1994 La Rioja Alta Rioja Gran Reserva 890

Community Tasting Notes (33) Avg Score: 92.6 points

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  11/10/2023 - DougLee wrote: 93 Points

  Decanted about an hour before service. Translucent garnet ruby. Nose of blueberry, a bit of dill, fulsome plum blossom, leather, and saline. Layers of ringing red and blue plum, dried fruit elements, dill pickle, and iodine on the satiny palate. Energizing acidity and smoothed tannin. Long finish of tart red fruit, iron particles, and a last-minute sigh of sweet, earthy resolution. So satisfying, tastes so fresh and young.

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  1/13/2023 - Ernestas Likes this wine: 95 Points

  Extraordinary Rioja, however it felt that it passed its peak a year or two ago. Medium+ garnet red colour with orange hue. Medium intensity complex aroma dried cherries, medicinal and toasted notes, leather, dry earth, tobacco. Medium body, lean and complex with tat subdued layered flavours of pleasantly saline dried fruits and smoky spices, iodine touch. Mid palate supported by vibrant, medium+ acidity, fine grained tannins, concludes with lengthy, smoky and toasted finish.

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  11/19/2022 - forceberry wrote:

  A blend of Tempranillo (95%), Graciano (3%) and Mazuelo (2%). Aged for 6 years in American oak barrels (from June 1995 to June 2001). 12,8% alcohol, 6,65 g/l acidity and 0,98 g/l VA. Tasted blind.
  
  Aged, somewhat tertiary plummy-red color. The nose feels aged yet not old, but still somewhat dull and dusty with aromas pickle and decomposing old wood, some dill, a little bit of dusty attic, light minty green notes, a hint of minty greenness and a touch of dried figs. The wine is dry, somewhat lean and quite understated on the palate with a medium-to-moderately full body with reticent flavors of sour cherries, some dusty earth, a little bit of tart cranberry, light leathery notes and a hint of savory old wood. The wine is quite noticeably high in acidity with ample, rather grippy tannins. The finish is quite tough and grippy with a light, medium-long aftertaste of tart cranberries, some sour cherry bitterness, a little bit of old leather and a hint of dusty earth.
  
  People quite quickly guessed Rioja, but were surprised to learn this was 1994 LRA 890. As many people who had tasted the wine before (me included) said the wine seemed much lighter and reticent compared to any bottles tasted previously, we came to the conclusion that this might've been a very slightly corked bottle - there were no obvious TCA aromatics, but the rather muted fruit flavors and slightly dusty overall feel suggested that this wine was not performing at the level it should've. The other chance was that this wine is already fading and the fruit flavors have started to depart, leaving some dusty tertiary notes behind, yet the wine was not old enough to show any obviously oxidized qualities. Whatever the case, the wine didn't seem to be up to par, which is why I'm refraining from giving it a rating.

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  2/20/2021 - bnqwallace wrote: 94 Points

  Not sure what Tony was drinking but sounds a different wine. My bottle was decanted for 90 minutes fruity, wonderful rioja aroma not over oaked all coming together plenty of fruit and drinking well but no rush suspect it might get better.

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  10/7/2019 - Tony Molester Does not like this wine:

  Perfect cork, no sign of seepage.
  
  Popped and poured.
  The acidity was off the scale. Not much else was there besides very faint oak, smoke and vanilla. Very poor showing, feeble and tired. I left it to air out and it improved by about 10%. Have had a few aged 904s but this is my first 890. I can accept that this bottle may have been off given other TNs but it is very unfortunate. I have had a string of disappointing experiences with 94 riojas of late. I believe it’s time to limit my loss for the infrequent pleasure they have delivered.
  
  Bt 000716/16599
  L-948/2
  
  Avoid based on this single bottle.
  12.5% abv

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