• • Philduck
  • 5 March 2012
  5 out of 5

  Excellent...but let it breath!!

  I bought two bottles before Christmas. The first bottle I drank without letting the wine breath for any length of time and thought it was rather ordinary for the price. I later read on the internet that the wine would benefit with four hours of 'breathing'. I tried this with the second bottle. The transformation was little short of sensational. Black berry fruit, vanilla and a really smooth taste with a long lasting finish. One of the best Riojas I have tried to date.

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• • OwenF
  • 18 April 2013
  3 out of 5

  Not what I thought I'd ordered

  Somehow I thought I was ordering the 2001 reserva espciale but got the 2004 - checking my order it says that I ordered 2004 but I am sure I didn't. I am not the only one !

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• • DStAndrew
  • 10 March 2013
  3 out of 5

  Good but.....

  ...the 2004 is not a patch on the 2001 which has "Reserva Especial" on the label. Is it the same wine? I think the price is the same. As far as breathing is concerned, one glass a night from the same bottle - replacing the cork nice and tight - improves the wine on the second and third evening! What do others think?

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• • John MacGarty
  • 22 February 2013
  5 out of 5

  Really delicious, needs at least an hour of breathing once the bottle is open

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• • wine reviewrw
  • 14 February 2013
  3 out of 5

  disappoiting

  This wine was a little disappointing. Even after breathing for a few hours there was too much tannin for it to be really enjoyed. Aroma was great, taste was not. Also, I received a different year to that advertised,2001.

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• • Wine_reviewer
  • 6 February 2013
  5 out of 5

  Exceptional

  To echo others' comment son here. Allow to breathe (in a carafe) for a good 2 hours minimum, then simply enjoy. I can add nothing further to the other reviews other than I agree. Excellent !

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Staff Reviews

• • Hansi Baumann
  • Majestic Fine Wine

  Eminently drinkable now with the potential to age

  "Sweet red berry aromas, as well as an undercurrent of darker fruits; plum and currant, with vanilla, wood-smoke, tobacco, earth and aromas reminiscent of a Forrest floor. Medium weight at the front of the palate, red berry flavours along with sweet vanilla and oak. Soft and savoury flavours in the mid-palate leading to a long, earthy, roasted herb and dark berry finish."

• • firespeed_1
  • Chapel Allerton

  94 pointers

  "Intense aromas of black and red fruits, vanilla and spice lead to a silky texture on the palate. Very well balanced and a long long finish. I have no doubt with Robert Parker's 94 points. Very good value for money."

• • Rob
  • Winchester

  "One my aboslute favourite Rioja's from arguabley the best sub region of Rioja. Subtle spice and leather characters wrap themselves around a rich core of stewed raisiny fruit that I love so much about great quailty Spanish wine!"

• • Ludovic Surina
  • Manager, Majestic Shepherds Bush

  " This is a fantastic, traditional style of Rioja, rich but elegant, well structured and complex. The dark berry fruit is complemented with secondary leather and spice characters and a fabulous mouthfeel from its silky tannins. This is drinking well now but as with many great Riojas it will continue to develop and add complexity for several years to come."

Press Reviews

• • The Wine Gang

  A sensual Rioja (2001 Vintage)

  "Quite a sensual Rioja, this, with its super-smoky, deep earthy, toasty aromas. Happily that toasty smokiness doesn't dominate on the palate. Instead there's a voluptuous coating of luscious plum fruit with a spicy twist of cumin and a very long, smoke-tinged finish to all that fruit. Lovely. Rating: 91/100 (The Wine Gang, www.thewinegang.com, August 2012)"

• • Jancis Robinson OBE MW

  "The wine I am recommending for drinking now and over the next six or seven years is La Rioja Alta, Viña Ardanza Reserva 2000 Rioja. Alcohol level is a modest 13% and it is such a treat to find a fully mature, subtle but rewarding wine in commercial circulation - wide commercial circulation. I found pages and pages of stockists on winesearcher.com, as well as a commendable number of stockists of the wine in useful half bottles. Brits can find it at Majestic in the UK for just £17.60 a bottle if you buy two bottles although there are many other stockists too, as there are in the US. The next vintage 2001, is also on general released, and is described as 'fantastic' (one of Barquin's favourite words) in the book. It is being sold as a Reserva Especial, only the third time this term has been used by La Rioja Alta for Viña Ardanza, the other two vintages being 1973 and 1964. Purple pagers can read my enthusiastic tasting note on this wine, which tastes more than a year younger than the 2000 and I think will still be delicious in 10 years' time. I'm delighted to report that Majestic now have stock of both vintages and are offering the 'fantastic' Reserva Especial 2001 at the same price as the more evolved 2000. But individual branches tend to have one vintage or the other. I recommend both. - 7th October 2011"