Urbina Gran Reserva Especial Rioja

Urbina Gran Reserva Especial Rioja is vibrant dark ruby in colour, with a powerful nose of tobacco, leather, blueberry, mulberry and mint. A glorious harmony of rich oak and dark red fruits such as dates, prunes and sweet raisins. A brilliantly smooth texture with well balanced tannins and excellent acidity, leading to a creamy and very long lasting finish.

The superb Urbina Gran Reserva Especial 1994 is a blend of 90 % Tempranillo, 5 % Graciano and 5 % Mazuelo and spends 2 years in oak and 4 years in the bottle before release.

Fermented at 28 º C and macerated for the final 28 days, followed by 24 months in oak and 48 months in the bottle. Garnet-reddish color, splendid maturity, complexity on the nose, on the palate harmonious and balanced oak is appreciated, fruit tannins, great elegance and velvety softness, and wonderful length.

"The Urbina family have four generations under their helm as vineyard owners in Rioja. They own around 75 hectares, all in the heart of the renowned sub-region of Rioja Alta which is known to produce grapes with fine structure and elegance.

The vineyards, mostly planted to tempranillo, are located around the village of Cuzcurrita which is at the north-west point of Rioja and therefore at the limit of vine production. Here the climate is influenced by the cooler Atlantic weather systems which results in a longer, more gradual ripening period and grapes that tend to show freshness, structure and intensity. The magic of this area is that it makes wines that are amongst some of the longest lived in Rioja.

Everything about this bodega centres around ageing. After picking, the grapes are fermented slowly in stainless steel, then aged extensively in a mixture of American (75%) and French (25%) barrels. After ageing in oak, the wines are held in tank which retains a lift and freshness in the wines (rarely seen for this traditional style of Rioja).

Pedro Benito Urbina makes a range of wines, mostly red, right across the quality spectrum from crianza to gran reserva. He releases his wines when they are ready to drink and fully mature. They represent the essence of classic Rioja: stylistically they rest their quality on finesse, complexity and savoury flavours, rather than power." - The Wine Society

http://www.vinotecabenito.com/

Urbina Gran Reserva Especial Rioja 2004 - Hay Wines

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