TN: 2010 CVA La Tercera 'Reserva' [Rioja]

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2010 Compania Vinicola Atlantique (CVA) La Tercera ‘Reserva’ [Rioja] This is a 13.5% abv Rioja I’d never heard of (the producer launched in 2002) that I picked up on/near release from JJB in 2015. (Apparently another wave came into the US via Costco in 2020). The ‘producer’ is a multi regional negociant - they make wine from 18 DO’s - and have focused on the brand names rather than their CVA moniker which shows up on the back label, and cork, but not really on any obvious part. Annoyingly, to me, they have chosen to bottle in a Burgundy shaped bottled, rather than the more efficient Bordeaux bottle, which seems good enough for many other high quality Riojanes. According to the back label the wine is nearly all tempranillo but has some token graciano and garnacha, and is gathered from all over the region - La Rioja, Alavesa, Orientale/Baja etc. Normally, I don’t like that for wines that I will cellar myself - but I didn’t know that in this case - and maybe that’s just too much wine snobbiness anyways. I’ve certainly loved lots of blended and cooperative wines, so the idea everything needs to be estate fruit is an affectation. Still there is the part of me which thinks these kinds of blends are the sausages made out of meat the producers can’t/won’t sell under their own label.

The nose on this 20k cs production reserva has pruney/raisiny notes, more akin to 2007 So.Rhones, than a balanced 2010 Rioja. The wine gets 30 mo’s French oak elevage, but at age 11, has soaked up those flavors properly. I drank this over three days, and it gently declined over time, so I think its best consumed now. Most CT tasters seem to be of the same mind as 2/3 of reported bottles are consumed now, with modest scoring. I picked up some pencil on the palate, almost Bordeaux like, but without the grip, earthiness one finds in Medocs. There are also balsalmic flavors here, which I like, and consider an element of traditional Rioja, but it might not be to everyone’s taste. I love Rioja, especially 2010, but I’m putting this on my personal Do Not Fly list. Maybe it should have been consumed earlier - I have the hunch it was better younger - but it’s a rare reserva, even crianza, that loses vigor after its first decade. It gets a B on my scorecard, since I still enjoyed it, but it is falling out balance – so I recommend consumption.

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