La Rioja Alta
Vina Ardanza Reserva
Rioja Alta
2010

The producer

Created in 1890, La Rioja Alta is unusual for that time as a consortium of several families established as a company. There have been several changes among the shareholders, most notably the merger of one of the founders of the company – Ardanza – with La Rioja Alta. “Ardanza” was the top reserva of the range for decades. The signature of La Rioja Alta is the use of American oak for all the range – a range notable for the high quality at all levels from the crianza Vina Alberdi through to the three Gran Reservas.

The pinnacle wines are named for the year of merger with Ardanza – Gran Reserva 904 (dropping the “1”) and the year of founding – Gran Reserva 890.

The wine

La Rioja Alta Viña Ardanza Reserva 2010 is a celebrated vintage from one of Spain’s most esteemed producers, La Rioja Alta. The 2010 growing season in Rioja was marked by near-perfect weather conditions, leading to what many consider an exceptional vintage. This Reserva is a blend of predominantly Tempranillo with a smaller proportion of Garnacha, both sourced from high-altitude vineyards in Rioja Alta. The wine exhibits a deep, ruby color and a complex bouquet of red and black berries, dried herbs, spices, and hints of vanilla and tobacco, thanks to its extended aging in American oak barrels. On the palate, it is elegant and well-structured, with silky tannins and a balanced acidity that provides freshness and longevity. The 2010 Viña Ardanza Reserva is a wine of remarkable depth and finesse, offering a perfect harmony of fruit, oak, and tertiary flavors, making it a superb choice for drinking now or cellaring for further development.

We choose our wines based on a range of criteria (see how we choose our wines) of which critic scores is just one. Rather than simply highlight the best score to promote a wine, our average critic score is calculated from the scores provided by several respected wine critics, who we follow for specific regions. They do not represent all critic scores and, wherever possible, we try and give more weight to more recent reviews. Where appropriate we consider market-based scores like Global Wine Score or Wine Searcher Average scores.

As a rule, we look to offer wines that achieve a 92/100 average critic score or better and frankly a lot of very good wines simply don’t make the cut. As a high-end provider we want to reflect that positioning in the quality of wines we offer. Such wines are only a tiny fraction of those generally on offer in the market. We believe that an average score is a more conservative and representative approach, but it is still subjective and only offered as a guide to our customers, who will (and should) do their own research. We will add individual critic scores to our website in the future.