2005 Altos de Lanzaga

(from 70+-year-old tempranillo vines) Saturated ruby. Highly perfumed bouquet of ripe blackberry, cassis, Asian spices and incense. Vanilla and cola notes gain power with air and carry onto the palate, adding bass notes to the vivid black raspberry and candied cherry flavors. Broad and fleshy, with deep blackberry, cherry-vanilla and creme de cassis notes on the impressively long finish. Showing a lot of oak today, but the fruit appears more than up to it.

Cask sample: very sweet and voluptuous, Rather burgundian/Derencourt presentation, all lusciousness. Should be worth looking out for when bottled. (JR)

The 2005 Altos de Lanzaga has already been positively reviewed by my predecessor and I back that up all the way. Sourced from a single, propitious parcel of 70-year-old vines, it has a raspberry, wild strawberry and crushed stone-scented bouquet armed with exquisite delineation and purity, unfurling with each swirl of the glass. The palate has firm grip on the entry, but the acidity lends it immense poise and freshness with notes of dark cherry, balsamic and a touch of marmalade on the tense finish. Rioja wine does not get much better than this?unless it happens to be its 2007 or 2009 counterparts! Drink now-2020. ||As well as visiting his family estate of Remelluri, I made a brief visit to Telmo Rodriguez’s minuscule, antediluvian winery in the village of Lanciego. It reminded me of setting foot in some of Burgundy’s more artisan domaines: cramped conditions, ancient cobwebbed walls, the acrid tang of mold and decades of winemaking. Telmo mentioned that authorities had tried to persuade him to at least concrete the floor, but he refuses, not wishing to tamper with the authenticity of the winery. I tasted wines from foudres that I will review once bottled. For now, I will concentrate upon those that are already in bottle, because they are spectacular. Telmo sees Altos de Lanzaga as the equivalent of a “premier cru” in Burgundy, sourced from 35-year-old vine grown on red soil that is fermented in cement vats and aged in foudres and casks. His aim is to find the character of the village of his vines within the ambit of Lanciego. Wine Advocate.August, 2012