Is there a more complex, delicious, and age-worthy selection than Vina Olabarri’s Gran Reserva? Olabarri’s 2010 Gran Reserva casts tobacco and cedar aromas of black plums, cured meat, and camphor. Deepened by long barrel aging, Olabarri’s classic Rioja fusion of Tempranillo (80%) and a blend of Graciano and Mazuelo saturates the palate with chewy black currant and black cherry fruit backed by plentiful fine-grained tannins and classic, lifting Tempranillo acidity. Hints of camphor, cigar tobacco, pencil lead, leather, coconut husk, game, and vanilla bean creep in on the long, structured finish. This is classic, old-school Rioja Gran Reserva, and a wine that can be enjoyed now with hearty roasts of beef and grilled lamb, or, ideally, stashed away in a cool cellar for another decade or two to allow its structural components to meld together and its complexity to develop.
