Viña Arana Gran Reserva 2014

Lots of mushroom and walnut aromas with plum and leather, too. It’s full-bodied, but very soft and creamy-textured with lots of old wood, mushroom and ripe fruit on the finish. Some chocolate and hazelnut. Complex and gorgeous. Drink or hold.

Arana commemorates one of La Rioja Alta's historic families. The Tempranillo (95%) and Graciano (5%) are aged separately in American oak barrels for three years before blending, then for three years in bottle (two years less than the 904, and six years less than the 890). The winery's keynote to this Rioja is 'freshness'. I agree.

The aim with the 2014 Viña Arana Gran Reserva is to find a new Gran Reserva style that combines freshness and joy with intensity, sophistication and aging potential through a blend of Tempranillo with 6% Graciano that matured in American oak barrels for three years with rackings every six months. 2014 was a weaker year in the region, and the wine shows it and feels less vivacious than the 2015 Viña Alberdi. It has medium ripeness and abundant spicy and smoky notes and a medium-bodied palate with a soft texture that points at a wine for shorter-term consumption than the rest of the portfolio or other vintages from this cuvée. 80,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in June 2018.

La Rioja Alta didn’t make its top 890 and 904 Gran Reserva bottlings in 2014, so most of the fruit destined for those two wines went into Viña Arana instead. Combining Tempranillo with 6% Graciano, this is a serious, structured wine that has more backbone than some releases, but is still dominated by the sweetness, perfume and succulence that are the winery's hallmarks. Wonderfully drinkable. 2021-28