Rioja Alta, Rioja Ardanza Reserva Vintage:2012 a touch of asparagus gives

a touch of asparagus gives the wine a greenness in the middle palate but there's also plenty of supporting dark fruit and graphite minerality

As readers will remember

the capital of Rioja Alta

22% of which were new

tobacco and plum notes create the aromatic profile

Rioja Alta, Rioja Ardanza Reserva Vintage:2012 a touch of asparagus givesBottled December 2008. 80% Tempranillo (aged in 4 year old American oak for 36 months) and 20% Garnacha (aged in 2 to 3 year old American oak for 30 months). Dark cocoa scents plus Morello cherry and blackberries. Chewy, substantial palate with aromatic oak on the long finish. This is bold but beautiful, with oak and fruit in superb balance. Its not just the complex flavour range and superb persistence that marks this wine, but the effortless,