Bodegas Lan Rioja Gran Reserva 2005
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Robert
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2005 Gran Reserva is a blend of 85% Tempranillo, 10% Mazuelo and 5% Graciano: a selection of the best grapes from 20- to 25-year-old vines that is then aged in American and French oak for 24 months. It has an intense minty nose of blackberry, smoke and grilled meats that is well-defined, but surprisingly taut considering the vintage. The palate is medium-bodied with a tarry, leathery entry. The tannins are fine and linear, the finish classic in style with a dash of white pepper and tar. This is a very well-made Gran Reserva drinking beautifully now, but certainly it has the substance to keep.
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Founded in 1972, Bodegas LAN lies in the heart of Rioja Alta. The name LAN comes from the initials of the three provinces of the Rioja Designation of Origin: Logroño, Álava and Navarra. María Barua has been the head winemaker and technical director since 2002, and brings both scientific expertise (with an academic background in chemistry in addition to her oenology degree) and local knowledge (having been born and raised in Rioja). Together with her young and energetic team, María focuses on using the latest advances in winemaking to ‘express the virtues of the land’.
The estate farms its Tempranillo, Mazuelo, Graciano and Garnacha vineyards sustainably. The Viña Lanciano vineyard is one of the most spectacular vineyards in the region, located on a bend of the River Ebro. The vineyard’s poor, stony soils and the average vine age of 60 years are both conducive to low yields. The vines are divided into 24 plots of different soils, grape varieties and aspects so that each can be hand-picked at perfect ripeness. In the winery, there is a rigorous selection process to ensure that only perfect bunches are used. Bodegas LAN also painstakingly select and test their oak barrels and have even pioneered a hybrid barrel - American staves with French oak heads - which they feel imparts the best characteristics of both types of oak on a wine.
Hailed as the star red variety in Spain’s most celebrated wine region, Tempranillo from Rioja, or simply labeled, “Rioja,” produces elegant wines with complex notes of red and black fruit, crushed rock, leather, toast and tobacco, whose best examples are fully capable of decades of improvement in the cellar.
Rioja wines are typically a blend of fruit from its three sub-regions: Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Oriental, although specific sub-region (zonas), village (municipios) and vineyard (viñedo singular) wines can now be labeled. Rioja Alta and Alavesa, at the highest elevations, are considered to be the source of the brightest, most elegant fruit, while grapes from the warmer and drier, Rioja Oriental, produce wines with deep color, great body and richness.