Prado Enea Gran Reserva 2016

Complex aromas of dark fruit with violets, walnuts and chocolate. Classy. It's full-bodied with plush yet fine velvety tannins, and a precise and pointed finish. Juicy and savory. Tight finish. It's very long. This is beautiful now but will be even better in three or four years. Linear and vertical at the same time. Try after 2026.

Not quite as thrilling as the stunning 2015 release, but this is still a very good Prado Enea from the abundant 2016 crop. A judicious blend of Tempranillo with 20% Garnacha and 3% Mazuelo, aged in French and 20% American wood, this is engagingly aromatic, with sweet spice and garrigue top notes, red berry and black cherry flavours and detailed, fine-grained tannins. 2025-42

The expressive, complex and nuanced 2016 Prado Enea Gran Reserva is a textbook traditional Rioja in the making. 2016 was a very elegant year, with aging potential, volume and very good acidity and freshness. It's full-bodied but fine-boned, has 14.5% alcohol, a pH of 3.6 and 5.25 grams per liter acidity. It has terrific balance, with all the components in the right proportion to age superbly in bottle. They have also been working on the selection of wood used. This wine matured in French and American oak barrels for three years, and the oak is super integrated. 127,808 bottles produced. It was bottled in January 2020. It was an exceptional year with volume and quality. - Luis Gutiérrez.