La Rioja Alta Rioja Gran Reserva 890 Selección Especial 2010

100 points/'Podium Award,' Peñín Guide to Spanish Wine: "(95% tempranillo, 5% graciano, mazuelo). Colour: cherry, garnet rim. Nose: balanced, complex, ripe fruit, spicy, fine reductive notes, cocoa bean, meaty notes. Palate: good structure, flavourful, round tannins, balanced, great length, elegant. (2024)"

99 points James Suckling: "This is really refined and complex, with dark mineral, savory berries, mussels, walnuts, sweet spices, truffles, dried oranges, forest floor and cocoa powder. Beautiful acidity with vertical and velvety tannins. Tense, dimensional and very long. Drink or keep holding. (11/15/23)"

98 points Tim Atkin, MW: "(14%). The superlative 2010 release is the first 890 Gran Reserva since 2005, and it was definitely worth the wait. Partnering Tempranillo with 3% Graciano and 2% Mazuelo, it has a wonderful combination of structure, sweetness and focus. Aromatic spices, red berry fruit and top notes of tobacco and fresh leather are underpinned by age-worthy tannins and refreshing acidity. One to keep. 2023-35. (2022)"

98 points Sarah Jane Evans, MW (Decanter): "I must confess that I find it hard to be objective about the 890, which is one of my all-time favourites, and 2010 is a particularly good vintage. With attention to detail in the vineyard and in the winery, the wine – named after the founding year, only made in the very best years - gets ever better. It is the very essence of fine Rioja, with succulent cherry fruits, sweet spices, mocha, supple and generously rounded. Aged for no less than six years in carefully selected American oak, and with no sign of weariness. This one is made for the long haul. Drinking Window: 2023-2080. (12/6/22)"

97 points Luis Gutiérrez (Wine Advocate): "They were eager to show me their 2010 Gran Reserva 890, their flagship wine from one of the most heralded vintages of recent times, the next vintage of this wine since 2005. It's 95% Tempranillo, 3% Graciano and 2% Mazuelo that fermented destemmed and crushed with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel vats for 18 days, the Tempranillo and Mazuelo together and the Graciano separately. After letting the wine settle for the winter, they selected the lots that would age for six years in used American oak barrels with 10 manual rackings. The wine epitomizes the classical style of Rioja Alta with long aging in barrel, developed and tertiary wines with a silky palate and a complex and decadent nose of forest floor, truffles, cigar ash and cedar wood. They need a very special selection of vineyards at higher altitude that take longer to ripen, and they don't do it fully every year. If they don't, the grapes go to Ardanza, but in 2010, the days were warm and the nights very cold and the grapes ripened thoroughly and could stand the long time in barrel without being oaky. They have stopped the last rackings to keep a little more freshness, and the wine feels phenomenal. This has to be one of the finest vintages for this wine. It's drinkable now but should also age for a very long time; it's intense, complex and elegant. A selection of 236 barrels were blended and bottled unfiltered in March 2017 into 61,643 bottles, 4,189 magnums and some larger formats. There will be a 2011 of this wine and then 2015 and possibly 2016 (but no 2012, 2013 or 2014). This is a very intense 890. Classicism in a bottle. Drink: 2022-2040. (Jul 2022)"

95 points Wine Spectator: "[$275 list] Aging gracefully, this red is traditional in the best sense of the word, integrating notes of tobacco and loamy earth with firm, sculpted tannins. Shows an expressive core of plum sauce, dried raspberry, red licorice and espresso flavors. The interplay on display is enticing and deft through the long, plush finish. Drink now through 2035. (5/8/24)"