R. López de Heredia Viña Bosconia Tinto Gran Reserva 2001

Robert ParkerThe 2001 Viña Bosconia Gran Reserva fits the profile of the wine, a little riper (is it Garnacha?) with heady aromas and a touch of rusticity. 2001 saw good yields of very healthy grapes. They started picking the reds the 15th of October, and the last grapes were picked the 29th of October with good weather. The grapes ripened properly and thoroughly, and the wine has great balance for a long aging in bottle. This is 80% Tempranillo, 15% Garnacho and the rest Graciano and Mazuelo that fermented in their 153-year-old oak vats with indigenous yeasts and matured in used barrels for 10 years. It has 13% alcohol, a pH of 3.4 and 6.5 grams of acidity (tartaric). As the wine sat in the glass (even overnight), it became finer and subtler. 5,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in July 2012.

James SucklingGorgeous, ripe aromas and flavors of dried berries, sultanas, tobacco, cigar tobacco and Spanish cedar. Full-bodied, dense and layered with wonderful fruit and complexity for such a late-released wine. Drink or hold.