Expert Reviews - Vintage 2017
Decanter 94 Points by Ines Salpico | Good definition of blackberry, plum, red apple and blackcurrant fruit with a saline undercurrent of green olive brine. Pleasant assertivess and wet stone freshness characterise the tannins. Elegant and focused with a juicy, lifted finish. Tempranillo fruit comes from 40-year-old vines in the Haro, Villalba and Foncea...Show More >
Expert Reviews - Vintage 2017
Decanter 94 Points by Ines Salpico | Good definition of blackberry, plum, red apple and blackcurrant fruit with a saline undercurrent of green olive brine. Pleasant assertivess and wet stone freshness characterise the tannins. Elegant and focused with a juicy, lifted finish. Tempranillo fruit comes from 40-year-old vines in the Haro, Villalba and Foncea areas of Rioja Alta, with the 4% Mazuelo sourced from the stony soils of LAN's Viña Lanciano vineyard. Fermented in small stainless steel tanks, the wine was aged for 25 months in a mix of French and American oak barrels, then a further 36 months in the bottle before release.
The Wine Spectator 92 Points | Elegant and aromatic, with detailed hints of star anise, dried thyme and mocha winding through the core of ripe black cherry and boysenberry fruit. Fine-grained tannins are well-meshed and lightly chalky in texture, emerging to firm the focused finish. Tempranillo and Graciano. Drink now through 2030.
Vinous 91 Points | The 2017 Gran Reserva is 96% Tempranillo and 4% Mazuelo, sourced from Haro, Villalba, Foncea and Cenicero in Rioja Alta. Aged for 25 months in French and American oak barrels, this garnet wine presents intense black fruit aromas with wild herbs and garrigue-like balsamic notes. Hints of coffee, wax and varnish add further complexity. Dry, rich and taut due to its fairly rough tannins, it lingers with a firm mouthfeel, showcasing a classic yet warm expression of Rioja.
Memo Summary Notes
Crafted from vines of more than 40 years of age, our LAN Gran Reserva spent 24 months in barrel and a further 36 months in bottle to refine and round off the wine. This is their way of paying homage to the passage of time, patience and expertise. Elegant and subtle, it fully expresses the wisdom bequeathed by time. The Tempranillo comes from vines of more than 40 years of age, selected from vineyards in the Rioja Alta area (Haro, Villalba, Foncea) and the Mazuelo comes from our Viña Lanciano estate, located in El Cortijo.
Deep garnet red with a ruby rim. On the nose, notes of very ripe fruit, plum, figs and fruit compote stand out. All enveloped in notes of vanilla, caramel, black pepper and smoke. A well-structured wine, with ripe, sweet tannins on the palate. It has a long life ahead of it. Great when paired with roasted meats, lamb and a variety of cheeses.
Fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks, with temperature control and long maceration to ensure extraction of all the aromatic potential and tannins. Aged 24 months in barrels of American and French oak. LAN Gran Reserva then spent 36 months rounding itself off in the bottle.
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’.
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