Rioja Alavesa Altos de Lanzaga 2010

-- Parker: The 2010 Altos de Lanzaga is sourced from four different vineyards that they feel show the character of Lanciego, their idea of a grand cru. Tempranillo, Garnacha and Graciano from head-pruned, 70-year-old vines worked following biodynamic principles that ferment naturally – no external yeasts are added to any of their wines – in 3,000-kilo oak vats for 20 days and aged for 18 months in 1,500-liter oak foudres and 225-liter barriques. The wine ages very slowly, in a very cold cellar, so it might take a year to carry out malolactic (the temperature in the cave is 12-14º C all year around). It’s a deep, austere, mineral-driven wine with a complex nose with subtle aromas of soil, fresh red and black fruit notes and a whiff of spices in very good balance. In the palate it is very tight, fine, long with silky tannins, somehow closed. Fruit, fermentation and wood seem to play a secondary role in the wine that speaks mainly of the place. This might not be a wine for everybody, but I think it’s super! 95/100