2001 Bodegas Montecillo Rioja Gran Reserva Seleccion Especial

Community Tasting Notes (14) Avg Score: 89.8 points

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  10/1/2020 - forceberry wrote: 90 Points

  A 100% Tempranillo, as opposed to the typical blend of Tempranillo (92%) and Graciano (8%) in the regular Gran Reserva. Aged for 44 months in French oak barriques. 13,5% alcohol. Tasted half blind.
  
  Quite deep, dark and relatively extracted blackish-red color that permits very little light through. Big, ripe and still remarkably youthful nose with aromas of juicy dark fruits, toasted oak spice, some sweet mocha tones, a little bit of sun.baked earth, light notes of cocoa, a hint of dark plummy fruit and a touch of salty liquorice. The overall feel is rather modern and polished, coming across as more like a Ribera del Duero red than particularly Rioja - all thanks to the quite dominant French oak influence. The wine is ripe, big and full-bodied on the palate with a dense overall feel to it and quite powerful flavors of toasty oak spice, salty liquorice, some plummy tones, a little bit of mocha oak, light sweet notes of wizened red cherries, a hint of milk chocolate and a touch of licorice. The overall feel is quite structured yet not noticeably muscular with the moderately high acidity and ample yet ripe tannins that grip quite gently to the gums. The finish is rich, powerful and very long with quite mellow tannic grip and bold, sweet-toned flavors of sunny dark fruits, some toasty wood spice, a little bit of sweet chocolatey oak, light earthy tones, a hint of extracted woody bitterness and a sweet touch of wizened red fruits.
  
  A big, extracted and obviously rather modern Rioja Gran Reserva that didn't have particularly Rioja feel to it. Tasting this half-blind, I guessed basically all the Ribera del Duero wines we had here, because the wine was just so ripe, polished and oaky in style. I must give it to the wine that it was relatively youthful for its age at 19 years, showing quite little developed tones. Based on this wine, I imagine it will take more than a decade before those oaky tones start to integrate with the bold, ripe fruit. All in all, big and impressively sized Rioja Gran Reserva for the fans of Ribera del Duero and other modern red wines. I guess Rioja classicists don't need to bother. Although not my cup of tea, the wine was still a balanced and well-made effort and this is reflected in my score.

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  3/14/2020 - Kustjagr Likes this wine: 92 Points

  Think that I was pushing it. The cork was half rotten, but not all the way through. Nice, solid Rioja. Quite strong acidicity, probably would.have soon been already some distance towards vinegar. The fruit is long gone, but replaced by an earthy, leathery bouquet. Quite good, but a little uneventful for a 20 year old wine. Drink now, no need to age any more.

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  11/19/2018 - kingofwine Likes this wine: 91 Points

  The Port by NSLC recently offered a 3 vintage flight of this wine left over from a previous Port of Wines dinner. All 3 vintages: 1985, 1994 and 2001 were offered at the low price of $60 each. This made my decision fairly easy since I previously had the 1994 and felt it was past it's prime and knew the same could be said for the 1985 (not a collector's year in general). Most 2001 Riojas I have tried have been enjoyable, as was the case with this one.
  
  The wine already had an aged bricky hue to it but nothing inherent of a fault. The nose opened with some old leather and dried cherry notes followed by some faint wafts of herb and damp wood. The body is definitely on the lighter side with smooth but still present tannins. The 2001 still has some life ahead of it but is drinking perfectly right now. Consumed over 2 nights with consistent experience.

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  11/4/2018 - PeterjW Likes this wine: 89 Points

  lovely balance with black berries and chewy cherries on a long palate

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  10/13/2018 - Gece Likes this wine: 91 Points

  Dark, ripe fruit, but there's a bit of red berries too and it's quite sleek and tart. If you really seek it I guess you can find the classical dill and coconut, but the oak is rather in the back seat. Some hints of stable, leather, and meat hint of the age, and the tannins are rather smooth, but generally this doesn't feel like it's 17 years.

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