1/3 , excellent cork. Decanted 1 hr. Deep ruby/garnet core, narrow pale rim. Nose is rich and ripe, quite youthful with dark fruit, vanilla, mocha, touch of leather. Medium/full bodied on the palate, rich dark fruit, some red-toned notes too, layered and soft, luxuriant, quite tactile with really fine tannins, lovely vibrant acidity and an extended finish which shows a touch of leather right on the tail end. Very impressive, certainly drinkable now if still on the youthful side.
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Lots of blackcurrant, mineral, spice. Meaty, sweaty. A touch of green. Tannic. Young. Takes some opening out. It seems open and drinking but is firm and this is not revealing itself. Zalto Bordeaux.
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Mindful of the reputation of this wine to last a very long time, I waited patiently. I've now retrieved the first bottle from storage and tasted a first (Coravin) sample. The wine was filtered and allowed to breath in the glass. Swirling occasionally, it takes about 90 minutes to open. Half an hour later the glass is nearly empty but the last few drops sustain a deep bouquet for much of the third hour! Great balance. This is pretty close to the prototype I have in mind when I think about what a perfect Rioja should be like. It's a more concentrated and has a bigger body than the 2001 Gran Reserva 904 from Rioja Alta I recently tasted. Perhaps more hedonistic and more accessible too. Looking at the older reviews from the last 8 years or so, I get the impression it was a good idea to wait. It's probably peaking about now. I'm also glad I filtered it (with a humble coffee filter). Significant amount of sediment most certainly would have spoiled the smooth and silky texture for me. Conclusion: Can start drinking, decant a minimum of 1 hour, avoid sediment. It will probably be best now-2030, and may well keep till 2040.
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Just bloody brilliant. Memorable. Dark fruits, chocolate, spice, truffle, tobacco. Deeply flavoured but not heavy, plush, long and satisfying. Great complexity. Length too burn. Restores my faith in Tempranillo.
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- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Els12golafres Wine Tasting Group: http://vinosclasicos.blogspot.com.es/2015/01/remirez-de-ganuza-2001-gran-reserva.html - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - De color cereza granatoso de capa alta, muy extraído, opaco. Limpio, con bastante precipitado en la base de la botella. Escaso de reflejos, apenas rojizos y cobrizos, poco brillo, mate. Borde mínimo, ligeramente anaranjado, muy contrastado respecto al menisco. Sensación de grosor, lágrimas densas, permanentes.
A primer golpe de nariz nos damos cuenta que aquí hay mucho, mucho vino. Fuerte concentración e intensidad: mineralidad inicial, algo de grafito y tierra húmeda. Descarnado, puro, sin artilugios. Se exhibe con un marcado carácter varietal: fresco, perfumado con fruta roja jugosa y un delicado fondo a pétalos. Al respirar adquierer un aire medicinal, a hierbas aromáticas y bálsamo, sin perder esa veta mineral que lo anticipaba todo. Maderas muy finas, eleganes, con un deje de sándalo. Hermoso!!
En boca tiene empaque y nervio, de fuerte acidez y taninos aún marcados. La impresión de juventud es grande. Seco, especiado, concentrado, con notas amargosas y un deje de especias dulces apenas visible que vertebra el conjunto. Excelente trabajo de barrica que no invisibiliza toda la fruta. Esbelto, proporcionado, largo, distinguido, con mucha clase. Un gran reserva que se mueve por caminos muy diferentes a los vinos de estilo tradicional riojanos y a los monstruosos tintos chapapóticos de autor. Afortunadamente ya disponíamos de algunas botellas de este Ganuza de orfebrería que se ha convertido en un pieza complicada de cazar. En cuanto a nivel de calidad y potencial de guarda nada tiene que envidiar a su hermano del 2004, el de los 100 puntos Parker. Es más, éste está muy por encima. Pero mucho!!
- - - Wine Info - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 90% tempranillo, 10% graciano - 14% vol. - Vendimia manual en cajas de 12 kg. Primera selección a pie de viña de los hombros de los racimos procedentes de viñedos con una edad mínima de 60 años, situados entre los munipios de Laguardia y San Vicente de la Sonsierra. A la llegada a bodega pasa por mesa de selección, retirándose los granos que puedan mostrar sobremaduración. Fermentación en depósitos de acero inoxidable a temperatura controlada. Trasegado a barricas nuevas de roble de 225 litros (80% francés, 20% americano) en las que se cría hasta su embotellado. Sometido a diversas trasiegas manuales de forma periódica. Producción limitada a 3.500 botellas. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Rioja evening (at Rokah 73 restaurant): dark red-brown-black expressive qualitative earthy & dark fruits aromas full body, rich, tannic, good acidity, still fruity, chocolate, well balanced and good harmony, solid finish.
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Rioja evening (Started at Wine-Bar, ended at HaTraklin): dark red brown with amber rim immediately after uncorking developed rich & elegant earthy aroma with hints of licorice, dust, ripe cherries full body, round tannins, balanced acidity & bitterness, excellent harmony, rich flavors, pleasant long ending. 4 hours after reducing to mid-shoulder the aroma was, for long time, very intense, elegant, impressing, of quality modern old-world wine. Full body, soft round tannins, lots of black forest fruit, complex, rich, excellent harmony & balance, a wine to enjoy mainly via lengthy sniffing. Excellent wine!
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Rioja Dinosaurs (Enoteca Barolo - Madrid): Same good feelings. Its potential is incredible. Can be sniffing this for decades. Pure minerality. Balsamic. Pine. Some sediments could be a defect. Always a winner.
Las mismas buenas sensaciones Su potencial es increible. Puedo star esnifando esto por décadas. Pura mineralidad. Balsámico. A pino. Algunos sedimentos podrían ser un defecto. Siempre un ganador.
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Drank over 2 hours. Excellent nose of sweet dark fruit, coffee, vanilla, cedar and spice. The palate was intense, yet finessed. Same flavors as the nose suggested with an interesting mustard seed note. Long pretty finish. Will continue to improve.
Prestige of Rioja (Enoteca Barolo - Madrid): Another style, more opulent, bigger but full of distinction and character at the same time. With this nose, I felt self transported back to Samaniego instead. Little close anyway but promised. Palate is modern but with those traditional elements you were looking for in a GR bottle. Have real class. Gonna buy one No so much good as 04 but this is a long distance runner. Think so. Scored cause that potential.
Otro estilo, más opulento, más garnde pero, al mismo tiempo, lleno de distinción y caracter. Con esta nariz, uno se siente al instante transportado atrás, a Samaniego. Un poco cerrada de todas formas pero prometía. La boca es moderna pero con esos elementos tradicionales que estabas buscando en una botella GR. Tiene clase de verdad. Voy a comprar una. No es tan buena como el 04 pero esta parece ser una corredora de largas distancias. Puntuada por su potencial.
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Traditional v Modern Rioja (28-50, London): Dark, quite dense in the glass. Dark fruited, modern, coffee and a touch of vanilla. Ripe and round.Modern, but not as overblown as I feared. Good, but you wouldn't want to drink a full bottle. ***1/2
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dark red brown with amber rim immediately after uncorking developed rich & elegant earthy aroma with hints of licorice, dust, ripe cherries full body, round tannins, balanced acidity & bitterness, excellent harmony, rich flavors, pleasant long ending. 4 hours after reducing to mid-shoulder the aroma was, for long time, very intense, elegant, impressing, of quality modern old-world wine. Full body, soft round tannins, lots of black forest fruit, complex, rich, excellent harmony & balance, a wine to enjoy mainly via lengthy sniffing, that even a 550gr veal rib per each of the two of us, didn't enable us to consume the whole bottle while the meat was consumed, leaving two glasses for the next day. Excellent wine!
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12/20/2020 - Paul D wrote: 94 Points
1/3 , excellent cork. Decanted 1 hr.
Deep ruby/garnet core, narrow pale rim. Nose is rich and ripe, quite youthful with dark fruit, vanilla, mocha, touch of leather. Medium/full bodied on the palate, rich dark fruit, some red-toned notes too, layered and soft, luxuriant, quite tactile with really fine tannins, lovely vibrant acidity and an extended finish which shows a touch of leather right on the tail end. Very impressive, certainly drinkable now if still on the youthful side.
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4/14/2019 - Cofxc Likes this wine: 92 Points
Lots of blackcurrant, mineral, spice. Meaty, sweaty. A touch of green. Tannic. Young. Takes some opening out. It seems open and drinking but is firm and this is not revealing itself. Zalto Bordeaux.
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3/8/2019 - Herschel Krustofski Likes this wine: 96 Points
Mindful of the reputation of this wine to last a very long time, I waited patiently. I've now retrieved the first bottle from storage and tasted a first (Coravin) sample. The wine was filtered and allowed to breath in the glass.
Swirling occasionally, it takes about 90 minutes to open. Half an hour later the glass is nearly empty but the last few drops sustain a deep bouquet for much of the third hour!
Great balance. This is pretty close to the prototype I have in mind when I think about what a perfect Rioja should be like.
It's a more concentrated and has a bigger body than the 2001 Gran Reserva 904 from Rioja Alta I recently tasted. Perhaps more hedonistic and more accessible too.
Looking at the older reviews from the last 8 years or so, I get the impression it was a good idea to wait. It's probably peaking about now.
I'm also glad I filtered it (with a humble coffee filter). Significant amount of sediment most certainly would have spoiled the smooth and silky texture for me.
Conclusion: Can start drinking, decant a minimum of 1 hour, avoid sediment. It will probably be best now-2030, and may well keep till 2040.
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6/5/2018 - azzah Likes this wine: 96 Points
Just bloody brilliant. Memorable. Dark fruits, chocolate, spice, truffle, tobacco. Deeply flavoured but not heavy, plush, long and satisfying. Great complexity. Length too burn. Restores my faith in Tempranillo.
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11/1/2015 - A2331 wrote: 96 Points
Powerful but really heavy. A really fine wine. Drinking fine now. But this will develop more up to 20 years from now!
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2/10/2015 - Los 12 Glotones Likes this wine: 93 Points
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Els12golafres Wine Tasting Group: http://vinosclasicos.blogspot.com.es/2015/01/remirez-de-ganuza-2001-gran-reserva.html
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
De color cereza granatoso de capa alta, muy extraído, opaco. Limpio, con bastante precipitado en la base de la botella. Escaso de reflejos, apenas rojizos y cobrizos, poco brillo, mate. Borde mínimo, ligeramente anaranjado, muy contrastado respecto al menisco. Sensación de grosor, lágrimas densas, permanentes.
A primer golpe de nariz nos damos cuenta que aquí hay mucho, mucho vino. Fuerte concentración e intensidad: mineralidad inicial, algo de grafito y tierra húmeda. Descarnado, puro, sin artilugios. Se exhibe con un marcado carácter varietal: fresco, perfumado con fruta roja jugosa y un delicado fondo a pétalos. Al respirar adquierer un aire medicinal, a hierbas aromáticas y bálsamo, sin perder esa veta mineral que lo anticipaba todo. Maderas muy finas, eleganes, con un deje de sándalo. Hermoso!!
En boca tiene empaque y nervio, de fuerte acidez y taninos aún marcados. La impresión de juventud es grande. Seco, especiado, concentrado, con notas amargosas y un deje de especias dulces apenas visible que vertebra el conjunto. Excelente trabajo de barrica que no invisibiliza toda la fruta. Esbelto, proporcionado, largo, distinguido, con mucha clase. Un gran reserva que se mueve por caminos muy diferentes a los vinos de estilo tradicional riojanos y a los monstruosos tintos chapapóticos de autor. Afortunadamente ya disponíamos de algunas botellas de este Ganuza de orfebrería que se ha convertido en un pieza complicada de cazar. En cuanto a nivel de calidad y potencial de guarda nada tiene que envidiar a su hermano del 2004, el de los 100 puntos Parker. Es más, éste está muy por encima. Pero mucho!!
- - - Wine Info - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
90% tempranillo, 10% graciano - 14% vol.
- Vendimia manual en cajas de 12 kg. Primera selección a pie de viña de los hombros de los racimos procedentes de viñedos con una edad mínima de 60 años, situados entre los munipios de Laguardia y San Vicente de la Sonsierra. A la llegada a bodega pasa por mesa de selección, retirándose los granos que puedan mostrar sobremaduración. Fermentación en depósitos de acero inoxidable a temperatura controlada. Trasegado a barricas nuevas de roble de 225 litros (80% francés, 20% americano) en las que se cría hasta su embotellado. Sometido a diversas trasiegas manuales de forma periódica. Producción limitada a 3.500 botellas.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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1/1/2015 - Marc wrote: 96 Points
2nd January, 2015 with Bud and Liz, Chris and John, Marc and Justine, Lottie and Moss (Eketahuna, New Zealand): A new style Rioja with an exsquisite and fine tannic structure. Still a baby but with an amazingly refined fruit quality that brings it to an equivalent level to top flight international wines. Powerful but in no way heavy, this 14% wine is a stunner. Needs at least 10 years to resolve but is a lot of fun to drink now. 96+
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9/6/2014 - megavalanche Likes this wine: 95 Points
Voluptuous. By the time I gathered my thoughts again, the bottle was finished.
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5/26/2014 - Yagil wrote: 92 Points
Rioja evening (at Rokah 73 restaurant): dark red-brown-black
expressive qualitative earthy & dark fruits aromas
full body, rich, tannic, good acidity, still fruity, chocolate, well balanced and good harmony, solid finish.
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4/25/2013 - Yagil wrote: 92 Points
Rioja evening (Started at Wine-Bar, ended at HaTraklin): dark red brown with amber rim
immediately after uncorking developed rich & elegant earthy aroma with hints of licorice, dust, ripe cherries
full body, round tannins, balanced acidity & bitterness, excellent harmony, rich flavors, pleasant long ending.
4 hours after reducing to mid-shoulder the aroma was, for long time, very intense, elegant, impressing, of quality modern old-world wine.
Full body, soft round tannins, lots of black forest fruit, complex, rich, excellent harmony & balance, a wine to enjoy mainly via lengthy sniffing. Excellent wine!
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4/22/2013 - Harley1199 Likes this wine:
Rioja Dinosaurs (Enoteca Barolo - Madrid): Same good feelings.
Its potential is incredible.
Can be sniffing this for decades. Pure minerality. Balsamic. Pine.
Some sediments could be a defect.
Always a winner.
Las mismas buenas sensaciones
Su potencial es increible.
Puedo star esnifando esto por décadas. Pura mineralidad. Balsámico. A pino.
Algunos sedimentos podrían ser un defecto.
Siempre un ganador.
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4/21/2013 - johnh1001 wrote: 93 Points
Drank over 2 hours. Excellent nose of sweet dark fruit, coffee, vanilla, cedar and spice. The palate was intense, yet finessed. Same flavors as the nose suggested with an interesting mustard seed note. Long pretty finish. Will continue to improve.
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1/3/2013 - Yagil wrote: 93 Points
An "old world" evening (Wine-Bar, Nahalat Binyamin, TLV): dark red-brown-black
expressive qualitative earthy aromas
full body, rich, tannic, still fruity, good acidity, well balanced and good harmony, solid ending.
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12/10/2012 - Harley1199 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Prestige of Rioja (Enoteca Barolo - Madrid): Another style, more opulent, bigger but full of distinction and character at the same time.
With this nose, I felt self transported back to Samaniego instead. Little close anyway but promised.
Palate is modern but with those traditional elements you were looking for in a GR bottle.
Have real class. Gonna buy one
No so much good as 04 but this is a long distance runner. Think so. Scored cause that potential.
Otro estilo, más opulento, más garnde pero, al mismo tiempo, lleno de distinción y caracter.
Con esta nariz, uno se siente al instante transportado atrás, a Samaniego. Un poco cerrada de todas formas pero prometía.
La boca es moderna pero con esos elementos tradicionales que estabas buscando en una botella GR.
Tiene clase de verdad. Voy a comprar una.
No es tan buena como el 04 pero esta parece ser una corredora de largas distancias. Puntuada por su potencial.
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3/2/2012 - SimonG wrote: 90 Points
Traditional v Modern Rioja (28-50, London): Dark, quite dense in the glass. Dark fruited, modern, coffee and a touch of vanilla. Ripe and round.Modern, but not as overblown as I feared. Good, but you wouldn't want to drink a full bottle. ***1/2
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11/28/2011 - Yagil wrote: 93 Points
dark red brown with amber rim
immediately after uncorking developed rich & elegant earthy aroma with hints of licorice, dust, ripe cherries
full body, round tannins, balanced acidity & bitterness, excellent harmony, rich flavors, pleasant long ending.
4 hours after reducing to mid-shoulder the aroma was, for long time, very intense, elegant, impressing, of quality modern old-world wine.
Full body, soft round tannins, lots of black forest fruit, complex, rich, excellent harmony & balance, a wine to enjoy mainly via lengthy sniffing, that even a 550gr veal rib per each of the two of us, didn't enable us to consume the whole bottle while the meat was consumed, leaving two glasses for the next day. Excellent wine!
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