1989 La Rioja Alta Rioja Viña Ardanza Reserva

Community Tasting Notes (17) Avg Score: 90.4 points

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  2/4/2024 - jdp89 Likes this wine:

  An auction purchase, this had good fill and the cork (soaked about a third to halfway up) came out in one piece via an Ah-So. Maybe past peak, but very much alive.
  
  The wine poured crystal clear and brick red off of a fair amount of medium sediment. The wine was decanted an hour prior to consumption and followed for several hours thereafter. Nose and palate were a bit thin on PnP but opened up nicely after an hour.
  
  Almost fully tertiary nose with both baked/dusty and damp/loamy earth, leather, light balsamic VA, old book inflected vanillin, but with air the tempranillo sour cherry came out albeit subdued. Edit: On the second night, the cherry stood out more and was joined by some sandalwood and spice notes, which made for a really lovely combination.
  
  Very fresh and lively on the palate, with bright mouthwatering acidity. The wine has mid minus body; a small amount of tannic grip remaining; and a long finish. Intense but very light on its feet. There is not a huge amount of fruit left, and this may have been better some years ago, but there is some red tempranillo fruit (sour cherry is what always comes to mind) remaining along with more tertiary flavors including that soft 'bottle sweetness' character I've found in some of the older wines I've had.
  
  This was the first Rioja with significant age that I've had, and I was very favorably impressed. Lots of interest.

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  7/16/2022 - PSPatrick wrote: 89 Points

  Bought on auction recently. Medium garnet colour. Cherry, ripe strawberry, dill, herbs, light coffee, spices, earth, and balsamic notes, with slightly pronounced acidity, fully resolved tannin and good length. The medium-bodied, medium complex wine would be even more enjoyable if the acidity was less pronounced and without the light bitterness on the finish.

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  2/16/2020 - joel_likes_wine Likes this wine: 89 Points

  Past prime but still enough life to be interesting.

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  2/16/2020 - GonzaloManzaneda Likes this wine: 89 Points

  Abierto para celebrar el primer cumpleaños de Elena juntos, vino de su año.
  Increíble botella, nariz clásica de rioja entrado en años: madera, eucaristía, peleteria, algo de fruta escarchada muy madura, como de moras.
  En boca se nota que pasó su mejor momento hace unos cinco años. No tiene mucha acidez y pasa muy rápido por boca.
  La mejor botella hasta ahora probada de este lote, increíble nariz.

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  3/9/2018 - Paul D Likes this wine: 90 Points

  With Fletcher and Andrew at La Cabotte. No formal note. This was rich, with leathery black fruit, quite full bodied, again rich on the mid-palate with attractive grippy tannins and then fresh acidity kicking in and carrying a good length finish. Only the odd whiff of something a bit fungal on the nose detracts slightly from an otherwise excellent mature Rioja.

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View all 17 Community Tasting Notes

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