2015 Akutain Rioja Alta Gran Reserva

Juan Peñagaricano Akutain planted his first vineyard in Rioja Alta, just west of Haro, in 1975. His son Jon now runs the day-to-day operations. Father and son continue to make traditional Rioja, but at a more intimate scale than do the more famous names. The family farms 6.5 hectares of high-altitude vineyards in clay and calcareous soils. Their Gran Reserva, made only in exceptional vintages, is 93% tempranillo, 5% garnacha, and 2% viura from two of the family’s four plots: Gembres is the bodega’s highest altitude vineyard, at 650 meters, and was planted in 1986. Manzanera, at 490 meters, is the plot that Juan first planted in 1975. Both are north-facing, so cooler vineyard sites.

The grapes were fully destemmed and then fermented with indigenous yeasts in fiberglass vats for nine days. Aging was for almost four years in old oak barrels (about two-thirds American and one-third French). After a light filtration and no fining, the wine was bottled and spent several more years aging in the bodega before release - the old Rioja tradition. This is classical Rioja Gran Reserva, savory and spicy, with tertiary bottle-age flavors still well-supported by fresh fruit. Decant it for an hour and pour it into a Bordeaux or Burgundy glass. It would be splendid with Easter (or pre-Easter) lamb and roasted potatoes or a well-aged Manchego cheese. For those with patience, the wine will continue to evolve positively for at least 10 and probably 20 years.