($22, Osborne):  Where else but Spain, and particularly Rioja, can you find the glories of a wine with a decade of age that you can afford to buy and enjoy on a regular basis?  Properly aged wine has an alluring ying/yang of fruit and non-fruit character enrobed by a silky suaveness that is captivating.  Normally, a decade of aging results in a serious outlay of money if you can even find the wine at retail.  All of which makes the Gran Reservas of Rioja, which must be aged for at least five years in a combination of oak barrels and bottle before release, all that more appealing.  Bodegas Montecillo’s Gran Reserva is, well, just better than their Reserva.  It is even more suave with a plush velvety texture.  Long and refined, you feel the effect of oak aging without tasting the oak at all.  This refined wine displays a real presence.  And you will be able to afford it.
93 Michael Apstein Oct 18, 2022