Vina Otano Gran Reserva

"The bouquet is pure and complex...On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and very suave on the attack, with a lovely core, fine focus and grip...Impressive juice." —
John Gilman, View from the Cellar
Appellation
Rioja D.O.Ca.
Grape(s)
80% Tempranillo 15% Graciano 5% Mazuelo
Altitude/Soil
625-650 meters / calcareous clay
Farming Methods
Sustainable methods
Harvest
Hand harvested into small boxes
Production
The destemmed grapes were fermented and macerated with skins for 30 days with a twice a day pump-overs.
Aging
Aged for 24 months in French and American oak barrels, racked every 6 months. Aged a further 36 months in bottle before release
Suggested Retail Price
$45
Wine Name
Scores
Downloads
Reviews
Vina Otano Gran Reserva 2010
93 (VfC)
Score Publication Review Copy
93 View from the Cellar The 2010 Gran Reserva magnums from Vina Otano are also a new release out of the cellars. The wine is composed of a blend of eighty percent Tempranillo, fifteen percent Graciano and five percent Mazuelo, with the wine spending two years in cask (both American and French barrels). It was given nearly eight years of bottle aging in the bodegas’ cellars prior to this new release and is a lovely bottle. The nose delivers a superb aromatic constellation of black cherries, black raspberries, cloves, cigar smoke, almost salty soil tones, cedary oak and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and classy, with a fine core of fruit, good soil undertow and grip, still a bit of tannin and a long, tangy, complex and very nicely balanced finish. This seems a touch more influenced by its French oak than the 2014 Reserva, so it has a slightly different personality from that wine, without that lovely touch of toasted coconut from the American barrels that I find marries so beautifully with classical Rioja. Though this wine is now eleven years of age, it is still fairly youthful and will continue to get even better with further bottle age. Another fine value, as this is priced at $70 per magnum here in the states, and probably quite a bit less in the EU. 2021-2060+.
John Gilman - Issue #91 January/February 2021
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Vina Otano Gran Reserva 2012
92 (VM) 91+ (VfC)
Score Publication Review Copy
92 Vinous Media (aged for two years in new and used French and American oak barrels) Deep ruby. Oak-accented cassis and cherry aromas are complemented by vanilla and floral nuances that gain strength as the wine opens up. Round and supple in the mouth, showing very good breadth to its sweet black/blue fruit and floral pastille flavors. Gentle tannins build slowly on a very long, spice- and floral-dominated finish that shows no rough edges.
"Rioja Looks Back and Ahead" - February 21, 2019
91+ View from the Cellar The 2012 Viña Otano Rioja “Gran Reserva” has a slightly higher percentage of Graciano in the cépages than the 2014 Reserva, as this wine is fifteen percent of that grape, to go along with eighty percent tempranillo and five percent mazuelo. This bottling sees fully two years in a combination of American and French casks prior to bottling, and then an additional three years bottle aging prior to release. The wine offers up a complex aromatic constellation of black cherries, black raspberries, cigar smoke, a bit of spiced meats, dark soil tones, Rioja spices and a deft framing of spicy oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied, focused and beautifully balanced, with a suave attack, a lovely core of fruit, good soil signature and a long, modestly tannic and tangy finish. There is a bit of toasted coconut from the American oak here on the backend that is very enjoyable (at least to a classicist such as myself). Fine juice. 2020-2050.
Issue # 85 - January/February 2020
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Vina Otano Gran Reserva 2014
94 (WRO) 93 (VM) 93 (WE) 93 (WB) 92 (VfC)
Score Publication Review Copy
94 Wine Review Online All of the red Viña Otano wines show excellent continuity in style despite being sourced from different vintages and, in the case of the lovely Graciano, even different grape varieties, which is certainly indicative of skillful winemaking. This is soft, open and modestly wooded but still recognizably regional in character, yet not dogmatically traditional. There’s more evident spice and toast notes from oak than in the Reserva, as is appropriate at the Gran Reserva level, yet the balance with fruit is just right. To be a bit more specific, the oak shows itself aromatically, but then seems to “step aside” to let the fruit take center stage on the palate, but then returns to take a bow as the wine finishes, firming up the aftertaste without foreshortening it. One additional virtue is that the flavors are perfectly clean, with no hint of the oxidation or brett than can mar Gran Reservas from some other Rioja bodegas. This is delicious already, and will only get better for the next decade.
Michael Franz - November 3, 2020
93 Vinous Media Vivid ruby. A highly perfumed bouquet evokes spice-accented red and dark berries, cherry preserves, vanilla, pungent flowers and pipe tobacco. Seamless and lively on the palate, offering vibrant black raspberry, bitter cherry and mocha flavors braced by a core of juicy acidity. Displays impressive finishing energy, discreet tannins and a lingering spicecake note. Aged for two years in a combination of French and American oak barrels. 2023 – 2032
Josh Raynolds - April 2021
93 Wine Enthusiast Deep red-violet to the eye, this wine has a nose of fruits of the wood and forest floor. Powerful tannins coat the tongue and gums with flavors of black cherry, raspberry, milk chocolate, mint and violet. Despite the depth of the tannins, a sense of bright fruit remains on the palate through the lengthy finish.
M.D. - November, 2022
93 Washington Wine Blog The 2014 ‘Gran Reserva’ is a stunning wine by Vina Otano that is already singing at the six year mark. Rich layers of rose petals line the nose alongside the core of orange zest and bright red fruits that all harmonize on the nose. The altar shows great freshness with a light dusting of salinity that melds in the core of red and dark fruits, with blood orange zest, iodine and charcuterie tones. Showing a good combination of weight and length, the 2014 ‘Gran Reserva’ will provide drinking enjoyment for at least another fifteen years. Drink 2020-2035.
Dr. Owen J. Bargreen, CS - July 2020
92 View from the Cellar The 2014 Rioja Gran Reserva from Viña Otano is comprised of a cépages of eighty percent Tempranillo, fifteen percent Graciano and five percent Mazuelo. It is aged for two years in cask in a combination of French and American oak barrels and kept in the cellars an additional three years for bottle aging prior to release. The 2014 Gran Reserva is a pretty ripe wine at 14.5 percent octane, but carries its alcohol quite well, delivering a fine, youthful nose of cherries, raspberries, clove-like spices, cigar wrapper, a fine base of soil and a nice touch of oak, with both coconutty tones from American wood and cedar from French wood in evidence. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and already getting a touch velvety on the attack, with a fine core of fruit, good soil signature, ripe, moderate tannins and impressive length and grip on the complex and ever so slightly warm finish. I would love to see this wine a half point lower in octane, but it is beautifully made and even at 14.5 percent, it is a really fine example of Rioja! 2020-2045+.
Issue #86 - March/April 2020
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Vina Otano Gran Reserva 2015
94 (OB) 93 (WRO) 92 (W&S) 91+ (VfC) 90 (WE)
Score Publication Review Copy
94 OwenBargreen.com The stunning 2015 ‘Gran Reserva’ was stored for 24 months in French and American oak barrels and then a further 36 months in barrel before bottling. This has fantastic concentration and underlying finesse. Ripe dark raspberry flavors mingle well with fresh pipe tobacco, black tea, and blackberry cobbler flavors. Finishing long with copious minerals, enjoy this beautiful wine now and over the next ten plus years. Drink 2023-2035-
Owen Bargreen - October, 2023
93 Wine Review Online I’ve let my press sample of this wine settle for a few months before pulling the cork, and perhaps that’s why my review differs from a few others that I happen to have read. I like the wine better, but for different reasons. To my taste, at least on the night when I caught it, this is admirably elegant and complex for a 2015 Gran Reserva at this point in its developmental trajectory, with lovely aromatic notes that are at least as much fruit-driven as wood-derived. That is a clear virtue in my estimation — though I’m perfectly prepared to age Rioja Gran Reservas for 15 or 20 years — for the simple reason that only a tiny percentage of world-wide consumers have either the cellar or the patience to do that. From a notably hot and dry year, this is fresh and lithe, with excellent balance of fruit (red-toned, mostly) to fresh acidity, spicy oak and tannin. Sure, it will be much more complex and interesting a decade from now, and if you do indeed have a cellar and sufficient patience to provide that much time (or more) for this to blossom fully, that’s exactly what I recommend. But the fact is that this is delicious already, and in its Burgundian style (no more weight, just as much acidity and better managed tannins), this is ready to enjoy right now, and with poultry or veal or pork or duck — not just a steak.
Michael Franz – September 26, 2023
92 Wine & Spirits Magazine Rioja Viña Otano Gran Reserva Dark with mushroom notes of woodlands and barnyards, this wine's grape-skin tannins. have evolved toward supple pleasure, heady and earthy. There's a lot of toasty oak, but it plays a supporting role to the fruit- a blend of tempranillo with graciano and mazuelo. The persistent mouthwatering flavor makes this a wine for grilled mackerel or grilled mai- take mushrooms.
Winter Edition, November 2023.
91+ View from the Cellar Viña Otano’s 2015 Gran Reserva bottling has a touch more Graciano in the blend than the 2016 Reserva, as the blend here is eighty percent Tempranillo, fifteen percent Graciano and five percent Mazuelo. The wine is given fully two years aging in small barrels, with the oak again a combination of French and American. It was given an additional three years of bottle aging in the cellars prior to release. The 2015 Gran Reserva is ripe and nicely black fruity in personality, offering up scents of dark berries, roasted meats, cigar smoke, dark soil tones, celery seed, Rioja spices and cedary oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and complex, with a good core of fruit, excellent soil signature, ripe tannins and a long, tangy and gently new oaky finish. At eight years of age, I would love to see just a touch less new oak influence in the wine, but it certainly has the stuffing to eventually absorb the wood more completely. This is a good wine in the making, but it lacks a bit of the brightness that defines the wines from the great, old school bodegas like Cuné, La Rioja Alta and López de Heredia. 2031-2065+.
John Gilman - Issue #103 January/February 2023.
90 Wine Enthusiast Deep garnet in the glass, this wine has aromas of cassis, milk chocolate and fennel pollen. Flavors of pomegranate, cranberry, cocoa powder, coffee bean and butterscotch hover above a layer of grippy tannins that fill the mouth and slowly drift away.
Mike DeSimone; Issue June - July 2023
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Vina Otano Gran Reserva 2016
92 (VfC)
Score Publication Review Copy
92 View from the Cellar Viña Otano’s 2016 Gran Reserva is crafted from a blend of eighty percent tempranillo, fifteen percent graciano and five percent mazuelo. The wine is given twenty-four months aging in small barrels, with the oak being a combination of French and American. The wine spent an additional three years of bottle aging in the cellars prior to release. The 2016 Gran Reserva is fairly ripe at 14.5 percent octane, but impeccably balanced, offering up a complex black fruity nose of cassis, dark berries, cigar smoke, coffee grounds, a fine base of soil tones, lovely spice tones and a framing of cedary oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and still quite young, with a serious chassis of tannin, fine depth at the core, good balance and grip and a long, nascently complex and very promising finish. This is still emphatically a young wine and built for the cellar. It will need a good decade of bottle age to soften up its tannins, as the wood is still integrating, but it will be fine wine once it is ready to drink. 2034-2075.
John Gilman, Issue 109, January – February 2024
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