La Rioja Alta Vina Ardanza Reserva 2019 is a premium Spanish red wine that showcases the best of Rioja wine-making. This complex and well-balanced wine is a blend of Tempranillo and Garnacha grapes that have been aged for three years in American oak barrels and a further three years in bottle before release. This gives the wine a mature and refined character, with a beautiful balance of fruit and oak flavors.
On the nose, it exhibits a fresh and spicy aroma, with notes of sweet cherries, redcurrants, and ripe strawberries complemented by hints of black pepper, sweet liquorice, nutmeg, coffee, mocha, and cinnamon. On the palate, this wine is intense and well-balanced, with a soft freshness, delicate tannins, and a silky finish that lingers with a good aftertaste.
Vina Ardanza Reserva 2019 is a perfect pairing for roasted lamb, red meats, barbecues, large game, spicy fish casseroles, smoked and aged cheeses. It is a wine that will impress both wine enthusiasts and novices alike, and is perfect for special occasions or as a gift for a wine lover. This wine is ready to drink now, but it can also be cellared for several years to come to develop further complexity and depth.
Critic Ratings
James Suckling Review - Rated 95:
This has classic Rioja aromas of cherries, dried flowers, earth, spices and orange peel. The palate is medium- to full-bodied with firm, fine-grained tannins. Juicy, with opulent fruit. Drink or hold.
Robert Parker Wine Advocate Review - Rated 94:
No 2018 was produced, so after the 2017 I tasted last year, we jumped to the 2019 Viña Ardanza Reserva, produced with a blend of 80% Tempranillo and 20% Garnacha. It fermented destemmed in stainless steel and aged in American oak barrels, 36 months for the Tempranillo and 30 months for Garnacha, and was blended before bottling. 2019 is a very good year for them, a small crop of powerful and concentrated wines when they produced all their brands, an exception. This is spicy, structured, balanced and powerful in this warm year, reaching the customary 14.5% alcohol and keeping a pH of 3.54 and 5.5 grams of acidity. It's still very young and undeveloped, with the classical profile, generous in American oak aromas and flavors that should slowly integrate in the wine with years in bottle. For them, 2019 means a change in Ardanza, less spicy (but still quite spicy, with clove, vanilla and tobacco leaves) and with more fresh fruit from the Garnacha. But the year is a modern version of 2015.
Jeb Dunnuck Review - Rated 96:
The 2019 Vina Ardanza is a highly impressive, full-bodied blend of 80% older-vine Tempranillo and 20% Garnacha from two different parts of Rioja grown at the same altitude. The producer’s own American oak was used to age the Tempranillo 36 months and the Garnacha 30 months, 20% new. The fruity nose of black cherry and plum complements beautifully against Garnacha’s seductively spicy texture and mouthfeel. It’s lively, complex, and lengthy, with melty tannins.
