La Rioja Alta La Rioja Alta Viña Arana 2017 750ml

Deep, savory nose of vanilla, mussels, graphite, iron and black pepper. Vibrant and juicy, with a medium to full body and fine-grained tannins. Lots of energy, with a long, long finish. 95% tempranillo and 5% graciano. Still quite young. Drink or hold.

Beautiful transparency here with fresh flowers, green tobacco, pine needles, crushed stones and sandalwood. Dark fruits in the center. Full-bodied with a wonderful balance of fruit and fine tannins as well as mineral, fresh bark and delicate purple fruit. Subtlety with energy. Youthful now and drinkable, but even better in 2026. (James Suckling)

The 2017 Gran Reserva Viña Arana is 95% Tempranillo and 5% Graciano from Rioja Alta. It presents a sun-kissed profile, with moderately intense red fruit and balsamic wood aromas complemented by toffee, mild mushroom and background oak before cherry emerges later. Dry and taut with a fine-grained texture, it delivers persistent flavor with a touch of tannic grip reflecting the vintage's short cycle following a spring frost.

The 2016 Viña Arana Gran Reserva is an elegant blend of Tempranillo with 5% Graciano matured in used American oak barrels for three years. During this time, the wine was manually racked from barrel to barrel, with the help of a candle, six times. It’s ripe at 14.5% alcohol, with pungent notes of forest floor and truffles, dark spices and an earthy touch. It has a powerful palate, with very good freshness and acidity, reflecting the cooler year. It has some tannins that would welcome food. 60,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in July 2021. (Luis Gutiérrez)

The 2017 Viña Arana Gran Reserva is their more classical bottling, produced with 95% Tempranillo and 5% Graciano, fermented in stainless steel for 16 days and matured in American oak barrels for three years, racked every six months, the two varieties separately and blended before bottling. It has contained ripeness and 14% alcohol, keeping good freshness and acidity in a challenging year. The oak is neatly integrated, and the wine is harmonious and serious, a triumph over the adverse conditions of the year, the year of the big frost. They didn't produce Viña Alberdi or GR 890 that year, and part of the 890 grapes are here. It's polished and elegant, quite gentle and easy to understand for a Gran Reserva. 85,000 bottles produced. It was a shorter crop in 2017. It was bottled in January 2022.