| Country: | Spain |
| Region: | Ribera del Duero |
| Winery: | Arzuaga |
| Grape Type: | Tempranillo |
| Vintage: | 2017 |
| Bottle Size: | 750 ml |
Arzuaga Reserva Especial is made from 95% Tempranillo and 5% Albillo.
The wine shows an intense, deep red with purple nuances. Complex, concentrated, and intense on the nose with aromas of ripe black fruits, mint, and cocoa. A mineral and light background of toasted and caramelized tones dominate. Very elegant and complex aromas that evolve favorably throughout the tasting. In the mouth it is fresh and gentle. Elegant mouthfeel, fresh and well-textured, and a long finish that recalls the fruity, spicy and caramelized aromas.
Pair with red meats, roasted or in sauce, ground or bird game, soft or lightly cured cheeses and Bluefish. Alternatively, try to leave a little for the end of the meal and enjoy it with a dessert of dark chocolate.
Review
Style: classic, full-bodied. Color: cherry, garnet rim. Aroma: complex, ripe fruit, black fruit, creamy oak, sweet spices. Flavour: flavourful, round, round tannins.
-Penin 94 Points
Arzuaga Gran Reserva 95% Tempranillo, 4% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Merlot.
Presenting a ruby red color, this wine has a wide range of aroma of ripe fruit compote, toast, and leather. Fine, complex, and attractive with a great balance. Silky and pleasant in the mouth with a bit of spice detected in the finish.
Serve with red meats, roasts, or game dishes. Its flavor is enhanced with cured or fatty cheeses.
Review:
-Jeb Dunnuck 98 Points
Arzuaga Ribera del Duero Reserva is made from 95% Tempranillo, 4% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Merlot.
Clean and bright ruby red with purple reflections. Great aromatic intensity, complex and elegant, where the compote of red fruits dominates. The palate is structured with silky, sweet tannins and a lingering finish.
The harvest was done manually at the optimum point of maturity, and carried out separately for each of the more than 20 different plots used to make this wine. After the selection tables, a pre-fermentation maceration at low temperature and subsequent alcoholic fermentation at 28º is carried out, giving way to malolactic fermentation and aging in new French oak barrels for 26 months.
Ideal with red meats (big game), roasted white meat, and blue cheese.
Review:
-Wine Enthusiast 94 Points
-Joaquín Hidalgo (Vinous) 93 Points
-James Suckling 92 Points
Arzuaga Ribera del Duero Crianza 95% Tempranillo and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon.
Dark cherry color with purple highlights. Powerful nose and high aromatic diversity of ripe red and black fruits, spicy and balsamic notes, and a roasted finish. Soft and mellow in the mouth with a great fruitiness and length.
Review:
-Decanter 95 Points
Quinta de Fafide Reserva Branco is made from 50% Codega do Larinho, 30% Rabigato, 20% Viosinho
In this wine we look for an aromatic concentration and high acidity of the grapes from the very old traditional vineyards of high altitude in Douro Superior, about 550 meters above sea level, showing the full character of the varieties of indigenous Douro old vines, giving very mineral and creamy wines. Mineral aroma, citrus and tropical fruit, fresh and full-bodied on the palate, buttery texture and complexity provided by fermentation and ageing in barrels.
Arzuaga Ribera del Duero Crianza 95% Tempranillo and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon.
Dark cherry color with purple highlights. Powerful nose and high aromatic diversity of ripe red and black fruits, spicy and balsamic notes, and a roasted finish. Soft and mellow in the mouth with a great fruitiness and length.
Review:
-Wine Enthusiast 92 Points
-James Suckling 92 Points
-Joaquín Hidalgo (Vinous) 91 Points
Arzuaga Reserva Especial is made from 95% Tempranillo and 5% Albillo.
The wine shows an intense, deep red with purple nuances. Complex, concentrated, and intense on the nose with aromas of ripe black fruits, mint, and cocoa. A mineral and light background of toasted and caramelized tones dominate. Very elegant and complex aromas that evolve favorably throughout the tasting. In the mouth it is fresh and gentle. Elegant mouthfeel, fresh and well-textured, and a long finish that recalls the fruity, spicy and caramelized aromas.
Pair with red meats, roasted or in sauce, ground or bird game, soft or lightly cured cheeses and Bluefish. Alternatively, try to leave a little for the end of the meal and enjoy it with a dessert of dark chocolate.
Review:
-Wine Enthusiast 96 Points
Florentino Arzuaga, a great wine lover, founded Bodegas Arzuaga-Navarro in the early 1990’s after purchasing Finca La Planta, an estate located in the town of Quintanilla de Onésimo (Valladolid). With pines, oaks, Spanish cedars, wild boars, and deer, Florentino realized the great potential of an estate large enough to have a horizon of its own. Then came the vines, the cellar, and the wine – red wines with a backbone, yet elegant, well-rounded, and complex.
Bodegas Arzuaga-Navarro boasts over 150 hectares of vineyards distributed between the immediate vicinity of the cellar and the natural area of La Planta estate. The Arzuaga-Navarro vineyards enjoy a unique climate: during the day, a sharp sunlight bathes the land, while nights are fresh and humid. This combination of climatic factors favors a slow and perfect grape ripeness, resulting in a lush, aromatic fruit with great acidity.
In the Castilian region, characterized by having scarcely fertile soils, the Tinto Fino (or Tempranillo) varieties, as well as the French varieties Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are cultivated. For over 20 years, 80 percent of the vineyards have yielded around 4.00 kg/ha.
Bodegas Arzuaga-Navarro also owns vineyards outside the province of Valladolid, in the town of Malagón, in Ciudad Real, where the Pago Florentino wine is produced.
The Bodega’s passionate work has turned their wines into one of the most prestigious brands within the Ribera del Duero Denomination of Origin.
Paul Hobbs West Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir.
Hailing from the newly established West Sonoma Coast AVA,.
Lovely ruby red shades catch the eye, while exotic notes of tart Morello cherry and pungent pine forest swirl with fresh raspberry. Bright, pure fruit carries through on the palate, layered with earthy hints of damp loam and rocky salinity, all backed by the elegant, fine-grained tannins and stylish grip that cool West Sonoma Coast offers at its best.
Review:
-Tasting Panel 97 Points
Luigi Baudana Barolo Baudana is made from 100 percent Nebbiolo.
A deep red in the glass introduces aromas of pure cherries and plums accented with spice, graphite, eucalyptus and licorice. Warm and dry character with firm tannins balanced by a fresh and gentle acidity. A unique soil composition with blue clay translates in a wine with a powerful elegance.
Luigi Baudana is a small, historic estate in Serralunga d'Alba, farmed since 2009 by the Vaira family of G.D. Vajra, who kept the Baudana name and its old vines — including a parcel planted in 1960 — intact. Serralunga's calcareous, magnesium-rich soils give Barolo its most structured, long-lived expression, and the balanced 2022 vintage produced perfumed, firmly tannined Nebbiolo built for the cellar.
Review:
An incisive, compelling nose, showing wild berries, a touch of smoke and an equally vivid eucalyptus note. The deep palate has pronounced, integrated acidity and juicy yet delicate, transparent fruit so typical of the vintage. Balanced, focused tannins combine with freshness, adding further dimension. This needs a couple of years to come together. From vines planted in 1960. Better in 2028.
James Suckling, 96 points
Review:
-James Suckling 96 Points
-Monica Larner (Robert Parker) 94 Points