Roda Reserva 2010 75cl

Against all odds I gave the edge to the 2009 over the 2010 Roda Reserva, A blend of Tempranillo with 10% Graciano. This serious and very spicy wine mixes red and black fruit with an aniseed touch that slowly grows in the glass, serious and concentrated, ripe and fresh and getting closer to the profile of Roda I. It is starting to develop complexity and takes a little bit longer than the 2009 to unfurl its aromas and juicy palate, with very fine tannins. This is accessible today, but it will be even better with time in bottle. 118,795 bottles were produced.<br/><br/>I met with general director Agustín Santolaya to taste Roda's latest releases. He's been there with the team since 1992 and they are still the same. The project is very much about continuity, and very much about common sense and (updated) tradition: all the wines are fermented in oak vats, all natural yeast. Santolaya thinks that to be classic you need to start being modern; López de Heredia, when they started were utterly modern and innovative. Their wines clearly show the Rioja character as they age in bottle. We always discuss the recent vintages a bit, and how the older wines are evolving. 2013 is globally acknowledged as a difficult vintage for Rioja, but for him 2014 is also a complicated and heterogeneous vintage with a lot of rain during the harvest, perhaps as difficult as 2013, because of the rain during the harvest. Of course, 2013 was cold, rainy, and extremely difficult. 2012 is fresher than 2011 and with more rain and he compares it to 2006. Having opened the comparisons, he tells me that 2011 could be similar to 2005. 2008 was truly an Atlantic and cold vintage and it might be somewhat similar to 1997.<br/>The only "recent" change is Sela, born in 2008, as the vineyards they planted early on were already aged 15 to 25 years and the grapes they produced deemed good enough to carry the Roda name. There are two vineyards in Haro (90,000 bottles ) with the idea to obtain a more approachable wine, fine and drinkable, matured exclusively in used barrels. Again, this is a project about stability and consistency, even though their wines often contradict the general idea I have about vintages and I find myself preferring wines that, on paper, would not be my favorite. That's the beauty of vintages.<br/><br/>

Cherry, tea, tobacco and spice flavors mingle in this firm, focused red. Shows good density and balance, with juicy acidity and a spicy finish. Traditional style. Drink now through 2025. 600 cases imported. –TM