Vina Bosconia Red Rioja Reserva Bodega Lopez Heredia – 2010

Vina Bosconia comes from one of the Lopez De Heredia family’s three single vineyards in Rioja Alta, just outside the town of Haro.

The 2010 vintage in Rioja was rated 5 stars (excellent) by the Rioja Control Board, their highest quality rating which is only awarded in top vintages such as 1994, 2001 and 2005. The growing season was long, cool and sunny, producing lower yields than normal of exceptional quality grapes.

The wine is a blend of 80% Tempranillo, 15% Garnacha and 5% Mazuelo and Graciano aged for 5 years in used barrels and a further 5 years in bottle before release.

On the nose this smells more Burgundian than Spanish, with a lovely mix of wild red fruit, Autumn leaves and undergrowth. On the palate it has more structure and power than Burgundy – although with its 13.5% alcohol it is in no way heavy. It is drinking perfectly now and should continue to drink well until at least 2030.

“The fresh and balanced 2010 Viña Bosconia Reserva is a textbook example of the wine, perhaps the successor of the great 2006, a powerful blend of 80% Tempranillo, 15% Garnacha and 5% between Graciano and Mazuelo. It matured in used American oak barrels for five years and is clean and complex with a nutty and mushroomy nose, polished tannins and good acidity. 80,000 bottles were filled in May 2017.” 94pts The Wine Advocate