Roda I Reserva 2016

Pronounced nose of fragrant plums, dark berries , cedar oak, cigar box, rocky earth and herbs. Ripe decadent fruit on the palate, fresh, ripe tannin. A hugely impressive wine, that will require age to open its sails fully.

The 2016 Roda I, a red blend of Tempranillo and 4% Graciano, feels like a lighter vintage than the 2015 when tasted side by side. It has a combination of red and black fruit, fine spices and quality wood, quite integrated and without any excess. The wines are nicely crafted and polished and, in this case, given four years of bottle aging before it's sold, so it's even more polished. 129,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in July 2018. - Luis Gutiérrez. 

Built around a core of Tempranillo from vineyards near Haro, with a splash of Graciano from the Rioja Oriental, this is a superb Roda I from a vintage that is often under-rated in Rioja. Balanced, perfumed and precise, with adroitly handled 50% new wood, a hint of good reduction, some vanilla spice, wild herbs and layers of blackberry and blueberry fruit. Delicious. 2023-31