TN: 2010 La Rioja Alta Rioja Viña Ardanza Reserva, Selección Especial

  • 2010 La Rioja Alta Rioja Viña Ardanza Reserva, Selección Especial - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja (12/22/2020)
    This hits above its weight class. Strong Rioja. Tonight was a southern BBQ night… plus, I’m in the south. Pork butt, ribs, sausage, beans, hush puppies, rings fries… all the goodies. Sauces from vinegar-based, BBQ, to mustard-based, delicious. This paired amazing with it. Strong flavors, weight… strong wine, bold, and it rose to the occasion. I wish I could say that I planned this, nope. Just a good guess. So it hit a mark for me. PnP with a glass on 30 minute decant, rest was wide-based decanter waiting on deck. Dark with deep garnet and ruby hues lightening it up. Super opaque, deep color to the edges. The nose is fragrant, enjoyable, sucks you in. Palate is bright raspberry, aged oak, some spice and pie crust mixed in. Fruit forward raspberry, zing for some tart, good acidity hitting the middle, fruit consistent to the finish. Light tannin to be felt, more mouth-watering acidity punching out the end.A nice ride with a balanced structure lending a hand. Its a good wine, and as noted. Its more than I thought it would be. It kills it.


    6 hours later, after a nap lol, it still is singing in the decanter, more cherry popping through; still bold and lively acidity; still singing.

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Nice work Rich! My case is currently sleeping.

I must say though a bit surprised it can stand up so well to BBQ. Obviously far from a “precious” wine.

Nice review. I absolutely love this wine, I stocked up big time last year on it. I found the 2012 to be a far cry from the 2010 (and wonder what happened to the 2011, I never saw one released?). Now I know it’ll be a good pairing with my Xmas brisket and ribs…

Great review, and man, that bbq sounds good!

Yes 2009 and 2010 were fabulous. Only one bottle left for me.
I have avoided the 2012 based on reports and price increase and drinking 2015 Alberdi instead.
I never saw 2011 either, they must have skipped that vintage.

I had an (I believe) 2015 Vina Alberdi once about a year ago and remember it being very heavily oaked, to the point where it really wasn’t all that enjoyable. I generally am somewhat sensitive to oak, but am wondering if you get that too?

Nice note! Love La Rioja Alta wines. Really some of the best valuesin the world.

Popped one of these a few weeks ago and was blown away. Stunning.

Thanks for the note Rich. Looking forward to this one.

On a semi-related note, just exactly how does one go about posting reviews directly from CellarTracker? I can’t seem to find the key!

I think it can only be done via the desktop version. Where you see your review, in the upper right corner is a triangle that when you hover over, it shows a link “publish to other sites”.

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CT handle checks out!

A 2001 with Christmas Eve ham was drinking very well, still with plenty of fruit to balance the remaining oak. The first bottle in 2013 showed plenty of potential, now realized.

Had the same ('10) last night, really nice wine in a good spot, glad I grabbed several.

2010 may be the best vintage overall for Rioja in the last two decades and La Rioja Alta is a solid producer. I just pulled one of these from the cellar to give to a friend later today as a thank you for helping me with something. I haven’t had the pleasure of popping one of these yet but I am intrigued by Rich’s review and glad I have a few.

I’m an outlier and found this particular Vintage to be overly oaked and not enjoyable. I am a huge fan of the 2005 though.

Keeping them in cellar with the hope that in 10-20 years the oak will intergrate and chill out.

Interesting notes on CT as well with many diverging around the oak presence - I personally didn’t think it felt heavy or out of balance at all, and I am not a fan of oak - I definitely recall bottles of the 904 that turned me off for that reason, but the one bottle of the '10 Ardanza I had felt really harmonious (and fairly fruit forward, with clear tart cherry leading the way).

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I think there is serious bottle variation, but I have a limited sample. I know I don’t mind oak and it was off-putting for the 2010.

I’ve been through 15 of these. 12 were stellar. 1 was way off kilter (my first bottle) and almost put me off of buying anymore. 2 were a bit muted, still good but nowhere near as good as the other 12. I have 5 more cases to enjoy over the next 20 years . By far the best qpr wine I have.

This is good to know!! Might grab a couple of more and give it a try.

from my memory the 2015 Alberdi is not at all like the 2010 Ardanza. The oak in the Ardanza is intermingled with a dozen other flavors. I personally have a high tolerance for oak, so I might not be the best person to ask, but its hard to imagine any rioja fan being turned off by the oak in the 2010 Ardanza. The 2015 Alberdi on the other hand was flabby and lacked complexity, leaving the oak more in the spotlight. For me it was easy drinking but nothing more. I think its riding on the coattails of the 904, while Ardanza seems to be hiding in its shadow.