Valenciso Rioja Reserva 3 Pack (2001, 2008, 2011)

2001 “The 2001 Valenciso Reserva is an outstanding, fairly priced effort representative of that great vintage in Rioja. Deeply colored, it offers a beautiful nose of scorched earth, tobacco, vanilla, blueberry, and blackberry liqueur. It combines a velvety, almost Burgundian, palate feel with superb depth, ripe flavors, and enough structure to evolve for several more years. It should easily last for a decade.”

2008 "This wine is, year in, year out, among the best in its category. I'm talking about the red 2008 Valenciso Reserva, an explosive, aromatic, perfumed Tempranillo that mixes the more common strawberries, raspberries and cherries with more unusual violets and subtle spices with plenty of nuances and changing details, elegant and complex, starting to develop some tertiary characteristics. The palate is lush, full and round, with sophisticated glossy tannins and good acidity. Add to this the effect of the 17 months in French oak that brought some spicy flavors, but that did not dry the wine at all. A beauty."

2011 “I was quite pleasantly surprised by the 2011 Reserva, a wine from an extremely warm year when ripe and excessively developed wines abound. This 2011 seems to have improved with bottle age, and its elegant and balanced side definitely wins over the ripeness of the year. The oak feels very integrated and the palate terribly balanced. A great 2011.”