La Rioja Alta S.A., Gran Reserva Vina Arana, 2016

Berry Bros kicks off their description of this wine with the words 'as always, Vina Arana delivers'.

That's because they have a long history of being the critic's favourite when it comes to Gran Reserva Rioja. This exceptional vintage, carefully crafted, reflects the passion and dedication of a century-old Spanish winery that has left its mark on winemaking history.

With an own style, an extraordinary aging capacity and a healthy stock of 40yr old Tempranillo vines,, only 267 American oak barrels are made.

It has aged for 36 months in oak, and 18 in the bottle. It will be made only in crops of extraordinary quality. Six traditional rackings were carried out from barrel to barrel by candlelight, to manually separate the sediment and avoid aggressive filtering. Bottled in July 2020.