Roda Reserva Rioja 2016 Magnum

Roda Reserva Magnum (1.5 Litre) Rioja, Spain, 2016

Grapes: 85% Tempranillo, 9% Graciano and 6% Garnacha. Hand harvested fruit from 30 year old bush vines. 14 months' ageing in French oak (50% each in new and second use barrels)

Founded in 1987 in Haro, La Rioja, Roda use traditional viticulture: dry farming, head pruning, cover crops, sustainability, indigenous yeast

"There's a lot more depth, complexity and harmony in the 2016 Roda than in the more challenging 2017 I tasted next to it. Here, the red fruit profile is more obvious and the oak feels much better integrated, plus the wine has more freshness. The palate is medium to full-bodied with fine tannins and very good balance. This was produced with Tempranillo, 9% Graciano and 6% Garnacha from 30+-year-old vines fermented with indigenous yeasts and matured in French barriques (50% new, 50% second use) for 14 months. 139,000 bottles. It was bottled in July 2018. It's polished and approachable, more drinkable than the 2016 Roda I, but it will also age."

93/100 points, Luis Gutierrez, WINE ADVOCATE, October 2020

"Bramble fruit, herbal and blueberry nose, with an earthy palate and fresh, firm tannins. It's an impressively intense, engaging and fruit-forward wine that should develop brilliantly."

91/100 points (Silver Medal), Decanter World Wine Awards, 2022