medieval Crusaders have all played a part in the area's history. The Romans, however, made wine a part of their culture wherever they travelled, and La Rioja was no exception. Ancient sites of Roman wineries still exist in and around the area today.
After the Romans came the Moors, and winemaking all but ceased. It wasn't until after the famous 'El Cid' liberated Spain, and medieval Christianity brought trade via the Crusaders through the region, that it flourished again. The Benedictine monks of Cluny in Burgundy, known for their viticulture, helped to establish three monasteries in the area. The vines they planted were mostly white grapes. In the fourteenth century, English traders acquired a taste for a local Rioja wine, which was a blend of white and red wines called Blancos Pardillos. Over time, development of lighter reds came about satisfying eighteenth century English and French courts.

The real improvements to Rioja's viticulture began around 1780 when the need to prolong wine during transport brought about experimentation with different woods and preservatives. Studies were made of the techniques used by great chateaux in Bordeaux. With the outbreak of the Peninsular War, progress was halted until 1852, when the Bordelais came south to Rioja seeking vines because their vineyards had been blighted with oidium. French winemaking methods were eagerly taken up by great rivals the Marques de Murrieta and Marques de Riscal (who both claim to have been the first in Rioja to make wine in the Bordeaux fashion).

When phylloxera devastated Bordeaux in the 1870s and the French influence really took hold in Rioja, many of the region's finest bodegas started production on what we now consider as the great wines of Rioja. It’s important to remember that Bordeaux winemaking methods then were very different to those employed today in France, and involved long ageing in barrel, a factor that the Riojans took up enthusiastically. So enthusiastically in fact that to this day there are a number of Bodegas that still make their wine in a surprisingly similar fashion to that of the Bordelais in the later part of the 1800s and this also explains why oak ageing is such an important part of Riojan winemaking.

USE OF OAK
Pronounced vanilla flavours in the wines are a trademark of the region though some modern winemakers are experimenting with making wines less influenced by oak. Originally French oak was used but as the cost of the barrels increased many bodegas began to buy American oak planks and fashion them into barrels at Spanish cooperages in a style more closely resembling the French method. This included hand splitting the wood, rather than sawing, and allowing the planks time to dry and 'season' in the outdoors versus drying in the kiln. In recent times, more bodegas have begun using French oak and many will age wines in both American and French oak for blending purposes.

In the past, it was not uncommon for some bodegas to age their red wines for 15-20 years or even more before their release. One notable example of this is Marqués de Murrieta which released its 1942 vintage Gran Reserva in 1983 after 41 years of ageing. Today most bodegas have shifted their winemaking focus to wines that are ready to drink sooner with the top wines typically ageing for 4-8 years prior to release though some traditionalists still age longer. The typical bodega owns anywhere from 10,000 to 40,000 oak barrels.
The use of oak in white wine has declined significantly in recent times when before the norm was traditionally 2-5 years in oak. This created slightly oxidised wines with flavours of caramel, coffee, and roasted nuts that did not appeal to a large market of consumers. Today the focus of white winemakers has been to enhance the vibrancy and fruit flavours of the wine.

WINE CLASSIFICATION
Most Riojan Bodegas believe that the ageing of a wine should be the responsibility of the producer rather than that of the consumer, and this is why much Rioja is more mature than wines from other countries. Rioja red wines are classified into four categories. The first, simply labelled 'Rioja', or 'Sin Crianza' (meaning 'without ageing') is the youngest, spending less than a year in oak. A "Crianza" is wine aged for at least two years, at least one of which is in oak. 'Reserva' is aged for at least three years, of which at least one year is in oak. Finally, 'Gran Reserva' wines have been aged at least two years in oak and three years in bottle. Reserva and Gran Reserva wines are not necessarily produced each year. Also produced are wines in a semi-crianza style, those that have had a couple of months of oak influence but not enough to be called a full crianza. The designation of Crianza, Reserva or Gran Reserva might not always appear on the front label but may appear on a neck or back label in the form of a stamp designation known as Consejo.

SUB REGIONS
Rioja Alta
Located on the western edge of the region, and at higher elevations than the other areas, the Rioja Alta is known for more fruity and concentrated wines which can have very smooth texture and mouth feel.

Rioja Alavesa
Despite sharing a similar climate as the Alta region, the Rioja Alavesa produces wines with a fuller body and higher acidity. Vineyards in the area have a low vine density with large spacing between rows. This is due to the relatively poor conditions of the soil with the vines needing more distance from each other and less competition for the nutrients in the surrounding soil.

Rioja Baja
Unlike the more continental climate of the Alta and Alavesa, the Rioja Baja is strongly influenced by a Mediterranean climate which makes this area the warmest and driest of the Rioja. In the summer months, drought can be a significant viticultural hazard, though since the late 1990s irrigation has been permitted. Temperatures in the summer typically reach 95°F. Twenty percent of the vineyards actually fall within the Navarra appellation but the wine produced from the grapes is still allowed to claim the Rioja designation. The predominant grape here is the Garnacha which prefers the hot conditions, unlike the more aromatic Tempranillo. Consequently Baja wines are very deeply coloured and can be highly alcoholic with some wines at 18% alcohol by volume. The wines typically do not have much acidity or aroma and are generally used as blending components with wines from other parts of
the Rioja.

The Riojans are master blenders (as they have to be because there are relatively few single estates in the area, the norm being to blend from a wide variety of vineyards and wine areas). Consequently they are able to reduce vintage variation by careful blending and many of the best wines vary relatively little between vintages.

VITICULTURE & GRAPES
Rioja wines are normally a blend of various grape varieties, and can be either red (tinto), white (blanco) or rosé (rosado). Rioja has a total of 57,000 hectares cultivated, yielding 250 million litres of wine annually, of which 85% is red. The harvest time for most Rioja vineyards is September-October with the northern Rioja Alta having the latest harvest in late October. The soil here is clay-based with a high concentration of chalk and iron (which provides the redness in the soil that may be responsible for the region's name, Rioja, meaning red). There is also significant concentration of limestone, sandstone and alluvial silt.

Among the Tintos, the best-known and most widely-used variety is Tempranillo. Other grapes used include Garnacha Tinta, Graciano, and Mazuelo. A typical blend will consist of approximately 60% Tempranillo and up to 20% Garnacha, with much smaller proportions of Mazuelo and Graciano. Each grape adds a unique component to the wine with Tempranillo contributing the main flavours and ageing potential to the wine; Garnacha adding body and alcohol; Mazuelo adding seasoning flavours and Graciano adding additional aromas.
With Rioja Blanco, Viura is the prominent grape (also known as Macabeo) and is sometimes blended with some Malvesia and Garnacha Blanca. In the white wines the Viura contributes mild fruitness, acidity and some aroma to the blend with Garnacha Blanca adding body and Malvasia adding aroma. Rosados are mostly derived from Garnacha grapes. The 'international varieties' of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot have gained some attention and use through experimental plantings by some bodegas but their use has created wines distinctly different from the typical Rioja.

Some of the most sought after grapes come from the limestone/sandstone based 'old vine' vineyards in the Alavesa and Alta regions. These 40 year old plus vines are prized due to their low yields and more concentrated flavours. A unique DO regulation stipulates that the cost of the grapes used to make Rioja must exceed by at least 200% the national average of wine grapes used in all Spanish wines.

VINTAGE CHART
Rioja (Red) Year %

2004 Superb vintage, classic wines Drink or Hold 94
2003 Hot, dry year, long-ageing wines Drink or Hold 91
2002 Smallest vintage in 10 years. Variable quality.
Keep to top names Drink or Hold 87
2001 Excellent year for long ageing Reservas
and Gran Reservas Drink or Hold 94
2000 A generally good vintage with fine Reservas Drink or Hold 89
1999 Smaller vintage of good quality Drink or Hold 88
1998 Good vintage Drink or Hold 97
1997 Unexciting so far, but quaffable Drink or Hold 84
1996 Good year, plenty of ageing potential Drink or Hold 89
1995 Very good vintage, Reservas now showing excellent fruit Drink or Hold 92
1994 Outstanding, some great long-ageing wines Drink or Hold 94
1993 Lesser wines, apart from best-known names Drink 77
1992 Rather light vintage Drink 80
1991 Still improving, average quality Drink or Hold 85
1990 Fairly ordinary but quaffable Drink 84
1989 Good, firm structure Drink 88



Rioja Reserva & Gran Reserva – Vintages of the Eighties Year %

1989 Goodish vintage, well balanced Drink 88
1988 Fairly good vintage, well balanced wines Drink 88
1987 Very attractive vintage, now at peak Drink 90
1986 Average year, now drinking well Drink 87
1985 Average year, now drinking well Drink 87
1984 Disappointing, with problem weather Avoid 80
1983 Don't keep it any longer Drink 86
1982 Now past its best Drink 83
1981 Superb wines, finest will keep longer Drink 90
1980 Average vintage, don't keep any longer Drink 86

More vintage charts
Mp on weinlagen-info

 
© 2003-24 CellarTracker! LLC. All rights reserved. "CellarTracker!" is a trademark of CellarTracker! LLC. No part of this website may be used, reproduced or distributed without the prior written permission of CellarTracker! LLC. (Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.) - Follow us on Twitter and on Facebook