All grapes were hand harvested into small baskets for transport to the winery. The destemmed grapes were fermented and macerated with skins for 30 days with a twice a day pump-overs. Following malolactic fermentation in stainless steel tanks, the wine was aged for 24 months in American oak barrels with racking every 6 months. Aged a further 40 months in bottle before release.
92pts Vinous– 2012 vintage
Deep ruby. Oak-accented cassis and cherry aromas are complemented by vanilla and floral nuances that gain strength as the wine opens up. Round and supple in the mouth, showing very good breadth to its sweet black/blue fruit and floral pastille flavors. Gentle tannins build slowly on a very long, spice- and floral-dominated finish that shows no rough edges.
91+pts View from the Cellar– 2012 vintage
The 2012 Viña Otano Rioja “Gran Reserva” has a slightly higher percentage of Graciano in the cépages than the 2014 Reserva, as this wine is fifteen percent of that grape, to go along with eighty percent tempranillo and five percent mazuelo. This bottling sees fully two years in a combination of American and French casks prior to bottling, and then an additional three years bottle aging prior to release. The wine offers up a complex aromatic constellation of black cherries, black raspberries, cigar smoke, a bit of spiced meats, dark soil tones, Rioja spices and a deft framing of spicy oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied, focused and beautifully balanced, with a suave attack, a lovely core of fruit, good soil signature and a long, modestly tannic and tangy finish. There is a bit of toasted coconut from the American oak here on the backend that is very enjoyable (at least to a classicist such as myself). Fine juice. 2020-2050.
