2010 Monte Real Rioja Gran Reserva

2010 Monte Real Rioja 
Gran Reserva

Bodegas Riojanas is a grand old names of Rioja, they have been producing wines since 1890. They produce really classic wines, I would put them firmly in the Rioja Old School territory. The wine is mainly made by Tempranillo, although they did not specify, I suspect they have some Garnacha blended as well. If there’s a region that can age wines better than any other regions, it’ll have to be Rioja wines, I have tasted Spanish wines in the ‘40s and ‘50s, they are just as good as ‘60s or ‘70s Bordeaux or Italian wines. I’m very sure Monte Real wines can age very well if you choose to keep it for 30 to 50 years. The bouquet presented a very classic style of strong oak with some chocolate and coconut. Not surprisingly, they are aged in American new oak barrels. To be qualified as a Gran Reserva, the wine has to be aged for 2+ years in the barrel and another 3 years in bottles, thus unsurprisingly, the content is also very oak driven, vanilla is very prominent, along with some leather. Very backward style, the style itself is telling me the wine is very age-worthy, so you should keep it as many years as possible.